Beaches! (That you should not swim at!)

Yes, Australia has some phenominal beaches, but due to all the dangers in the water, it is highly recommended that you do not swim in the water. These dangers include crocodiles, sharks, stingers (not in season right now but the signs are still everywhere), and currents. Throw on top of that the occasional stingray and my favorite place to be is now potentially the most dangerous. Doesn't stop me from enjoying the beaches though!

So since I can't spend every waking hour at the beach I need to find other things to do with my time, and luckily Australia is full of activities! All of my favourite ones so far happen to involve animals, which is no surprise really.

I spent a morning at Reef HQ in Townsville, seeing the sharks was very interesting but my favourite part was the sea turtles. Reef HQ is a turtle hospital, so they take care of and home injured marine turtles until they're strong enough to return to the wild. They had a couple green turtles and it shocked me as to how big they actually are! Stevie was in the predator tank and absolutely dwarfed all the sharks in there. Saw tons of interesting fish, but nothing beats seeing them out on the reef. I had planned to walk the Esplanade that afternoon but I ended up at the Museum of Tropical Queensland instead. I thought it would be a like any other museum but it was so much fun! Almost every exhibit had a hands on, interactive component. I learned so much about the human body, animals of Queensland and the Pandora, a ship that sank just off the coast of Australia.

At Magnetic Island I had my first experience with a Koala! So fluffy!! Anyways, I stayed at Bungalow Bay which has an animal sanctuary right on sight. The sanctuary was awesome, they allowed you to hold and touch most of the animals that are there. Turtles, snakes, baby salt water crocodiles, lizards, and of course Koalas! I got to hold Pebbles and I have never felt anything so soft in my life, I didn't want to give her back. The sanctuary also feeds a flock of Rainbow Lorikeets every afternoon and all guests are welcome to help out. By far one of my favourite activities as having birds swarm around you is quite an experience.

I met a couple girls from Holland and we had decided that the one day we would walk to a couple of the other bays on the island and go snorkeling. Well our snorkeling day turned into more of a hiking day as the paths between bays were more rock than paths and more uphill than anything. Needless to say a quick cool down was necessary and every stop involved a swim. We even stopped at the nudist beach which was... interesting. Beautiful little bay, we saw a small stingray and tons of needlefish in there but... well... yea...

Blue-Tounged Lizard

Happiest person ever!

The 'path' between bays.

 

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Cairns and The Great Barrier Reef

The main reason I came to Cairns was so that I could scuba dive at The Great Barrier Reef, and it was totally worth it! If I didn't have a budget for myself I would dive every chance I get. In fact I'm already planning on coming back so I can do overnight trips. I dove with Tusa 6 and the crew was terrific. I dove 3 days in a row and by the end most of the crew knew me by name and would sit and chat with me if they had some spare time. They had a photographer on board that would take pictures of you throughout the day for free and of course you could purchase them at the end of the day if you wished.

Now for the exciting part, what I saw out there! The coral itself was beautiful, maybe not as colorful as it was in Bocas, but it was quite a bit grander and there was more variety. There were so many nooks and crannies to explore and every little bit of exposed rock had something living and growing on it. As spectacular and colorful as the coral was, it was quite sad to see areas full of dead coral. It was hard to tell whether or not it was from human impact or the fish that love to eat the coral, but it has made me more aware as to why it is so important to have as little impact on the environment as possible.

The marine life I saw was phenomenal! Fish every direction you looked and they ranged in size from the size of my finger nail to 4 feet long! I won't list every fish I saw, that would take forever, but I'll tell you about the highlights! White-tip reef sharks has to be at the top of my list. Over the 3 days I saw about 8 of them! They mostly just hung out on the bottom but still so cool! We also came across a huge Eagle Ray stirring up the sand looking for things to eat. I also found a Morray Eel, and some huge Pufferfish! On my last day of diving a school of about 10 Bumphead Parrotfish swam by the boat and it was quite a spectacular site. Seeing the sun come down through the water and these huge fish swim along was absolutely beautiful. And yes, I did see a vast majority of the cast from Finding Nemo! I've glossed over a lot that I saw but ask to look at my dive log some time!

