We’re off to the Great Barrier Reef on a perfectly sunny day…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 26, 2015 with 0 Comment

We were shocked to see the reasonable price on this exquisite arrangement at only AUD $20, USD $14.20. Our daughter and family had sent us a similar bouquet sent to us in Hawaii, most likely at 10 times this price.

With bad weather heading to Queensland, we were concerned we’d go on yet another long boat ride only to be sitting drenched in our rain jackets. To date, we’ve had numerous less-than-successful boating excursions throughout the world.

On whale watching expeditions, we’d yet to see a whale within photo taking distance. On sunset cruises, its rained such as was the case one year ago on the Seine River in Paris.

There is a wide array of both common and less common fruits and vegetables at Rusty’s Market.

On other boat tours we’ve been disappointed with rough seas so bad we could easily have booked a ride on a roller coaster for an equal amount of rattling and commotion. Also, we seldom sighted the marine life we’ve anticipated during a boat tour, unable to take good photos as the boat rocked to and fro.

Hopefully, today’s excursion to Green Island in the Great Barrier Reef will prove to be more fulfilling and less about a crazy boat ride and more about the scenery that awaiting us.

The sign is marked, “spray free, custard apples” priced at AUD $4.50, USD $3.19 per kilo (2.2 pounds)

With all the cruises we’ve taken with many more to come, it’s obvious we enjoy being on (as opposed to in) the ocean. In our past lives, we both were avid boaters owning boats for a majority of our adult lives.

As a single mom at 29 years old I purchased my first boat which I kept docked in St. Albans Bay on Lake Minnetonka in Minnesota USA. It was called the Tootsie Roll Boat due to it brown, orange and white colors.

More traditional fruits and vegetables including corn, oranges, tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers.

Tom purchased his first boat at 29, an Alumacraft fishing boat and later purchased a ski and fishing boat, a Fisher Sweet 16, when he was around 30 years old.

Some of the vendor’s displays occupied huge areas in the market while others are as tiny as a card table.

As a result of our past experiences, we both generally have enjoyed being on the water and thus have booked some type of boating tour in most countries where we’ve been close to water.

What? Chocolate pudding fruit? Sounds interesting. Priced at AUD $3.50, USD $2.48 per kilo.

As a result of the past boat tours in our world travels, our expectations are in check, hoping for a good experience. Realizing that most of our upcoming photos of marine life in the Great Barrier Reef will be taken through glass we don’t expect perfect representations of what lies below. We’ll definitely do our best to take good photos.

Another equally affordable bouquet of locally grown flowers.

This morning we awakened to a bright sunny day adding to our mutual enthusiasm to finally see one of the world’s greatest treasures. In posts over the next few days, we’ll be included historic and geographical information on the Great Barrier Reef with facts nature lovers may find interesting.

Fresh flowers are scattered throughout the market, adding to a colorful visual.

Our beach bag is packed and we’re set to go other than a necessary stop along the way to the pier in Cairns to purchase bottled water. Much to our delight, we’ve been able to drink tap water in Trinity Beach without any intestinal problems.

At only AUD $3, USD $2.31 each, a gorgeous bouquet could be put together for a reasonable price.

Its the container for our iced tea that we’re lacking that a large bottle of plain water will provide. Once in hand, we’ll add the packets of iced tea we’ve been hauling around the world with us and be set for beverages for the entire trip.

Today, we’re posting the final photos of our visit to Rusty’s Market and look forward to posting our photos and stories of our tour to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

Photo from one year ago today, August 26, 2014:

The Regency Hotel, Queen’s Gate, where we stayed for two weeks while in South Kensington, London, UK was under construction. Noise with a cluttered entrance at times didn’t bother us at all. What we found most inconvenient was their wifi policy charging huge daily fees for a poor connection. Later in our stay, we were able to get the hotel manager to waive all of our wifi fees for the 16 nights. For more details, please click here.

Negative comments from a reader…Torn about responding…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 20, 2015 with 8 Comments

Sunrise over Trinity Beach.

It’s a rarity that a reader sends us a negative comment. When it does occur, perhaps once a year, I struggle over whether or not to post the comment or to ignore it.

