Port Douglas, Australia, Australia

This morning I woke up very early, actually that’s a lie. Saying that I woke up implies that I did indeed sleep at one point and that’s not true. It rained ferociously again last night, and the animals in the forest didn’t sound too happy about it either. So I was STILL up very early this morning andwas packed up and ready to go by 8am. I met Lisa for breakfast at the restaurant at the Crocodylus and we said our thank you’s and good bye’s to Lisa and Ian who had just been tremendous hosts.

We hit the road at about 9:15am for Port Douglas, and fortunately all the rain from last night had already washed out to sea and we had a straight shot out of Cape Tribulation without worrying about our little car being washed away too. We got down to Port Douglas in about an hour and checked into our hostel, the Port O Call Lodge. This is a big step up from Crocodylus, but it does have the advantage of being near civilization and not being infested with bugs and cane toads. I am lucky enough to have my own dorm AGAIN, so I am nice and comfortable in my four person dorm with my own bathroom and air conditioner! It seriously feels like I’m at the Four Seasons right now after the conditions I spent the last two days in.

I got myself comfortable in my new room, did a much needed load of laundry, and then headed out for a walk. I visited a local market that is on every Sunday morning but found that almost all of the things being sold were for women or children, so I decided to go sit at the beach and take in the scenery. It turned out to be a scorcher of a day so I had to find some shade to sit in. Even then I felt that the sun was trying to creep around corners just to burn me. I found a mangrove tree with my name on it though and plonked myself under it for a good hour.

I went back to the hostel and booked my SCUBA diving trip for tomorrow on a boat called the Aristocat. It looks unbelievable! At the same time I was booking it, I met Lisa’s roommate for our stay here and she (Ana) ended up booking the same trip I am going on. At least I’ll know someone on the boat. The three of us went out to dinner at the Courthouse Hotel in the center of town, and then realised everything in Port Douglas closes by 10pm.

We made our way back to the hostel and I am going to get a good night’s sleep tonight. I need to catch up on sleep from the last two night, plus I want to make sure I am well rested for my full day of diving tomorrow!!