Before heading off to my next destination I took a quick day trip to the Daintree Rainforest and Cape Tribulation. It was a tour so there was a lot of get off the bus - get on the bus so I'm not sure I'll do many more of those while I'm here, but I was very glad I did it. Our tour guide, Terry, was very entertaining and had lots of great information about the region. My favourite part of the day was taking a quick trip down the Daintree River looking for Saltwater Crocodiles. I thought we'd maybe see 1 or 2, but we saw 5 plus a couple green snakes! As some of you know, I loved watching Steve Irwin growing up, so being able to see all the animals in real life is a bit of a dream come true. I'm very excited for the Australia Zoo but I have a couple more stops before I can check that one off my bucket list!

They call him Scarface!

Cairns

Where the reef meets the rainforest

 

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What Happened to July 3rd?

My last week in Panama City was awesome. I barely did anything (World Cup, playing with my cousins kids, and going to the beach doesn't amount to much), which is fantastic way to recover and get ready for 3 months on the road halfway around the world.

When I booked my flights back, I was more concerned about my final destination than the amount of time it would take to get there. I wasn't quite sure how I would handle 24+ hours of travel but, overall, it was probably the most pleasant travel experience I've ever had. 4 countries and 4 airports, and each had their own adventures! As far as air travel is concerned it was the smoothest I think I've ever had. I had ample amount of time at each airport, and even though I had my bags thoroughly checked by Australian customs they were very pleasant and I was out of there in 15 minutes. Also helped that on my long haul flight from LA to Auckland there was an empty seat right beside me. Ample amounts of rest makes talking with customs agents so much easier!

I've only been overwhelmed a couple of days on this trip and my first afternoon in Cairns was one of them. They were minor things really but I was so unprepared for them it was a huge shock to my system. Being a day ahead is so hard to wrap your head around, writing in my travel diary was an interesting experience that night. Cars on the other side of the road! I just about walked around to the other side of the taxi to get in the front seat. Designated crosswalks was also a big one, I haven't seen those in 2 months, and knowing which way to look before I crossed is also a huge learning curve. I've always had to look left before taking my first step! The last thing that got me was the shopping mall and the amount of people in it! I saw a lot of people in Panama but they were always in open markets or streets. Having that many people in a closed area was the strangest feeling, there really are no words I can use to describe the feeling.

Once I had a super good sleep I was ready to take on Cairns! I spent the morning walking the Pier and Esplanade, both were so beautiful and full of people. The Esplanade reminded me a lot of Meewasin Trail back home, except flatter, less trees and right beside the ocean. It is a place where people go walking, running, biking, or just hang out in the park. I then stumpled upon a ukulele festival. I swear every person and their dog had a ukulele that day, I can honestly say I've never seen that many before in my life. The city was attempting to break the world record for the most ukuleles played at once. I can't say whether or not they did, but I can say I was there!

My last free day before I go diving (so excited!!), I decided to head to the Botanical Gardens and the Tank Museum. Instead of taking public transit I decided I would try and walk from my hostel to the site via the Esplanade. Considering it's about 5 km one way and plus all the walking I did in the gardens, my feet were more than a little tired by the end of my jaunt. That being said the walk was totally worth it! I went a bit camera crazy in the gardens as there were tons of beautiful flowers and I know my mom, being the green thumb that she is, will love to see them when I get home. Once I had my fill of plant life I went to look at the Tanks. When I was reading descriptions of The Tanks, I for some reason thought they were army tanks, which sparked my curiousity in the first place. What I found was so much cooler! They are giant water tanks that have been converted into usable space. 1 tank was converted into a banquet hall, 1 tank is an ampitheatre for shows and the last 1 is an art gallery. The art on display in there was absolutely gorgeous and consisted of Chinese Kites, watercolour paintings, and pottery. Such a unique use of space! Highlight of my day might have been seeing my very first Kookaburra! Didn't hear it sing but still monumental!

The Esplanade

Tanks Gallery

Kookaburra!!

