I'll make it rain... and the reef.

Once again today, Jessica is writing the blog while Marcee posts the much awaited photos.

Today, we had another day of diving on the Great Barrier Reef. We are excited about this until we both realized that it rained literally all night long and as we walked to the marina. We arrived at a much smaller boat today with less than 20 divers and snorkelers. Unfortunately for us, the ocean was much more choppy and treacherous. We endured the 2 hour boat ride to the reef while succumbing to 10 feet swells. Thank God Marcee does not get sea sick, and I was wearing my motion sickness patch, so no sickness on our part, though there were many.

Our first dive was at Moore Reef. Moore Reef was stiken by the Crown of Thorns Starfish that destroys the coral and thus the marine life that inhabitat it. Years ago divers from all over the world came to the reef to rid it of these nuisances; and they did a great job because the reef is thriving again. Marcee and I basically had another private dive with the instructor. We saw giant clams, sea cucumbers, star fish. The visibility in the water was horrible. At one point I could not see the instructor, and he was around ten feet away. Despite the weather above the sea, being under the water is completely calm and serene.

The second dive site was Thetford reef. Thetford reef has many soft and hard corals like plate and staghorn corals. Marcee opted out for the second dive, so it was just me and Dan, the instructor. Our first attempt at finding the reef was unsuccessful because the current moved us 30-40m from where we began in the wrong direction. Attempt two was successful. I saw things we hadn't seen before: trigger fish which are large and colorful that during nesting times will bite very hard, many new sea cucumbers and starfish, angelfish, and many other new fish! I was so excited. We rented an underwater camera. The pictures will illustrate not only some the awesome things we saw, but demonstrate how murky the water really was.
Even though the weather was not the best, I love scuba diving and the adventure of a new world under water.

So, Marcee and I can mark another seven wonders of the world off our list.

Tomorrow, I will take a day trip to Daintree Forest, another World Heritage Site, Cape tribulation and the Mossman Gorge. This day trip also includes a stop at Port Douglas and a crocodile spotting cruise. I am pretty excited and details will follow.

Marcee will take a shuttle to Port Douglas where she will relax and pamper herself on the 4 mile beach and the spas that Port Douglas is known for. The village of Port Douglas centres around Macrossan Street and is world renown in the retail world as being style capital of the far north with arts and craft stores, souvenirs, clothing shops, supermarkets, pubs and hotels and a treasure chest full of restaurants, eateries and cafes. Retail therapy is alive and well in Port Douglas. We will see what Marcee reappears with tomorrow night!

Side note:
Marcee is posting pictures of an Australia tradition called the Tim Tam slam. Tim Tams are amazing cookies, and there is a process to eat them. With a hot drink in hand, each end of the cookie is biten off, then the cookie is used as a straw. As the hot fluid runs through the middle of the cookie the consumer must try to eat the cookie before it melts all over the place. It is pretty fun and the cookies are really good. Our new friend Amy informed us of this, and we are grateful!

It is hard to believe our time is almost complete here in Australia. It has gone far too quickly. We will update the blog of tomorrow's events and post more pictures when we can. We fly home Wednesday here and return April 22 to the states.

Hope everyone is well, and we will see you soon!