The Great Barrier Reef

We spent the day on the Great Barrier Reef, over two hours each way by sailing vessel to reach the Michaelmas Cay where we swam, snorkeled, and lazed on the ship's deck. Staying in the water for more than an hour was a challenge due to the winds and chilly water. The most amazing part of the underwater view was the various corals... lavender, brilliant blue, yellows and greens. There were huge clams with purple flesh as well as the many colored fish. Abie saw eels and a Manta ray in the sand. The trip back to shore was exhilerating for us with swells from 4 to 6 feet high (my guesstimate). I was loving it and so was Abie, though many were not due to sea sickness.
After the all day trip out to sea, we walked through the Night Market with it's many vendor stalls and food court. We decided to have a Chinese massage, which was so great... and we ate from the Chinese buffet. We also just had to taste the gelato, in fact we had a cone from each of two vendors since they looked so great and we couldn't decide..mmmm. The Hotel Cairns is nice and very accomodating. They gave us a complimentary dinner which included a raw beef filet mignon on a cooking stone, cooking as we ate... amazing! Today is a do what we feel sort of day with no adventures scheduled, so we are off to the gym for a workout before breakfast (no scones here! so must look for a new favorite with tea)