Displaced Beachbums

Great Barrier Reef, on the way to Green Island

Day 2:  We took a 1.5 hour boat ride to The Great Barrier Reef and Green Island. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the seven wonders of the natural world and the only living thing visible from space. We spent the day on Green Island enjoying swimming, snorkeling and wandering around the island. We also took two boat tours: on a glass bottom boat and on a semi-submerged boat. Both allowed us to see vast amounts of fish and coral without having to go on a dive. This adventure has got me seriously considering getting my dive certification ~ even though I have a lot of trouble with my ears. It seems such a waste to live and travel in these great dive spots and not go diving. By the way, according to Wikipidia, the other six natural wonders are:
Grand Canyon, The Matterhorn, Mount Everest, Ayers Rock, Meteor Crater and Victoria Falls.

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Cairns, Australia is located in Far North Queensland and is a fabulous place to visit due to its diversity. The rainforest area borders the beaches which leads to the Great Barrier Reef.

We got a relatively early start to our day even though we didn’t get to sleep until 2:30 am. We walked around Cairns, ate lunch and then we got down to the business of tourist activities 🙂

The activity desk located in the Outrigger hotel gave us wonderful advice and booked our tours. We started with the Night Zoo located just north of Cairns. We knew dinner was included but, once we got there, FM was particularly happy to hear that beer and wine was also complimentary. The bus driver later told me he sees a lot of drunk people coming out at the end of the evening.

We started off with drinks and dinner. Then we were given flashlights and toured the zoo. We got to see a beautiful white owl, a huge toad, saltwater and freshwater crocodiles, koalas, kangaroos, MANY types of snakes and a host of other creatures. We even happened upon a snake LOOSE on the walkway ~ thankfully, it wasn’t poisonous but it sure was BIG.

After the tour, we went back to the dining area for songs, dancing and more drinking. It started with FG dancing, then me, then the zoo keepers got everyone up to dance including my father-in-law ~ much to the surprise of his wife and sister!

On the way back to the hotel, I asked FG what her favorite part of the evening was and she said “all of it” which I have to agree.

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Between our visitors and a recent trip to Cairns, Australia, I’ve had no time to update my blog. We departed for Australia last Sunday evening and got back at 6:00 am yesterday.  I kept having to pinch myself the entire time because I thought Australia was always too far away for me to visit but now it’s only a 4 hour flight from Guam!

We got a great package deal through Continental Airlines but, unfortunately, my hotel choice(The Outrigger) wasn’t available. We ended up at the All Seasons Sunshine Tower which was basic, clean and only a 15 minute walk into the center of Cairns so it worked out fine. Next time, we’ll book earlier.

Part of the reason for the great rate on the package was the flight times. We didn’t arrive in Cairns until 1:00 a.m. and we departed at 1:30 a.m. Even though the flight was only 4 hours, it made for some late and tiring nights. As usual, FG was a trooper and fell asleep with her head on my lap. FM fell asleep before the flights even took off leaving me to stay awake the whole time. 

More on Cairns tomorrow…

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A little background on Saipan:

There are 14 tropical islands in the Northern Marianas chain ~ they stretch across 400 miles in the western Pacific Ocean and are adjacent to the famed Marianas Trench. The Trench is the world’s greatest known ocean depth of 35,810 feet.

The Northern Mariana Islands were governed by Spain, Germany and Japan before being liberated in 1944 by US forces, after some of the bloodiest battles of WWII.  After the Japanese surrendered, the American Navy administered the islands until the were turned over to the United Nations as the “Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.” The islands gradually gained their rights to self-govern in 1975 when they chose to become a commonwealth of the United States. Now, they are known as Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Or more commonly referred to as CNMI.

Saipan is the largest of the islands and is the most populated with 75,000 people. There are two indigenous people of Saipan: The Chamorro and The Carolinians. Saipan measures 13 miles long and 6 miles across at the widest point. The average year-round temperature of the ocean is 82 degrees. According to The Guinness Book of World Records, Saipan has the world’s most equable temperature which averages 81º F. 

Our flight from Guam to Saipan was a short 40 minutes and will no doubt become a frequent weekend getaway for us.  FG especially enjoyed our hotel, the Pacific Islands Club (PIC).  It was my first stay at a PIC but I’d heard of the company from a friend who used to manage the company. The staff was so well trained and the customer service was so outstanding that on our second night there, FM said “This is the best customer service I’ve everencountered.”  This comes from a man who has been dragged by me to some of the top resorts in the world.  Werner, my friend who worked for PIC, left a great legacy at the Saipan PIC.

The Resort had such a variety of activities that we didn’t get to participate in all of them. First off, there’s the huge pool complex with a lazy river, slides, lap pool, a “shipwreck” in the pool and a surf pool. Then, there are tennis courts, miniature golf, driving range, rock climbing, kayaking, archery, kids club. game room ( with the big chess set) and intro to diving. There are clubmates at all activity stations to help with the kids ~ the clubmates are mostly college students on a break from school. I thought I was adventurous going to the Grand Tetons to work during my summer breaks from school.  These students travelled a lot further from home!

Our favorite restaurants in Saipan::

• The Cafe by the Park, located across from the American Memorial Park,  for a fabulous breakfast
• Coffee Care,  on Capitol Hill, for a yummy lunch
• Seaside Grill, at the PIC,  for dinner by the sea
• Esco’s Bake House, Capitol Hill, for local treats

If you find yourself in this part of the world, Saipan is a must-see!

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We returned today from a weekend visit to Saipan. It was our first off island adventure and what a great place to start our exploring. Off island is the term used to indicate that you’re somewhere other than Guam. The island is very charming and, even though it was rainy and cloudy for most of the weekend, we enjoyed our trip immensely. A sign of how much fun we had is our talk of returning sometime soon.

There was so much to do and a lot of historic places to visit ~ we managed to see all the  highlights in our short 3 days there.  Lots more details to follow after I’ve unpacked, done the laundry and got some sleep!  

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