 

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Final Thoughts on Bocas del Toro

I've been out of Bocas for a few days now and I've had some time to reflect on what my time was like there. In a few words: it was the time of my life but exhausting as well.

Bocas is a party town, it feeds off of the inhibitions of the tourists that end up there. I can't count how many times I heard someone say "Who cares? You're in Bocas!", or something along those lines. This is why the 3 lies of Bocas are so fitting: #1 I'm not drinking tonight (my planned detox days didn't happen), #2 I'm leaving tomorrow (I knew a couple people that didn't leave when they said they would), and #3 I love you (I didn't go a day without some random person on the street telling me I was bontio or beautiful). There was many a Thursday I would show up to Spanish class in rough shape, mostly because I had chosen to partake in 'Ladies Night' at Aqua Lounge the night before. Towards the end of my stay I tried avoiding touristy places like the plague, the same party is only fun so many times, and did my best to hang out with people from school and those locals I had come to know. That's not saying I didn't take part in a good party when the opportunity arose. My second last night in Bocas was proof of that! All I'll say about that night is 1 tequila, 2 tequila, 3 tequila,... That was my best night in Bocas but the next morning was also the worst. Self inflicted but when in Bocas...

Now I'm sure there's a part of you thinking 'No wonder she's exhausted. Partying every other night will do that to a person!' You wouldn't be wrong either, but the exhaustion felt in Bocas is so much more than just the physical from partying, for me there was the mental exhaustion from constantly being on guard. I never once felt unsafe, but there were times were I did feel uncomfortable, being a light-haired, blue-eyed, white girl in this country puts a bit of a target on your back. At the risk of scaring a few people, there were cases of people being robbed while I was in Bocas, and right before I left for Panama a couple girls from Holland went missing in Boquete. It was a very sobering reminder that bad things can happen to good people. I am so grateful I had a good group of friends where we would look out for eachother. I consider myself lucky to have left Bocas with all my valuables and only happy memories.

On a less serious note, I can't reiterate enough the great times I had in Bocas (if you need a reminder, just check out my previous posts :P). I'm already looking forward to the next time I get to walk down those familiar streets, take a water taxi, and buy guava in the park. Bocas will always have a special place in my heart, it's the first place in this big wide world I ventured out into on my own, the first place I dove, and the first place I never wanted to leave.

Although this post may sound quite sad, the more I'm looking into what I can do and see in Australia, the more excited I am to go there! My worldly adventure is 1/3 complete, I can't wait to see what the next parts bring!

I'm going to miss this!!

 

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Scuba Groupie

My last week in Bocas was amazing! Extremely sad to be leaving but I'll give some final thoughts on that later.

I have spent more time and money than I care to admit at La Buga Dive, but every time I went there I was welcomed with open arms and a great place to hang out. My initial plan was to only get my Open Water Certification, but because I was there so much Tony and Leandro suggested to me one day that I should consider doing my Advanced Open Water. They were extremely good salesmen and the only con I could think of was that it would cost me more money, so after twisting my arm (very gently) I agreed to do it. Such a great decision! To complete this certification I needed to complete 5 adventure dives and although they were challenging, they were also tons of fun! The 5 I chose/were chosen for me were: Deep Diving, Navigational Diving, Night Diving, Peak Performance Buoyancy, and AWARE Fish ID. Don't worry, for you non-scuba types I'll explain.

Deep Dive: This one's somewhat self-explanatory, we went deeper than I had ever gone before. As an Open Water diver the deepest I could go was 18m, but on this dive we went down to about 30m. The coolest part about this dive was noticing when the laws of physics started to take over. By the time we reached the bottom I could no longer see the colours red and orange, I may or may not have thought a tomato was a pepper. At this depth you could really feel the water pressure change as well. I had read this would happen but until you actually feel it for yourself, there is no way to describe it. Normally I have no issues breathing through the respirator, but at this depth it felt like I had to really work to be able to breathe. That initial sensation was a bit scary but that feeling went away after a short period of time. The last thing we did down here was crack open a couple of eggs, which seems very simple but at this pressure the yolk stays somewhat solid. Watching an egg spin underwater was more entertaining than I care to admit.