Long ago, we wrote that the intention of our site is about joy and fulfilling dreams, not an arena for negative comments and bantering back and forth in disagreement over topics or comments we’ve made. That doesn’t mean we shy from a discussion. But, in doing so, kindness is always of the utmost importance.

We don’t express political or religious views or present any negative comments regarding any person’s beliefs or preferences. From time to time, I may discuss frustration over the food industry’s money orientated goals of presenting chemical-ridden foods at us in the US markets. If this offends anyone, that’s never been our intent.

Over these past 41 months, since we began posting, we often mention the recovery of health I’ve experienced from changing my diet, a choice I’ve made for life. Tom joined me in this path except when on cruise ships and dining in restaurants.

Through sharing recipes and resources through books and medical research documents, we’ve had an enormous response from readers all over the world who have chosen their own path through their own research.

In dozens of cases, readers have written to us via private email requesting the book list we compiled that helped me discover my own path which if they choose, may prove to be beneficial for them.

We never claim to be medical professionals or experts in any of these fields. We always encourage readers to seek professional assistance in choosing their path to improved health.

We’re simply laypeople, literally hungry to learn ways in which we can extend the quality of life in our senior years, which ultimately adds to the joy of continuing our world travels, hopefully for years to come.

Yesterday, when I received this comment, I struggled over whether or not to upload it to the site. The reader wrote:

“Your husband is right. You obsess over food. It’s annoying and will probably mean I quit reading altogether. I read only about the first couple of paragraphs of this page, scrolling down, and when I came to the recipe, scrolling faster.”

Here is the link to the post on which the above comment was made. (Oftentimes, readers are “catching up” reading posts from months or years ago). This post was uploaded in March 2014 but the comment arrived yesterday. If you’ll click the link to this post and scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see comments made by other readers at that time.

I didn’t post the above reader’s comment online in the “comments” section at the end of the post. I didn’t since it included her name and to avoid publicly using a person’s name to address an issue, I am posting it here without the name.

Now, for my response to the reader which I assure you is done so, not with the intent of criticizing the reader but to address what may in fact be an issue for some of our other readers…our ongoing discussions of food:

Undoubtedly, I make frequent references to food including the shopping, quality of products, my perceived healthfulness of products, our way of eating, recipes, and often photos of meals we’ve had in restaurants or cooked “at home.”

As all of our readers are aware, changing my diet changed my health to such a degree it allowed us to travel the world. Had this not happened, we’d never have been able to travel. I won’t go into all of that again. Most of you know the story.

But, traveling the world is often a story about food and culture. In reading many travel sites, we often find ourselves admiring food photos and stories since for many travelers, it’s all about the food, the great restaurants, the fabulous finds of the “tucked away” spot that filled their bellies and hearts with love and joy, often a treasured story they’ll tell for years to come.

For us and the limitations of my way of eating, we tend to stay away from restaurants in some countries which are more inclined to use flour, sugar, and starch in the preparation of food.

This reality definitely hinders our experience to a degree. In a way, it’s a limitation, not unlike those that many people experience at some point in their lives. And, we chose to adapt to the best of our ability…finding homemade food, grocery shopping, and recipes bringing us that same kind of pleasure.

Yes, I’m obsessed with food. Always have been. Always was a great cook and loved to entertain. It’s a hobby. It’s a passion. Food is love. And now, for us, food is medicine. And yes, Tom occasionally reminds me about my passion, obsession, and hobby as he gobbles us the next plate of fabulous food, thanking me for a good meal.

Another important point for us, perhaps beyond our personal enjoyment of food is the hundreds that have written to us over these 41 months that have asked for booklists, information on medical research, and recipes that they may decide to peruse in their own search for renewed health.

If in this process, only one person through gaining inspiration in reading our posts has found a solution through a diet that has improved their health, every single one of the 1112 days that we’ve sat here writing and researching will have been worth it.

As for the recipes, there are literally hundreds of people that have written to us requesting recipes for a meal we’ve mentioned or a food photo we’ve posted. Instead of spending the recipe via email, knowing there are others less inclined to write, we post the recipe online.

If this above-mentioned one reader decides to stop reading our posts that’s a personal choice and we’re saddened by that decision. It’s easy to scroll past those points that one may find less interesting or desirable to their owns tastes and interests.

