Carole & MaryLou's Excellent Adventure-continues

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Monday – 10/29/12 5:00 am

“Good morning, this is your Captain speaking from the bridge. The alarm you just heard was the fire alarm. A fire has been detected in the Security Office on Deck 2. Fire Station 2 crews, man your stations. No action is required of our guests at this time.”

“This is your Captain. Please evacuate cabins 2622 to 2657 and 3622 to 3657. All guests in these cabins please assemble in the Atrium.”

“This is your Captain speaking from the bridge. There are no signs of fire detected in the area. We are now trying to determine where the smoke in the corridors is coming from. We will keep you informed.”

“”This is the Captain. The smoke in fire area two resulted from a filter that failed. It has been replaced and the area will soon be smoke free. Guests that were evacuated may now return to their cabins. Ships personnel will be available to assist as firefighting equipment is still in the corridors. We are sorry for any inconvenience this has caused you but your safety and the safety of the crew is our first priority. Fire Crew Two may now stand down”

And that is how our second day of sailing the Great Barrier Reef began.

This will be our third day in the reef area and our second sailing through the reef itself.

MaryLou didn’t feel up to going to Green Island in Cairns so I headed out on my own. The catamaran ride over was lovely except that my shirt collars kept beating me up in the wind. The island is part resort, part National Park. I headed for the beach and set up on a chair under an umbrella. The attendant said that there were green turtles out there so I put on my gear and headed out to explore.

The water was warm and I paddled out to find a lot of sea grass and the remnants of a reef that was bleached white and quite dead. I floated around a sandy spot and soon the fish returned to feed. There was nothing exotic but I was happy to see the usual suspects, wrasses, parrots and a Picasso Fish. After about an hour I headed to shore. I didn’t see any turtles but still enjoyed the experience. I really with that I had known that an all day tour of the Outer Reef had been available. I would have been able to do that on the day we arrived but too bad, so sad. I read for a while and enjoyed people and bird watching until afternoon.

I stopped for lunch and ate with Diane while John went snorkeling. They had taken the glass bottom boat and saw turtles and humungous clams and lots of fish and colorful coral. Obviously I had been snorkeling in the wrong area.

We headed for the pier to catch our boat back, the 2:30, the last one that would get us to the ship before it sailed. We waited where we had disembarked and waited and it became later and no one was waiting but us. I noticed people boarding a boat further down the pier and John went off to investigate. Bottom line, we boarded at 2:27 pm. If we had missed it, the ship would have sailed without us and we would have had to make our way to Darwin ourselves with only a credit card and in our bathing suits. Lucked out again.

That evening MaryLou and I joined 10 other guests for dinner with the Chef and Cellar Master. We were seated around the show kitchen and watched Chef Daniel prepare our meal. Each dish was matched with an appropriate wine. So we began our seven-course extravaganza. I cannot imagine how the aristocracy could eat like this every night. The Amuse was a chicken satay paired with Domaine Sts Michelle Brut (yummy). This was followed by (2) Lobster Linguine (yum) paired with a Pinot Grigio, (3) Tomato Essence with chicken pistachio dumplings, (yum, yum) paired with an Australian Red, (4) Mixed Garden Greens with sautéed quail breast and truffle vinaigrette (quail, yum, greens not so much) Chardonnay yum, yum.

We paused to clear our pallets with a (5) Champagne Sorbet with raspberry balsamic infusion (double yum).

For the main course (6) we had ten-ounce beef tenderloin with garlic sautéed King Prawns with vegetables and potato. This was served with a beautiful Shiraz from the Barossa Valley, smooth and soft with a lovely bouquet. Needless to say we couldn’t do it justice. There was just too much food. But we were not done yet.

(7) English Colston-Basset Stilton Cheese soaked in aged port with caramelized pear was paired with a Port from Portugal and we ended the night with (8)Tiramisu paired with a Moscato from Italy. Neither of us could eat another bite nor drink another sip.

On returning to our cabin we found a dish of chocolates and that we will enjoy.

It was a great experience and watching the Chef and his assistants cook and plate the food was a treat. There service was impeccable.



October 28, 2012 found us sailing through the reef. The route we are taking is closed to commercial traffic. We are the ONLY vessel permitted to sail through these waters. We sat on deck chairs and watched the islets and atolls pass. The pilot come on the loudspeakers occasionally to point out sights or tell stories about the exploration of the reef and it was just heaven to sail the beautiful blue sea.

MaryLou played in the slot tournament and came in first in the preliminary round but lost in the finals. I played in the Hold’em tournament and came in third.

We were greeted like visiting royalty at our table. It was nice to see the genuine concern for ML’s health and her warm welcome back. Rather than press our luck we headed back to the cabin for a read and restful sleep. And that brings you up to date.

We plan a quiet day. Right now the pilot is telling us we are sailing in the track of Captain Bligh after the mutiny. More later.

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