Navigational Diving: So much harder than you think it would be. I needed to swim in a square and then swim straight along one heading then straight back. The first time I attempted both of these skills I failed, horribly, Leandro needed to come find me to do them again. I've needed to use a compass before but with very little points of reference underwater it was so much more difficult. Although I will probably never lead a dive myself, I now have huge amounts of respect for the dive masters at La Buga, because 9 times out of 10 we would finish the dive right beside the boat and I would have no idea where I was.

Night Diving: The only skill I needed to perform of this dive was swim away from the group in one direction and then swim back to the group. Farily simple and once this was complete it was diving like normal. This dive was fairly boring to begin with but then all of a sudden we saw tons of marine life. We saw tons of fish I'd seen before (big pufferfish, trumpetfish, drummerfish, lobster, crabs), when we happened across a sea turtle! I was so excited to see it, I didn't even think our lights would disturb it until Leon turned off my flashlight, we had woken up the little guy from his sleep. We followed it (I'm fairly certain it was a hawks-bill) for a little bit using a red light and there were more than a few envious people back at the shop when we got there. Highlight of my diving in Bocas, quite possibly.

Peak Performance Bouyancy: The goal of this dive was to only use your breath to control your position in the water. Any use of hands and you had to start the skill over. Some of them were quite easy for me, hovering in place and swimming through a hoop, but others were extremely difficult. Trying to touch your mask to a stick on the bottom of the ocean or look at a piece of coral close up, while not using your hands for balance, was the most difficult skill I had to do throughout both dive courses. I was glad I had somewhat mastered this skill though, as during this dive, Leandro found the tiniest little seahorse hidden among the coral. If I would have had a pocket to put it in, I would have...

Fish ID: This dive was fun because I got to learn all the names of the common fish that I had seen everytime I went out diving or snorkeling. On this dive I learned that male parrotfish will change their sex if there is a shortage of females, Mother Nature does some crazy things. I discovered that I would personally rather look at the fish and watch what they are doing for curiosity's sake rather than to gain information, way more entertaining that way. The last new creature we found on this dive was a spotted eel, was kind of gross looking, but still neat to find.

Sometimes the best things in life aren't planned. It didn't even cross my mind to do my Advanced Open Water but I am so glad I did. I got to see a couple animals I have loved since I was a child and living in a land-locked province, it has always been on my bucket list to see these animals in the wild. Diving has definitely become my new addiction!

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Under-Appreciated No More Part 2

As it was a fairly quiet week by Bocas standards, time for Part 2 of things I will never again take for granted!

#6 My Own Transportation: Another inanimate object I'm going to hug when I get home is my car. Most days I don't mind the walk back and forth to school, but when it's pouring rain or I'm just feeling lazy it would be so nice to have my own vehicle. I also need to catch a water taxi 2 times a day. At night it's not a huge deal, you just walk up to a dock and there's always a plethora of boats. This is a completely different story in the morning. Luckily for us, our dock is located along a common boat route coming from Bastimentos Island, the issue lies in whether or not a boat happens along, there's room for a couple more people, or if the boat captain happens to see us waving them down. Nothing like an adventure first thing in the morning.

#7 Cool Summer Nights: I have never sweat so much in my entire life, thank God for air conditioning! During the day the heat is awesome, you can cool off by going to the beach and swimming, but at night it doesn't cool off much. This is mostly due to the outrageous humidity (80%) everyday. I know I shouldn't complain about the heat after that awful winter we just had in Saskatchewan but this is a case of too much of a good thing. My favorite part of summer is having a fire on the beach after dark, and it's weird that I haven't been able to do that yet. We would probably melt if we tried!

#8 Afternoon Naps: So far my list has been entirely about things at home, but there are things I will miss down here! Almost every other day I'm able to take an afternoon nap in my hammock. They have been some of the best naps I've ever had in my life as I am not stressed about homework or work related things. It's the first time in a long time I've had no deadlines other than the ones I've made myself and having the chance to completely shut off my brain is fantastic.