Our goal is not singularly about food. If you’ve had an opportunity to read the posts of the last several days regarding safety it’s evident that is the case. We strive to provide a wide array of topics that may appeal to all ages, those who sit at their kitchen table each morning, a cup of coffee or tea in hand, that travel along with us.

We feel your presence and appreciate every single one of you.

Photo from one year ago today, August 20, 2014:

We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum for an excellent educational day. For more photos, please click here.

Both of us had a great day at the museum.

Venomous snakes and snake bites in Australia…First aid for snake bites information…A personal venomous snake encounter 17 months ago…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 19, 2015 with 0 Comment

The most venomous Australian snake: the Inland Taipan or Fierce Snake

(Not our photo). The Inland Taipan or Fierce Snake reported as the most venomous snake in Australia.

Yesterday’s Sydney Herald newspaper posted this story we’d also seen on the news throughout the day about a Fremantle woman who was apparently bitten by a snake while on a walk on the beachfront esplanade, a paved boardwalk generally free of high grass and brush.

After being bit, she walked home to her husband showing him the bite, an ambulance was called. She later died at the hospital. (The hospital is yet to confirm that her death is a result of a snake bite until after an autopsy is performed). She had a penetration mark on her foot. Had she not walked home instead, immediately calling for an ambulance, she may be alive today. We extend our deepest condolences to her family.

Then again, we don’t know all the facts and can only surmise based on what’s being reported in the news. Apparently, from what we’ve read online snakes are often seen in the Perth metro area especially as the weather warms.

The second most venomous Australian snake: the Eastern Brown Snake

(Not our photo). Eastern Brown Snake, purported the second most venomous snake in Australia.

Paying attention by diligently watching for snakes in high-risk areas has been on our radar these past several years especially after spending so much time in Africa where 3,529 people die each year (or much more unreported) from snakebites as opposed to considerably fewer fatalities in Australia:

Australian Snake Bites

“In Australia there are about 3,000 snake bites per year, of which 200 to 500 receive anti-venom; on average one or two will prove fatal. About half the deaths are due to bites from the brown snake; the rest mostly from tiger snake, taipan and death adder. Some deaths are sudden, however in fact it is uncommon to die within four hours of a snake bite.”

From the World Health Organization (WHO):

“Envenoming resulting from snake bites is a particularly important public health problem in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries situated in Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Latin America. A recent study estimates that at least 421,000 envenomings and 20,000 deaths occur worldwide from snakebite each year, but warns that these figures may be as high as 1,841,000 envenomings and 94,000 deaths. The highest burden of snakebites is in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa.

Snake bite is primarily a problem of the poorer rural populations in these regions and affects mainly those involved in subsistence farming activities. Poor access to health services in these settings and, in some instances, a scarcity of antivenom, often leads to poor outcomes and considerable morbidity and mortality. Many victims fail to reach hospital in time or seek medical care after a considerable delay because they first seek treatment from traditional healers. Some even die before reaching hospital. Hospital statistics on snakebites therefore underestimate the true burden.”

With our second highest worldwide readership at this time from Australia, (the first highest from the US), we decided it was important to post this snake bite information from Dr. Struan K. Sutherland, gleaned from published university papers. This comprehensive report appears to be the most highly informational and detailed we’ve found in Australia.

If only one Australian or citizen of other countries learns how to respond to a snake bite from reading this post, our post was well worth the time and effort. For our readers in areas with low risk of snake bites, we’ll be back tomorrow with a more generalized post.

Included in this report is first aid for snake bites as follows and also includes more photos of venomous snakes in Australia:

First Aid for Snake Bites:

“Do NOT wash the area of the bite or try to suck out the venom!

It is extremely important to retain traces of venom for use with venom identification kits.

Do NOT incise or cut the bite, or apply a high tourniquet!

Cutting or incising the bite won’t help. High tourniquets are ineffective and can be fatal if released.

Stop lymphatic spread – bandage firmly, splint and immobilise!

The “pressure-immobilisation” technique is currently recommended by the Australian Resuscitation Council, the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists.

The lymphatic system is responsible for the systemic spread of most venoms. This can be reduced by the application of a firm bandage (as firm as you would put on a sprained ankle) over a folded pad placed over the bitten area. While firm, it should not be so tight that it stops blood flow to the limb or to congests the veins.

