Back on not so dry land!

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Geo: -20.2679, 148.716

We made it back safey, having rode out the tropical storm in Cid Harbor for 2 days. Water dripped through the hatch on our heads as we slept and we bounced through the night but our anchorage held. We returned to Airlie Beach and heard about the damage that occurred here as they were unprotected from the Northerly winds. We were amazed. At least 36 boats were tore from their moorings or anchorages and smashed onto the rocks on shore. Some were luckier to be washed on to sandy beaches but the damage was in the millions. Many sad stories of boats that were not insured but even ones that were will never give the owners what they had before the storm.

We stayed at 2 Home Exchanges that were condos with pools. The first week at Jenny and Kent Sturgess's (Marina Shores) it rained and rained relentlessly. Even with the rain we loved the wonderful ocean view and ate fabulous meals on the balcony. This also gave us the opportunity to catch up on emails and finally get our travelblog and facebook up,

The next week we stayed at the Mango Beach resort (Chris Rae's home exchange) where we finally enjoyed sun at the pool. It was a 4 star resort run by Best Western. The condo had a view of the jungle (not oceanfront) and a wonderful garden around a pool where we bar-b-qued and spent lots of hours reading and sun tanning.

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Photos

Close up of Sailboat washed ashore in the storm
We went down to take photos on our first day after arriving in Airlie Beach. This is the view we saw to the left from our balcony at Marina Shores (Home Exchange with Jenny & Kent Sturgess).
We spoke with the owner of the sailboat you see in the picture and helped him to fold his Jib sail that he was salvaging. Although he had insurance this boat was his pride and joy having spent numerous hours finishing the interior and customizing it for his tastes. It will be written off by insurance but he won't receive enough money to replace or repair his boat (if he chooses to buy it back from the insurance company) back to what it was before the storm hit.

More of the 36 boats destroyed in the Storm!
Many of the boats had signs saying "This boat is not abandoned" in an attempt to keep people from pilfering off their boat. The rule of the sea is; an abandoned boat is anyone's property!

Shopping for sunglasses in Airlie Beach!
Our first week here it continued to rain daily and in torrents. We met people from Melbourne who said it rained more in one day than they get all year! We filled our days catching up on emails, watching DVD's and Shopping (in the rain of course)!