#9 Pleasant Rain Days: It has rained a lot here, but unlike at home, rainy days are not cold. With an umbrella you stay relatively dry but I can still walk around in shorts and a tank-top. Besides having a wet taxi ride back to the island, I've had some of my most relaxing days when it rains. It cools off (just a little bit) and you can spend all afternoon listening to the rain on the roof. These are good catch up days for me, I spend time uploading pictures from my camera, writing for this blog, or general housekeeping things I've put off because I've been busy doing beach things. These are also days where I read the most. I've finished 3 books since I've left Canada and I'm so enjoying reading for pleasure again.

#10 No Deadlines: Now I do have a few deadlines, but I don't count flying to a new country as a super stressful. For as long as I can remember I've had deadlines for school or work, and this is the first time where I've been able to work with my own schedule. Having that amount of freedom is so refreshing and I am doing my best to enjoy every minute of it!

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Water World

Well I have just about come full circle with my time here in Bocas del Toro. I say this because last week was the first week where the activity board at school did not have an event I hadn't done already. Which meant I went and visited my favourite places!

Way back on June 1st, I went Catamaran sailing with almost all my classmates. We stopped at Dolphin Bay again and stopped at a couple awesome snorkeling spots. It was such a nice change of pace from the everyday go, go, go of Bocas. Most of us were able to take naps out on the front, it was so relaxing to hear the water trickle by the boat. The snorkeling itself was pretty cool as well as I had never snorkeled along a mangrove island before. It was so neat to be able to look in through all the roots and see tons of baby fish hiding out in there. I saw my first baracuda while underwater here as well. Although it wasn't that big, it was still one of the scariest looking creatures I've seen underwater. I'm not sure what I'm going to do that first time I see a shark!

June 3rd was my convocation day back home in Saskatoon and I celebrated in style! Steve and I went out to visit Emma at the Blue Coconut (are you noticing a pattern yet?) and had a fantastic afternoon. Steve and I took a couple paddleboard out expecting to just go around a couple of the mangroves. What we found was so much better! Thinking there might be a path to the other side of the island, we cut through an opening in the trees and ended up finding a cove full of hundreds of jellyfish! Not a place you would want to fall off the board but it was so calm and quiet, there was no fear of that. And that wasn't the only cool part of our afternoon! Once we got back to the restaurant we went snorkeling through what had to be thousands of sardines! Never in my life have I seen that many fish in one spot together. Watching them move as one while swimming through them was so facsinating at one point I forgot where I was and accidently rammed my head into a paddleboard floating by the dock! Again the hospitality was second to none and I'm not sure if was that or the smack to the head that caused my head to ache in class the next day...

I did my first night dive during this week too! It was one of the craziest and coolest experiences I've ever had. We weren't in the complete dark, we all had flashlights, but you could see nothing beyond the circle of light. We dove a spot called 'The Wall', aptly named as it is a wall of rock and coral, so there was nothing below us or to our backs. It was so freaky to look away from the light and see complete blackness, knowing that there could be something out there looking at you but you can't see it. As always we saw some pretty neat marine life: octopus, toadfish, a giant grouper, a piece of coral that was absolutely covered in arrow crabs, and lobster. At night, the marine life is way more active so most of these animals were out in the open, at one point I came across a crab that opened up a shell fish and ate the insides as I was sitting there watching it. On this dive I learned that the lionfish in the area are pests and doing a ton of damage to the coral in the area. As we had 2 dive masters with us (Tony and Leandro from La Buga), a spear was brought along just in case we found one (I thought it was for protection, go figure). Tony found one and pointed it out, all of us diving for fun were watching it when, suddenly, Leandro comes from the back and spears it! Appartently, they make a good ceviche. For the last part of the dive we stopped on the bottom, covered the lights, and stirred up the water to see the bioluminescence. For my first time night diving it was pretty exciting!

Bit late on my weekly post, but I'm working on Bocas time, so really, I'm right on time! :P

A relaxing cruise.

Those black patches are all the sardines!

This was my Convocation Day!

 

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