Start bandaging directly over the bitten area, ensuing that the pressure over the bite is firm and even. If you have enough bandage you can extend towards more central parts of the body, to delay spread of any venom that has already started to move centrally. A pressure dressing should be applied even if the bite is on the victims trunk or torso.

Immobility is best attained by application of a splint or sling, using a bandage or whatever to hand to absolutely minimise all limb movement, reassurance, and immobilisation (eg, putting the patient on a stretcher). Where possible, bring transportation to the patient (rather then vice versa). Don’t allow the victim to walk or move a limb. Walking should be prevented.

The pressure-immobilization approach is simple, safe, and will not cause iatrogenic tissue damage (ie, from the incision, injection, freezing, or arterial tourniquets – all of which are ineffective).

See the AVRU site for more details of bandaging techniques.
This poster from thefirstaidshop.com.au is worth keeping.
Bites to the head, neck, and back are a special problem – firm pressure should be applied locally if possible.

Removal of the bandage will be associated with rapid systemic spread. Hence ALWAYS wait until the patient is in a fully-equipped medical treatment area before bandage removal is attempted.

Do NOT cut or excise the area or apply an arterial torniquet! Both these measures are ineffective and may make the situation worse.
Joris Wijnker’s Snakebite Productions has more information on envenomation and he can supply a suitable first aid kit and booklet.”

Had the above mentioned woman seen this information at some point, she may be alive today. Walking home increased her heart rate and could easily have contributed to having the venom flow through her bloodstream more quickly. The patient should be immobilized until emergency professionals arrive on the scene.

The number to call in Australia for emergency assistance is triple zero…000

(Not our photo). The Tiger Snake.

While we lived in Africa for nine months, much of which was spent in areas with some of the world’s most venomous snakes are found, we made every attempt to educate ourselves immediately upon arrival.

An important aspect of snake safety is STAY AWAY. Many snakes will not provoke an attack and often bite when aggravated or stepped on. Many reported fatalities are attributed to foolishly trying to kill or handle a snake.

The number to call in Australia if you find a snake in your yard or home is Wildcare Helpline: (08) 9474 9055

One may think we’ve had little exposure to venomous snakes. However, we actually had a personal encounter with the extremely dangerous Mozambique Spitting Cobra in South Africa that fell from the ceiling on our veranda landing next to Tom’s bare feet while we were sitting near each other busily distracted while working on our laptops.

For our personal story and photos of a Mozambique Spitting Cobra experience on our veranda, please click here.

Over these past few days, we’ve focused on recent news stories we’ve gleaned from TV news, all relevant in our travels in one way or another. Soon, in less than three weeks, we’ll be living in Fiji without a TV and be reliant upon online news. We both have auto flash messaging that pop up on our laptops from various news sources worldwide, enabling us to stay well informed.

When traveling the world, we’ve found it vital to stay informed as to world affairs, including political unrest, wars, natural disasters, health-related events, weather-related issues, and financial chaos as in what recently occurred in Greece, all of which may have a huge impact on our travel to a specific location.

We continue to exercise caution and practicality interspersed with an ongoing passion for a certain degree of excitement and adventure commensurate with our interests, abilities, and desires as we continue to explore the world.

Stay tuned for more…

Photo from one year ago today, August 19, 2014:

The busy streets in South Kensington made us thrilled that we could travel almost everywhere we wanted to go on foot. For more details, please click here.

Mission accomplished…Tip for travelers to Australia…Solutions for us…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 12, 2015 with 0 Comment

This parasitic plant appears to be a face looking up to the sky with leaves in its mouth and throat.

We apologize if today’s topic doesn’t apply to you. However, in today’s world, this subject is important for both business travelers and tourists, technology while on the move.

Three years ago, we found information on technology in other countries other than our familiar USA often confusing and difficult to understand. Each country has its own means of providing Internet service to its residents and the concept of SIM cards is unheard of in some countries.

Although we’ve covered this topic in the past, with our influx of new readers who may not have had the time to go back and read our prior 1104 posts (duh), we share this update today particularly as it applies to a non-resident traveler to Australia which includes Tasmania and a few other Australian islands.

