Life in Cairns - Part 1

Hello everyone! We finally got back yesterday morning after a more problematic than usual journey. In a nutshell, the check-in people didn't know how to route our bags to a remote place like Palembang. And, when they finally found somebody who could, they still ended up screwing it up because when we got to the boarding gate, Aaron and I were supposedly offloaded from the flight. Somewhere in between, we had our hand luggage weighed and had to repack because although we were within the weight limits, we had it crammed into 2 bags and not 3. On the plus side, Aaron was asleep by the time we were halfway down the runway and we had a relatively pleasant flight.

We were in Cairns for three relaxing weeks. You'd think that I'd have lots to blog about after being away so long but we mostly kept to the same daily routine. When Richard finally joined us, we did venture out to some of the nearby sights but I'll leave that for tomorrow's post.

Our morning routine was the same for almost every day there. Aaron and I would wake up about 6am, get ready and take a short walk to the lagoon. We were usually there for about two hours. My father and sister-in-law sometimes joined us. And when Richard was there, he would sometimes do solo "lagoon duties" while I stayed in to do some sewing. Yes, I took the sewing machine all the way to Cairns.

They had some lovely fine, white sand on one side of the lagoon. Aaron couldn't get enough of it and seems to have brought some all the way back to Palembang!


Here's a photo with my sister-in-law and her funky sunglasses. Aaron adores her and especially enjoyed the time at the lagoon when she came along.


After the time in the lagoon, Aaron was usually worn out and in need of some food and a nap. So after morning tea, he'd go for a 2 hr nap. Sometimes my mother would put him to sleep so that I could walk around Cairns a little.

My father had his own daily routine of walking down to the esplanade with his crab pots and fishing rod. He caught a couple of legal sized crabs for dinner each day and on Christmas eve, he managed to catch a total of 5 for a feast!



Here I am, being very disinterested in the fishing because the sun was crackling my skin.



And here is Aaron with his first ever catch.





Afternoons were varied...shopping, lazing at home or maybe running some errand but at around 5pm each day, there was another round of swimming. This was at the pool in the apartment complex. We all chipped in to help Aaron get comfortable in water. My brother would come back from work and go straight down to the pool with Aaron. In the beginning, Aaron would not let go of whoever he was with but by the time we left, he was willing throwing himself into the pool and trying to dive under. I was amazed at his progress and hope that he doesn't forget it all while we're here.

In the evenings, we carried the dining table out to the balcony for some alfresco dining. Every single meal was delicious and of course the company was the best I could hope for.



Even though we didn't have big outings each day and instead, had a very predictable routine, I think I enjoyed it more than I would have if I had tried to pack all sorts of trips into the time there. We had time to relax, chat, laugh, eat, watch dvds and basically enjoy time together with the whole family in a wonderful location. What a life!

I'll be back with the photos from our drives to Port Douglas, The Mossman Gorge and Crystal Cascades tomorrow.