Caines, Australia

We woke up to heavy rain and heard that thunder storms were scheduled for most of the day. This is not the best weather for snorkeling. We are having flashbacks of Moorea. Praying no one gets swept out to sea today.

We both went to breakfast as I thought I should have something in my stomach besides my handfuls of medicine that usually serve as my breakfast if we are headed for rough seas.

Our excursion for today is Great Barrier Reef Snorkeling.

We gathered in the Star Theater at 8:30 for a scheduled 8:45 departure. Our excursion was not called for until a little after 9.

By the time we left the ship, it was raining really hard. We got on our bus which would take us to our boat.

By the time we got to the boat, the rain had stopped. Before boarding a beautiful catamaran, we were given a safety number. This safety number was used throughout the sailing to make sure that no passengers would be left behind. We were the second bus to board the boat. It was total chaos. I am not sure if the boat's crew had given the first bus any directions, but we were not given any information. We tried to find a seat but it was very crowded on the first deck. We found a spot on the second deck but it was still crowded because no one wanted to sit on the open decks because it looked like it could start raining again.

We read on a monitor that we needed to head to the back deck and get masks, fins and a stinger suit. So we went to the back deck and were outfitted. They had racks with safety numbers listed where we stored all our gear.

We than headed back to deck two and our seats. We were given a safety briefing. After the safety briefing, we were asked if anyone wanted to scuba dive. Bob and I both raised our hands. We were given paperwork to fill out which included health history. We were told that anyone over 65 who was on medication would not be able to scuba without a medical dive certification. Consequently, Bob was not able to dive.

Those who were cleared to dive, were given a briefing in a separate room. I was not sure that I wanted to dive without having more of a discussion with Bob.

Bob and I talked and he encouraged me to go ahead and dive.

I got into my stinger suit and went to the back deck to get fitted with my scuba equipment. There was only three women who went diving with one dive master. I ended up doing 2 shallow dives. It was amazing to be diving again!

Bob went snorkeling while I was diving.

After my dives, Bob and I met on deck and headed back out into the water. We skipped lunch and ended up spending about 4 hours straight in the water.

We were then signaled to return to the boat.

There was a professional photographer taking pictures during diving and snorkeling. On the way back to the port, an announcement was made that if we wanted to look at photos, we should head downstairs. On the way to the first deck, Bob slipped on the bottom stairs and hyperextended his right ankle. He also has some bruising on his back and elbow. He was quite shook up but as always really downplayed the extent of his injuries.

When we got back to the boat, we elevated, iced and got NSAIDS onboard.

With the exception of Bob's injury, today was an amazing day. The health of the Great Barrier Reef is amazing. The vibrancy and variety of coral is breathtaking. We saw fish that we have never seen before.

We both wish that we would have made a trip to the Great Barrier Reef sooner.Read more