It’s winter here now with fewer flowers blooming than in spring but we love seeing flowers during the off-season.

A bit of review: When we booked the house in Trinity Beach, it listed free wireless Internet access is included in the rent. For the average user, this may have been ideal.

The signal is available in this property via a router in the owner’s house above us, making the distance alone an issue by providing a strong signal in this large property. This is not unlike a router in your own home not providing a strong signal on another level such as a basement or upper level.

Also, we are sharing that router connection with the owners who are often home and online at the same time as us. This creates a very difficult scenario. If we were typical tourists only needing access to email and occasionally searching for restaurants and “things to do” this wouldn’t be an issue.

But for us, not only posting each day with the inclusion of many data hogging photos and our intensive searching for future travels causes us to run into considerable issues with the slow and inconsistent signal especially if we’re both online on the house’s router at the same time.

Shooting up at our vacation property from our return walk. The owners live in the huge upper level while we live on the ground level smaller though the ideal property.

Within a few hours of our arrival, we realized we had a serious situation that would prevent me from being able to upload our daily posts. As discussed in an earlier post, we had no choice but to head to a local phone store, Telstra, to search for a solution, hopefully using our own global hot spots by inserting one of their SIM cards.

Simply put, a SIM card is a small card inserted into phones, routers, and various wifi devices that picks up the local wifi signal for which the user is charged for the data via a prepaid or billed service. Please click the link for a more detailed description.

As it turned out, Australia is locked up with cell phone contracts. There’s no such thing as the use of a global SIM card in this country. Either purchase a prepaid SIM card or a two-year contract from one of the local providers or eels one is out of luck.

Essentially, Telstra allowed us to borrow a hot spot without a rental fee for the device while we paid for the data which we’ve reloaded on several occasions online through their website. As it turned out, I exclusively use the hot spot while Tom uses the wifi in the house. The cost of data for my use is a cost of USD $102.26, AUD $140 for 16 gigabytes of data.

Pretty bougainvillea we found on a walk in the neighborhood.

I use all 16 of these gigs every three weeks, renewing for an additional 16 gig once it gets down below 2 gigs. Then, I go online to Telstra’s website: m.telstra.com to easily renew. Tom could easily log on to the hot spot but his data use is calculated exponentially.

It took me a few times to figure out that the online data reload won’t accept a credit card issued outside of Australia. As a result, its been necessary to pay using PayPal, a secure service we frequently use for online payments.

Once we activated our first SIM card in Australia, I’ve never experienced an outage, difficulty getting online, or an issue uploading posts or photos. Simply put, it works well.

However, before we leave Trinity Beach we’ll return the loaned hot spot while we’ll continue to travel in and out of Australia over the next 21 months. How will we handle our wifi needs when our own hot spots won’t work here and we’ll be at hotels, on ships, and at ports of call during which we’ll be required to pay even higher fees for data for often a poor signal?

Pink bougainvillea was in abundance in Kenya during the heat of the late fall season.

The only logical solution was to purchase our own Australian hot spot (they don’t carry unlocked universal/global hot spots) and reload the SIM card as required. Ultimately the cost of the device itself was the biggest issue. We already knew the cost of the data.

Upon visiting the Telstra store in the Smithfield Mall yesterday, spending considerable time with a rep encouraging us to take a two-year contract, we ending up deciding on the most economical decision…no contract, buy a device, load data as needed.

With a few devices available we opted for the following device as shown in this photo which includes 3 gigs of complementary data which should see me through a few days and must be used within 28 days from purchase. Once that data is used we’ll reload the SIM card. Once reloaded, the new data expires in a year.

Our new Australia only hot spot purchased yesterday at Telstra.

Thus, we’ll be able to be online when we go to the airport in Cairns, when we stay at the hotel in Sydney before flying to Fiji when we wait at the airport in Sydney before boarding the plane to Fiji. Once we arrive in Fiji, the device will be dormant during our entire stay, fired up again once we’re back in Australia in January for a cruise.

Once we arrive in New Zealand later in January, again, we’ll figure out a solution that will work for us. With Fiji upcoming, we’ll do the same. There’s no country we’ve visited in the world where the wifi was an easy option considering our use, even when we were in Hawaii where we couldn’t purchase an affordable SIM card to use in our global hot spots. Luckily, the houses in Hawaii provided strong signals.

