Cairns, Australia

On the northeast of the state of Queensland, is the city of Cairns (pronounced more like cans.) The small city sits against the background of mountains easily visited by train from the city to Kuranda and is also a main debarkation point for visits to the Great Barrier Reef. People on the ship took either the train and/or skyrail to Kuranda, or rode a catamaran to the Great Barrier Reef or wandered around the town.

At first we thought that we would take the train to Kuranda, however, one thing lead to another and we missed the train. Of course, neither one of us was intent on taking the trip or we would have gotten to the station on time.

We did exactly what we needed to do. We walked two short blocks from the ship to the center of town, phone cards in hand, found a pay phone in front of a currency exchange and began calling. We talked to all of our children and some other family members as well. We also were able to take care of some business over the telephone too. After we relinquished the phone booth, we walked to a mall, looked around for some clothes, bought none, and walked back to the ship for lunch. Food is so much easier for me on the ship in many places we visit we didn’t even look for something that I could eat.

After lunch we set off again. This time we headed to the post office, a quick walk since we had identified it earlier in the day. The day had been hot and humid and although there were threatening clouds in the morning, we had no showers.

We saw many aborigines around this city, unlike the other Australian cities we have visited. All of the Australians we encountered in the 9 cities we visited over two years were friendly, fun loving, laughing people who couldn’t do enough the make our visit pleasant. We felt welcomed and at home and sadly said good-bye as we sailed away.