Cairns..so far

I arrived in Cairns late Thursday night and it has been quite disappointing. There really isn't anything to do here and the town doesn't have that relaxed atmosphere of Byron Bay that seemed to lend itself so well to inactivity. There are beaches everywhere, but you can't swim in them. During the wet season, the water is filled with box and blue bottle jellyfish. Once the rain stops, the deadly and very aggressive salt-water crocodiles take over the ocean waters. Therefore, we are reduced to sitting in swimming pools near the ocean, constantly being teased by the waters of the Pacific.

Cairns is a huge party town. Most stay out late, drinking at one of the 40 hostels, copious nightclubs, or scattered pubs about the town. The hungover day that follows is spent sleeping of lounging by the pool. The extreme temperatures and humidity real kill the desire for any activity.

The main draw of the town is its central location for exploring North Australia's dense rainforests and it lies right in the heart of Australia's greatest tourist attraction, The Great Barrier Reef. The town's entire economy is driven by drinking and diving. It is too bad that diving gives me minor panic attacks, because I am in the best place in the world to do it. Thankfully snorkeling is a perfectly acceptable alternative.

Currently, I am impatient waiting for Eline and Mirte to arrive from Darwin. Yesterday, I finally received word of their impending arrival. Friday is the day. Once Friday comes, the active part of my travels will begin. There will be snorkeling, sailing, lots of hiking and camping, and of course the unavoidable fruit picking. So far the next few days, I will sit by the pool and finally begin to digest the one book in my bag that requires copious amounts of time and concentration: The Brothers Karamazov by Fydor Dostoyevsky. Then at night in the true Russian fashion, I'll have loud boisterous conversations at a pub someplace. My time will be filed with fun and extreme existentialism.