Port Douglas

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I am back in Australia again but on the Eastern Coast this time, in Port Douglas. For those who don’t know the geography of Australia or don’t have a globe sitting next to them, Port Douglas is located in the Northern part of Queensland, about 70 kilometres north of Cairns. For all you that are interested in geography, the world coordinates are: 16°29′01″S 145°27′55″E. Port Douglas is one of the places where you can access the Great Barrier Reef (which I will tell you about later).

The first night I arrived I was tired because I had just pulled an all nighter, since my flight from Bali didn’t leave until 1:30AM and then I didn’t sleep at all on the plane. I was not in any mood to go to the grocery store and buy some local produce and make something for dinner, so I wandered the streets and I came across a place called the Blue Lagoon. The smell of the restaurant hit my nose and I knew immediately that I had to eat there. Was I ever glad I made that decision! Don’t get me wrong, I love my mum’s cooking and I have had some pretty amazing meals in my life, but I think this may be my favourite meal, if not very close to it! I started off with some lovely, crisp, light white wine. I scanned the menu and quickly decided to order a caramelized onion, Brie, pear tart. Oh my goodness, it was literally heaven in my mouth! The crust was the perfect texture, not too flakey, but not too gooey. The cheese, oh the cheese, was unbelievable! That was gooey, but for the right reason. The flavour of all the ingredients together was amazing. It was a meal I will probably never forget.

The next morning I woke up and packed a day bag with my swimsuit, floppy hat, a bottle of sunscreen, a towel and my wallet, and decided to see what Port Douglas had to offer. In a one street radius there were at least half a dozen different companies offering services for scuba diving or snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef. I thought to myself, today is as good as any to experience the Reef, so why not go right then and there. The price was a bit steep but I thought when am I ever going to get to do this again, so I took the plunge and signed up for a once in a lifetime opportunity. The tour boat took about an hour and a half to even get to our first spot where we went for a swim. I seriously had never seen water so clear. Being able to see such colourful fish and such a variety of fish within arms length was an incredible sight. I don’t have my diving certification so I just went snorkelling. We actually stopped at 3 different areas to explore. It was spectacular. One of the craziest things during the whole adventure is that I started talking to someone and I noticed he didn’t have an Australian accent. I asked him where he was from, and sure enough, he was from Edmonton and went to the same high school as a good friend of mine! After a long day on the boat, I was walking home and I came across a lovely local organic grocery store. I decided to buy a few things and bring it back to the place where I was staying. I grilled salmon on a bed of kale, rocket and other greens. My hotel was within walking distance of the beach, so I brought my dinner outside and had a little picnic on the beach.

I have had a great time on this trip but it is time for me to head back to Canada early, which makes me really sad. I got an email from home yesterday saying something personal came up at home, so I need to head home early. I will be leaving tomorrow. I know for a fact that I will be back in this country someday. Thanks for being such a treat Australia and Bali! I feel like I was very blessed with everything I experienced. Thanks for everything. Check in with me later and I may be going to experience somewhere else in this world. Hope you all have enjoyed this blog as much as I enjoyed writing it. Good-bye…for now.

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