03.09-11 "Waiting For Cousteau"(Jean-Michel Jarre)/"TheBends"(Radiohead)

Oceania

Australia

Great Barrier Reef (outside Cairns)

Early wake up, pack, being picked up, check in, back to van, and into the boat!

As soon as we departed I had my antiemetic tablet and ate breakfast (because an empty stomach is easier to upset); I even looked with contempt at others who didn't take a tablet and/or ate… we heard there was a Cyclone nearby and the sea was going to be rough during part of the trip… and it was rough… for me! To say this in a polite way, my stomach felt pity for the poorly fed fish outside the reef and convinced me they needed my succulent breakfast more than I did. I bet many fish were happy with the outcome, since I was extremely generous…

We spent 3 days/2nights on a liveabord boat and did 9 dives total. I (O) also did a Nitrox course, that now allows me to use a mix with more oxygen and less nitrogen than the regular Air mix. Why do that? That mix decreases the chances to get decompression sickness (also called "The Bends")… I will curb my geekness and leave the explanation of this plus oxygen and nitrogen narcosis to a face-to-face talk if you're interested ;)

Below is a map of the region were we did the dives: Flynn Reef and Miln Reef

… and below is a detail of both reefs:

A view from the upper deck with 2 divers below in water

…where the clouds meet the waves…

On those days we saw a whole lotta fish…

http://widedscreen.com/coral-reef-life-fish-

wallpapers/

…hard corals…

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/05/

great-barrier-reef/holland-text

…soft corals…

http://www.acfonline.org.au/about-us/our-

success-stories/conserving-great-barrier

…turtles…

http://greatbarrierreefmv.wordpress.com/2013

/03/26/the-decay-of-the-great-barrier-reef/

…mollusks…

http://www.thalabeach.com.au/local-area/

great-barrier-reef/

…and one of our favorite of these dives: a cuttlefish!

http://www.fishabout.com.au/news/article

/species-spiels/giant-australian-cuttlefish-

sepia-apama-by-nick-martin/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/life/

Sepia_(genus)

These cephalopods (related to octopi) are quite clever, and there are few doubts they even possess self-awareness. They have an incredibly fast ability to change colors, patterns and textures not only to camouflage but also to communicate (look at both image above: a change from one to the other pattern can take less than 10 seconds; look for videos online!)

(Note: I am using images from the web because I have none, just videos; those are available per request and will be shown in Chicago shortly after our return ;) Anyway, everything you see on these pictures we saw; nothing we didn't experience is on any of our posts)

At our return to Cairns there was still energy available so, after a gelato, I had fun times drinking and dancing with some of the boat crew.