One of our last days in Cairns we went to the beach with Mary and Yusuke. We all took the bus up together, packed a lunch for the day, and had the best lazy day at the beach. It was incredible. 
We swam, laid out (not that it matters because now, two weeks later, I’m back to being pasty pale 
), dug holes, and went for long walks. Melissa, Ian, and I went on a long walk together that afternoon. Melissa got tired and went back to our beach, but Ian and I continued onward. While I missed being able to get in the water to cool off wherever I saw fit (instead of just the netted areas), Ian and I enjoyed the walk. We’d find coconuts rolling in on the beach from the ocean, and Ian would pick them up and toss them back into the water. We sat down to rest for a minute, drinking in the sights and sounds of the ocean on a fairly deserted beach. Even though the mood was light, our conversation got pretty deep. We started talking about going home, getting serious about looking into jobs, sprucing up our resumes, our goals when we got home, making a budget to ease the burden of moving costs, and several other things regarding going home. Even though our move is nine months away, we have to get serious about it and start thinking about things. I can’t think of a better place to discuss such things than an Australian beach. 
In the last blog post, I showed a picture of one of the many don’t-swim-in-this-water-because-of-crocs signs that are posted by creeks and rivers in Australia’s brackish water. Just as a reminder, one is posted below. We were wrapping up our day and taking a picture of said sign when I nice fellow walking his dog came up behind us and said something like “If you were here the other day, you would have seen croc tracks heading down to the beach.” 
He told us all about the crocs living in the water and how occasionally dogs and other pets would go missing in the area…… He said that he always kept VERY close watch of his dog near the water. He was the sweetest guy, and we had a fairly lengthy conversation about crocs, Cairns, tourism, living in Japan, America, and several other subjects before we had to peel away and catch our bus.
Our last two days in Cairns went by way too quickly. On our second-to-last day, Ian received an email from his boss and had to work on a few things and get those emailed in. Therefore, Melissa and I took the opportunity to have a little girl time and explore Cairns one last time. However, we all decided to go to Rusty’s Market (the open air market) for breakfast before we parted ways. All week long I had been dreaming of eating a delicious mango, and I knew EXACTLY what my breakfast was going to be. Melissa bought some cherries, Ian got lychees to try, and I bought the biggest dang mango I have EVER seen. We went outside to a table to eat, and it was then that it dawned on me. I didn’t have a knife, spoon, or any utensil that would allow me to eat my mango. Hmmmmm….. Did that stop me? NOPE! I simply peeled back the skin, placed a plastic sack on the table under me, and dug my face into the sweet fruit. Mango was EVERYWHERE….it was on my nose, in my hair, covering my fingers, and the orange juice dripped down my chin and cheeks. I’m sure people were watching, but I didn’t care! Melissa laughed and said that if we put an empty cup beside me, people would probably think that I was a homeless person, and we could make money off of the deal. Ha! Ha! So worth it, though!
After we were stuffed full of fresh fruit, Melissa and I rode to one of the things that I definitely wanted to hit up before we left, the mangrove boardwalk. Although there are some impressive sized mangroves around the city, I thought it would be cool to go see the boardwalk. While it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting…..more swamp than anything….it was pretty cool to to see tiny iridescent crabs scuttling along the tangled mess of mangrove roots. Even though the boardwalk was right next to the airport, the mangroves were so thick that we could barely hear any distant city or airport sounds. Our next stop after the mangroves was the botanical garden. It was also just so-so. I’m glad we got to go, but it definitely wasn’t my favorite thing on our trip.
That night we met up with Mary, Yusuke, and Amanda. It was the first time we’d all been back together since Japan. We sat around and talked for what seemed like hours before going to get ice cream and calling it a night.
On our very, very last day in Cairns Melissa, Ian, and I took the day to do our tourist shopping. We bounced from store to store buying small souvenirs for friends, family, and ourselves. One thing that I was really happy with was Ian’s hat. Allllllllll week long, he wanted a Crocodile Dundee-looking leather hat. I told him that it was just too much and that we had already spent so much money on the trip…….knowing full well that I had found out the perfect birthday gift for him. I secretly snuck off and bought it when I said I “went to the bathroom” on Saturday and hid it in my backpack all day. He had been whining about the dang hat alllllllllllll week, saying how he wanted it and that it wasn’t THAT expensive, but I kept shooting him down. As the day wore into night that last day, I finally couldn’t take anymore of his constant whines and pulled the hat out of my backpack, saying “I REALLY wanted to wait for your birthday to give you this….but here.” His eyes immediately lit up, and I’m pretty sure that he hasn’t taken the silly hat off of his head ever since.
We left early on Sunday morning, waking up at 6:30 to double check the room and make sure that everything was packed, eat breakfast, and get to the airport. None of us wanted to leave, but alas….all good things must come to an end. The flight from Cairns to Shanghai was about eight or nine hours, then we had an hour layover in Shanghai, flew to Fukuoka, and then drove home. That was our second experience with China Eastern Airlines, and while the price was CHEAP, the experience was……definitely something else! That was the CRAZIEST airline experience I’ve EVER had! I previously discussed how Chinese culture in general is loud. So…..cram a plane full of Chinese people, and you’ve got mass pandemonium. Imagine the worst flight you’ve ever had with that one obnoxious/drunk/stupid guy who just won’t shut up. Now imagine a plane full of them. There were people shouting to other passengers halfway across the plane and people having a conversation with other passengers five rows in front of them. Even though I was listening to music with my earphones in, I could still hear the constant buzz of conversation as clear as day. Napping was darn near impossible. Even when it was quiet-rest-time and all of the lights turned out and shades closed, people continued their loud, annoying conversations. UUUGGGHHHH!!! Another thing that surprised me was that they would get up and just stand in the aisles whenever they wanted to or congregate by the bathrooms…..things that would DEFINITELY not fly (no pun intended ) on any American airline. Even though we experienced some turbulence and the pilot had the “fasten your seatbelt” sign on, people still decided to get up and walk around. It was ridiculous! Mary was sitting further back in the plane than us, and she said that when the duty free lady came around, it was darn near like a flee market. She said that people jumped on the lady, demanding this and that. Oh, yes….flying China Eastern was DEFINITELY an experience!
Although we were all very tired and just ready to get home, our flight was late leaving Shanghai. We boarded on time, but then we sat at the gate for about forty-five minutes. Once we pulled away, we still had to wait on the tarmac for another forty-five minutes. When we left the airport in Fukuoka, all of us were a bit chilled. Going from summer to winter in one day isn’t fun at all. When we dropped Mary off in Kumamoto City, we all thought it was cold. By the time we reached our home in the mountains of Kuma-gun, the three of us were FREEZING. Whenever Ian and I got home at 2 AM, I jumped in the shower. The hot water felt great, but as soon as I got out, I realized the error of my ways. No matter how many layers I put on or how many blankets I drug out of the closet, staying warm that night was quite a challenge!!
So……that’s it, folks! That concludes our adventure to Australia. I hope that some day I can return to such a beautiful and magical place, but if not I can always remember the wonderful times we had there!
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