Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef

We came to Cairns (oddly enough pronounced Cans -- nobody can tell us why) for one reason -- t0 spend a day on the Great Barrier Reef. We did that yesterday and it was good fun. We took a small cruise ship out to Michaelmas Cay for the day and did some snorkeling on the reef. To prove it we even have this photo.

In some ways the Reef is alot like any other reef -- we saw plenty of coral and lots of interesting wildlife. One of the most notable things we saw was a "cleaning station" where the fish line up to have the cleaner fish remove the parasites from their gills. Along with some pretty big clams and schools of parrot and rainbow fish we were pretty impressed.

But in an odd way the Reef is hard to appreciate. Its greatest feature is its sheer size -- the reef runs more than 2000 kilometers from end to end. But you can't really see that or experience it when you swim the reef. The little piece we saw was perhaps a bit more well-populated than reefs we've seen in the Caribbean or the Indian Ocean, but it didn't scream "I'm unique." We wonder how to capture that uniqueness in size and scope in a single day.

Today, we took another side trip to Fitzroy Island, a local beach. We spent the day just lying about and swimming trying to get a short break before the long flight home. We ended the day with a superb Balinese Risttaffel -- a tasting course in Balinese food -- at a local restaurant. It was definitely worth the time and not something we're likely to experience anywhere else.

And so, the trip draws to an end. Tomorrow, we start home with a 3 hour hop to Sydney. After an overnight in Sydney on Sunday we leave for home. 14 hours to LA and then 5 hours to DC. It'll be a long day. We've had a great time, but we are looking forward to sleeping in our own bed.