Travels to the Edge

Time to visit the Great Barrier Reef. Rob and I took a day trip charter with around 30 other travellers. The crew looked after us - wetsuits, masks, snorkels and flippers And off the boat- and below the surface… Defying gravity …   After some fish feeding,  time to relax and head back to Cairns.  Paula prepared a delicious meal. And we bid ‘bon voyage’ to the cruise ship.

Up the range behind Cairns lies the Atherton Tablelands - a region of lakes and rainforests and fertile pastures. Almost everything grows there! I took a sunrise walk along the marina. A distant ship … on the horizon - became a next door neighbour  Lake Eacham on the Atherton Tablelands was our first stop. Watch out for local wild life! The walk around the lake was serene. From a distance and close up! It was a delight to visit Yungaburra, and have lunch at the pub Back on the Cairns waterfront- with the new neighbours- after a day on the Atherton Tablelands.

Cairns in tropical northern Queensland is idyllic - a welcome opportunity to visit friends, Rob and Paula, and escape the cooler winter months in southern Australia.  I took an early morning tram and the airport bus to Melbourne Airport. I arrived around noon in time to enjoy the closing day of the Cairns Festival. Street markets, music and dance nearby the Botanical Gardens  I enjoyed the change of scenery and climate! Rob and Paula’s apartment is close by the marina The road north towards Port Douglas runs close to the coast  Through rainforests and by secluded resorts, like Thala Beach. And exclusive neighbourhoods- George Harrison had a place near here. We made it back to Cairns marina in time for a moonrise It’s wonderful to be here!

All things must pass. This Camino is coming to an end. Finisterre has been an opportunity to unwind and think back.  Yes I did spend time at the beach - reading THE medieval travel guide on the Camino, informative and orthodox, and very weird in parts. Other times were spent writing. I am happy with what I have done. I am looking forward to more recording and refining on my return home.  Mar de Fóra beach is an extraordinary place- naturally scenic and even mystical, especially at sunset. And now for something completely different! The Finisterre Pirate Festival. Hordes of locals gathered the other night to celebrate Finisterre’s pirate past. I could just imagine this place being a haven for pirates - Ahhh! Two pirate ships ‘motored’ in and did all sorts of pirate stuff like rescuing castaways, frightening the locals… Burying treasure.. . A couple of poor sods were abducted and made to walk the plank - while punters looked on and cheered.  Lots of locals, young and old, c...