We wondered what was beyond this barn in the neighborhood.

The cost of the hot spot was AUD $99, USD $72.33. It pays for us. You may think that as a traveler to Australia for a two-week vacation/holiday that this won’t pay for you. However, as a traveler requiring considerable data use or those choosing to avoid paying high wifi per day fees at a hotel with a poor signal, this may work for you, especially for the business traveler.

Unfortunately, once we permanently leave Australia, we’ll have no use for the hot spot. We look at it this way…we could go out to dinner and spend the AUD $99 without batting an eyelash. At least for now, this is the purchase that keeps giving.

Many travelers don’t realize that using wifi on their phones results in “roaming fees” that may result in $1000’s in surprise fees on their cell phone bill when returning home.

We’d seen these droopy topped agave plants in Hawaii, also found in Australia.

We’ve heard from others about their lack of understanding in this area only resulted in a later discovery that each time they called, sent an email or uploaded photos or, logged into Facebook while on a cruise or traveling, they incurred huge roaming fees when outside their home country.

It’s an ongoing process as we move from country to country. Technology is not universal and may never be so. In the interim, we do our best to figure out the most logical, user-friendly, and economical solutions to best serve our needs.

Photo from one year ago today, August 12, 2014:

There we were at Le Louvre. It was hard for us to believe we were actually there. For more details and photos, please click here.

Who are the other travelers out there like us?…Easy to imagine…Final Port Douglas photos…Lots more new photos coming!

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 5, 2015 with 0 Comment

Boats docked at the marina in Port Douglas.

Urgent Note: This morning our site was down for a short period. If this occurs again, please note that we are aware of it as soon as we fire up our computers in the morning. If for any reason we can’t get it back up again due to a glitch or if blogger.com is down, we will immediately begin working with our web developer to either get it back up again or create an identical site on another server using our exact same website address: www.worldwidewaftage.com Please keep checking back daily. At this point, we aren’t aware of any possible issues that could cause this to occur in the future. Today’s occurrence may have been an isolated case. Thank you for your patience.

This morning while I was getting ready for the day, Tom hauled his laptop into the bathroom to read something to me. He read aloud a post he’d received from CruiseCritic this morning from a retired couple who’d sold everything they owned and are traveling the world for two years.

Train tracks ran along the edge of the marina.

We couldn’t wipe the smiles off our faces when he came to the part that we’ll be on the same cruise with this couple from January 5 to January 19th from Sydney to Auckland. How fun will that be?

Tom has yet to have a single cocktail or beer since we arrived in Trinity Beach almost two months ago. If we do go out to dinner, he can’t drink since I am no longer his designated driver when the driver sits on the opposite side of the car that I’m used to, drives on the opposite side of the road that I’m used to and shifts with their left hand. I’m not that coordinated!

To sit face to face with others living the same life as ours and discussing all the pluses and minuses should be enriching and enjoyable. As soon as we’re done uploading today, we’ll write to them and make a plan to stay in touch so we can connect while on the cruise.

With their two year-end time and our indefinite end time, there’s a difference for the long haul. But, having sold everything they own, house, cars, and stuff should create some interesting conversation. We’re curious as to what they’ll decide to do at the end of the two years. We’ll let you know what we find out.

Purple flowers in the park.

We have no doubt that there are many retirees traveling indefinitely like us throughout the world but we’ve yet to encounter such a couple face to face on our past 11 cruises.

There are plenty of pubs and bars along the esplanade in Port Douglas and at other beaches.

We’ve looked online and found many travelers without a home base with minimal stuff at varying stages and ages and have enjoyed reading their posts, lurking in the background such as the case with many of our worldwide readers.

Is this a cherry blossom tree? (This photo was taken through the windshield).

In each case, we find similarities that are refreshing and interesting from another’s perspective. Also, there are many differences which mostly include a plan to settle down somewhere in the future.

We continue to spot these African Tulips in one tropical/humid climate after another, originally spotting them in Kenya two years ago.

Of course, there are literally millions of ex-pats all over the world who have left their home country to live in another country, adopting an entirely new way of life.

