Great Barrier Reef - snorkling day 2

Katherine, my middle niece really wanted to ‘swim with the turtles’. The more we talked about it the more we got into the idea of going out and snorkeling again. I mean, how often are you on the Great Barrier Reef?
This time we took a sailboat to the Lower Isles. The water the much calmer and the sun was shining bright. It was a beautiful day. The sailboat trip only took about an hour. We had to take small motor boats to the island but then we could get in and out as much as we wanted. This worked much better for the children.

While snorkeling on the island we did in fact see several turtles. They were almost tame. They just kind of ignored you and grazed while you watched. I think we saw 3 different turtles. I also saw two black tipped reef sharks. They do not want you to watch them. I followed one for a little while but as soon as he noticed me he was gone.

After all day snorkeling we made it back to the apartment. The kids were not done yet and we swam for another hour or two. It was a good time.

The next day we would be returning but I wanted to get in another run. I got up early and headed out. The resort that we were staying at is gated. I could not get out of the complex. I did not want wake everyone up so I headed to the pool to do some calisthenics. I did a couple sets of pushups and then some crunches and stuff. I was ready to call it a day – I mean I made a solid effort. And just then I someone coming into the complex and I had them hold the gate. I was going to get my run after all.



I had gotten up and brushed my teeth and headed straight out of the door. I was thirsty. I headed to the beach where I knew there was a water fountain. I took a big drink and headed out on the beach for an easy run. I wore shoes this time to protect the feet. I did not want the run to be cut short. The sound of the surf was relaxing as I ran. The sun was just rising. There were a couple of people out on the beach. There was one guy with his dog breaking open a couple of coconuts. Then I ran into this guy fishing. He was struggling to remove the hook from this shark.

When I got back to the apartment complex the gate was still locked. Fortunately Joe was out at the pool again with the kids. I was let in and grabbed some breakfast before we headed down to Cairns for our flight.

We spent the afternoon in Cairns and did not get back to Sydney until late – about 9PM. That is late for me and really late for the kids.

This week I am going to explore Sydney. There is a group run on Tuesday night at Lane Cove National Park where I hope to meet a few people. I also want to see all of the museums and sites of the city.