Hash-Packing the World

After we sent Helen off to the airport, the gang went for lunch and jumped on a river cruise. We saw several huge Great Egrets, a couple of tiny Brahminy Kites, and a few Mudskipper Gobis. We also saw a couple of juvenile Estuarine Crocodiles "Salties" sunning on the banks--2 meters/6.5 feet! The Captain claimed at that size they weren't really dangerous to an adult human. It's the fully grown ones who eat you--5 meters/16.5 feet! Nope nope nope. (But I can't wait to see one that big. From a boat. From a big boat. 😉)

After the boat, we went back to our rooms to clean up, then met for a wonderful dinner. I had three spring rolls (baramundi, prawn, and crocodile), a dozen oysters (half Thai, half Kilpatrick--I only ate three), and a lamb rump roast with green beans and rosemary potato bake all in a red wine jus. Holy mackerel, soooo very delicious! No party tonight, and most of us said goodbye for the last time until the next time. A few of us went back to the hotel for a while to laugh with and at each other. I got to sit next to the rock wallaby. 😂

This morning came early because I had to see off three more of the group and move into a smaller room. There was a massive brown grasshopper on the handrail. I wonder if it will try to kill me, too 😉.

No issue in getting everyone on their shuttles, but I had an issue. I couldn't pay for my new room because my debit card wouldn't work and the lady wouldn't take cash. I figured the bank blocked the card again with all of my traveling (despite a travel notification, the system just does it sometimes). But no, it couldn't be something as simple as turning the card back on. Oh, no, not today. Today it has to be that they reissued me a different card and mailed it to Texas because they said my card had been compromised. Which it hasn't been. And they can't turn the one I have back on. They're going to FedEx me a new card to the hotel in Port Douglas. EXCEPT by the time it gets here I won't be here anymore (they won't overnight overseas). Aarrgghhh. So now it looks like I'll have to come back to PD before making my way south to Cairns, which means I lose my ride to Cairns. Aarrgghhh.

Luckily, I brought a couple of AAA travel cards with me that still had enough to pay for the next three nights of hotel room. Also luckily, I still have Aussie and US cash that will see me through. And most of all, I don't have to stay upset because tomorrow I'm going on my Great Barrier Reef snorkel trip! Yay!!

Now, I'm just cooling off in the hotel room, downloading my camera pics to my laptop, and stopping my bills from pulling payments off my non-existent debit card (aarrgghhh). [Omm. Great Barrier Reef tomorrow. Omm.]

So long [for now] and thanks for all the fish. ✌️Leer más