Feb. 22

Our hotel is right at the center of town. Interestingly enough, because of the jellyfish problems, the town as built a large saltwater lagoon for swimming that is right across the street from our hotel. We are also in walking distance of the pier, so we walk over to catch out cruise out the Michelmas Cay, our destination for snorkeling at the Great Barrier Reef. Once again, we have beautiful weather. It's about a two hour cruise out to the Cay, about 24 miles. We sit back and relax, except for Mary who's feeling a bit seasick. She makes it, and we get fitted for our snorkel gear.

When the Cay comes into sight, it is an extremely small sand bar that sticks up out of the water. We get on the first boat to shore, and start with a snorkel lesson. Then the kids take off on a guided snorkel tour, and Bill and I play around. I'm not doing very well, the current is strong enough that I don't have the strength to fight it and keep getting swept back almost into the boat lane. Bill starts pushing me around. After a while, I've seen enough fish and coral so I go sit on the beach and watch the birds - hundreds and hundreds of them - while Bill gets to do some real snorkeling. All of a sudden, most of the group goes back to the boat for lunch, and I literally have the island to myself. Incredible!

The snorkel tour comes back, so we go get lunch, and then take a ride in their semi-submersible. We see coral, fish, clams, turtles, and several varieties of jellyfish. Then Bill and the kids go back to the beach, and I get a Coke and relax. We head back, go swimming in the lagoon, walk around town, and have dinner in our room looking out over the lagoon and the bay. We also do a couple of loads of laundry, as our suite comes with a washer and dryer!