128 Days Around the World

March 12, 2020

Cairns, Australia

When I was here in 1997, we had an excursion to snorkel in the Great Barrier Reef. It was an amazing experience and I had considered doing the ship tour to the reef. I am glad I did not. The boat they were on lost an engine and it took them three long hours bobbing around in the rough seas (cyclone brewing – more on that later) to get back. They never even got in the water. Good news is they are getting a full refund ($300) back.

Once again I woke up to rain against my window so I puttered around until it let up a little around 10. I headed off the ship and it was just sprinkling. By the time I was out on the street it started to pour. I was near Jennifer (who sometimes eats at our dinner table) and she shared her umbrella with me although I did have my raincoat one. I thought I would pass out it was so hot with it on.

So where is a good place to go when it is pouring ? The mall, of course. Cairns Central was about four blocks from the terminal. It was nicely air conditioned and had free wifi – who could ask for anything more? I looked around and went in the Target (although the name and logo are much like the US one, they are not related) and K-Mart. I visited the Coles grocery store but I had stocked up yesterday at Woolworths. I had a good lunch at a kebab place in the food court and had time to get through my e-mail and catch up with some of the blogs I read. I really wanted an ice cream but could not find any place in the mall to get one. There was a Daiso store which I have enjoyed in a couple of countries. Think of it like a Japanese dollar store but most items are AUS$2.80 (about US$1.81). They have some of the cutest items, especially paper products.

I walked back to the ship a different way than I had come. It was still raining but not as heavily as when I was walking to the mall. I found a shop and bought a few souvenirs. It finally stopped raining as I was walking from the terminal to the ship.

Although I had walked less than in Sydney, I was exhausted from the heat and humidity. I had a cold Coke in my cabin, and worked on my knitting.

From listening to the TV, I understand that coronavirus is now being called a global pandemic. Needless to say, there is a lot of talk on board about it. Crystal Serenity has cancelled the rest of its world cruise in Perth and is sending everyone home. People talk about what HAL will do with us. So far, the Cunard world voyage is continuing and it is part of Carnival Corp. just like HAL so we may go on, too. One problem, however, is that some ports are refusing entry to cruise ships that will likely mean more changes to our itinerary. In fact, I heard a rumor today that we will not be going to Madagascar (we had it cancelled two years ago because of the pneumonic plague).

I finally roused myself for 4:30 trivia. Diana and I joined the “We Don’t Need Google team”. We had 15 out of 18 and the winning team had 18.

1.Which magazine, which began in 1922, claims to be the most read one in the world?

2.What name is given to a piece of land rented to grow food?

3.A sericulturist breeds what creatures for the material it creates?

4.What game was Bing Crosby playing before he died?

5.JVC released the first VHS in 1976. What does VHS stand for?

I had already planned not to go to the MDR because there was an 8:30 game. I had dinner in the Lido right before sail-away. The captain announced we were almost underway around 5:30. He also mentioned that we were going to miss the tropical cyclone which is moving in the opposite direction from us. Captain Mercer came back on just before 6:00 saying that there was going to be a medical disembark and departure would be delayed. I watched on deck as the ambulance arrived but left for 6:30 trivia before the passenger left the ship.

None of my team was there so I played with Janet’s team (I did not get their team name). We had 17 out of 20 but the winners had 19.

1.What is the closest living relative to the T-Rex (DNA-wise)?

2.What type of gas gives neon its color?

3.How many points is a bullseye in darts?

4.What soft drink is believed to have gotten its name because its pH is over 7?

5.What five types of tastes humans can sense?

I had not had dessert before trivia so I went back to the Lido. There was a piece of chocolate cake that looked good but it had coconut all over the top so I decided I would wait and get the room service chocolate cake. Was I ever disappointed when my cake arrived and it had coconut!

I was too tired for the 8:30 game and plan to make it an early night. I expect to be in bed by 11 pm.

Three sea days ahead!

Afternoon trivia

1.Reader’s Digest

2.allotment

3.silkworms

4.golf

5.Video Home System

Evening trivia

1.chickens

2.argon

3.50

4.7-Up

5.sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami

Around Cairns