SEA “DAYS” AND “DAYS” ISLANDS

It’s been a whirlwind here and the “DAYS” have all seemed to run together with zero breaks.  In the past five days, we have had two sea DAYS, a visit to WHITSUNDAY Island, THURSDAY Island and Cairns.  Unfortunately, the weather has been either very humid or rainy and the excursions have not been good.  I haven’t written in a while, mainly because I’ve been busy or haven’t found that much to write about…….

It is currently 2:30 am and I was just awakened by a thunderstorm!  It is actually amazing to be watching a storm in the middle of the night in the middle of the Indian Ocean. (Yes!  We are now cruising the Indian Ocean! Another first for us!) Thank goodness the waves are calm and we are not rocking.  But wow - the sky lights up with every lightning bolt and it is actually quite beautiful!

Here’s a recap of what our “DAYS” have been like, starting with Super Bowl Sunday (it was actually Monday here in Australia!) 

As usual Viking went all out for a Super Bowl Party!  The live feed of the game was on at 11:00 am on the big screen at the pool deck.  We were greeted with cocktails of colors to match the team we were rooting for!  There was also a huge brunch display of tailgate foods! Wings, meatballs, tacos, corn dogs, etc, were on the menu.  

As you can see, Mark was rooting for the Eagles and I wanted Kansas City to win. (This opens the door for me to brag a little - I really didn’t care who won the Super Bowl, but I had to root for the Chiefs because Mahomes and Kelce were on my Fantasy Football Team and they helped me win the Championship Trophy!  Just sayin…..). 

Here’s a couple of the chefs showing off their beautiful displays. They were rooting for KC!

While watching the game our ship anchored near Whitsunday Island.  Unfortunately for us, our excursion on this day was occurring early in the afternoon, so we didn’t see much of the game.  Actually, we didn’t see much on the excursion either!  We took a ferry ride along the shoreline of Whitsunday Island.  I have heard that this island’s beaches are some of the most beautiful in the world.  In fact, our son-in-law has visited Whitsunday Island and told us firsthand how beautiful it was.  We were so anxious to see it!  However the weather was horrible and we really couldn’t appreciate the island from the ferry. It was raining and cloudy and our view was limited.  What a disappointment!  Mark ventured in the rain to the upper deck and captured a few photos anyway.   We got back to ship just as the game was ending.  Mark was excited that the Eagles won the Super Bowl!

Here’s a photo of our ship from the ferry.

The next “day” we arrive in Cairns.  We docked at the Cairns Wharf which is right  downtown so we could walk everywhere.  We were there for two nights so had plenty of time to see the area.  It is a nice town!  We enjoyed walking along the boardwalk, visiting a few shops downtown and ventured to the shopping mall.  The mall has stores just like the states:  Kmart, Target and Woolworths.  This Woolworths is a grocery store  though, not like the Woolworths Drugstore that I remember as a child.  We also visited the nearby casino. 

(See above photo- As we walked down the street and I saw the sign, I started laughing.  It’s a Billiard Hall next to a Tattoo Parlor advertising their ‘free pool”  - NOT “free poo”!  Ha!)

More city and boardwalk views.

Our excursion in Cairns was on the second day and was a visit to the Cairns Aquarium.  It was very impressive!  The path in the aquarium guided one through the different types of environments common to Australia- reef, deep water, rain forest, etc.  Here are a few of the spectacular fish that we saw.

The next stop on this journey of DAY Islands was Thursday Island.  Apparently, whoever named most of the islands in this area started running out of names, thus they were named for the days of the week that they were discovered - Whitsunday Island, Wednesday Island, Thursday Island, Friday Island and Saturday Island. No Monday Island or Tuesday Island - maybe he rested on those days?  (One lecturer said that Captain James Cook was the one who named this group of islands, but tonight another lecturer refuted that saying that Cook only charted the islands, but did not name them.)

Because the Barrier Reef intertwines in this area we couldn’t anchor any closer to shore than a 45 minute tender ride to Thursday Island.  The island itself is only 1.5 square miles in size and we weren’t thrilled with the excursion planned.  It was a native dance performance and walk on your own around town.  It was also raining!  We understand that the beach on Thursday Island is beautiful - sandy and clear blue water!  Problem is - no swimming is allowed.  Apparently, salt water crocodiles, sharks and jellyfish frequent the area.  Mark took the following photos of a reef nearby because it reminded him of a huge crocodile near Thursday Island.  A good reminder to not swim at the beach!

This is just a rock formation - not a big crocodile!

We decided to forgo the trip to the island and did laundry instead!  It was also Valentines Day and again, Viking went all out!  In the evening, all the ladies were given a rose.  They also had a lovely barbecue party with music and dancing followed by a “Chocolate Buffet”!  Mark and I skipped the Barbecue and ate at one of the quieter restaurants instead.  We did enjoy the “Chocolate Buffet”, however!  

Remember the Pastry Chef Tony from an earlier post?  He created all these beautiful chocolate sculptures!

Yesterday was another Sea Day!  Who would have thought how much we enjoy these days?  There is so much to do and we never get bored.  Yesterday, Mark had a bridge lesson in the morning and played bridge in the afternoon.  I, on the other hand, enjoyed three lectures and attended a jewelry making class.  We had dinner in “The Restaurant” with Mark’s bridge partner and her daughter.  They hail from England but have lived all over the world, currently from Orange County in California.  We had a nice time getting to know them.  It was a great day:  a good balance of culture and fun!

Today we are enjoying another Sea Day en route to our final stop in Australia - Darwin. More about our Darwin visit next time!