Many juice bars and coffee shops lined the streets often filled with tourists.

Many ex-pats buy homes and condos, rent houses or apartments, buy cars and furnishings Some even acquire work permits in order to get full or part-time jobs to supplement their income. A certain number of ex-pats go as far as to forfeit their home country citizenship to become citizens of their new country.

It wasn’t too difficult to find a parking spot.

It’s highly unlikely that we’d ever settle down in another country (or anywhere for that matter) than the US. In essence, at this point, we can’t imagine that we’ll ever settle down anywhere until we’re on our last leg.

This boulevard was a clothing shoppers haven with numerous boutiques and shops.

Even if an injury, surgery, or illness stops us for a period of time, our plan will be to take time to recover in a vacation home near medical care and once back on our feet, pick up where we left off.

Once beyond the shopping and dining areas, the streets were lined with vacation properties.

Maybe “talk is cheap” or we don’t have a clue what we’ll be doing in several years. That could well be true. Four years ago, we’d never have imagined we’d be living in Trinity Beach, Australia, heading to the market and fitness center today and in a month from now heading to Fiji for four months where we’ll live on two separate islands.

Who takes a photo of sand? I couldn’t resist when the sand at the Four Mile Beach was the finest and softest sand we’d ever seen. It was almost as fine as powder.

In a few months, on Halloween, it will be three years since we left Minnesota on October 31, 2012. In January, it will be three years since we left the US. Our family expected we’d give up after a year or two. And here we are, now planning well into 2017 and soon into 2018 and beyond

It all boils down to only a few aspects for us:

1. Are we happy? Yes!
2. Can we afford to continue? Yes!
3. Are we healthy enough to continue? Yes!

If and when any of the above changes to a “no” we’d have to make a dramatic change in our lives. As for questions #1 and #2, those two are entirely within our control. Number 3 is the challenge and the unknown.

Yep, there is a Target “Country” in Port Douglas. Target originated in Minnesota, USA, our former home state.

For us, happiness is a choice we make by spending each and every day being grateful and in awe of our lives, in each other, and in the world around us. Keeping our relationship young, vibrant, and harmonious is a huge element of our happiness especially when we’re together constantly, attempting to never take one another for granted.

Then again, no relationship can ever be taken for granted when we heard this morning that Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog are breaking up after 40 years!

Photo from one year ago today, August 5, 2014:

We took this photo of the Seine River from a bridge as we continued on our daily hikes through Paris. For more photos, please click here.

First earthquake in Queensland in almost 100 years…5.7 magnitude…Four Mile Beach, Port Douglas photos…One year ago Paris photos…

Posted by worldwide-admin on August 2, 2015 with 0 Comment

Most of the beaches in Queensland are sandy.

Queensland is a large state. A 5.7 earthquake rattled the eastern coast of Australia near Frazer island, only after another quake of 5.3 magnitude hit the same area a few days earlier.

There’s no doubt that walking and biking enthusiasts would want to tackle the entire distance of the Four Mile Beach, the beginning shown here. No thanks.

Geoscience Australia stated the earthquake stuck 119km northeast of Rainbow Beach at a depth of 10km at around 1:38 pm (AEST). This was apparently the strongest earthquake to hit Queensland since 1918 and is reported to be 10 to 20 times stronger than Thursday quake.

The sand at the beach is as fine and soft as silk.

We’re not very close to this area. It’s a three-hour flight from Cairns to the island which includes a ferry ride, too far for us to feel the quake. But, the news is abuzz with constant reporting on this unusual event.

As we entered Four Mile Beach.

We can’t help but pay attention to these natural events as we travel the world. Recently, we’ve paid special attention to the eruption of Mount Raung in Bali, which closed the airports off and on for weeks as it continued to erupt. This could easily affect us in our two future trips to Bali.

The views at the Four Mile Beach are breathtaking, as are most beaches we’ve seen throughout the world.

How ironic is it, that we’ll have been living on two islands with erupting volcanoes, far apart from one another 16 months apart? Visiting Mount Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii was an extraordinary experience, especially when our family was with us witnessing this once in a lifetime experience together. Well, maybe seeing lava won’t be a once in a lifetime experience for us after all with Bail in near future plans.

Now that we’re not worried at all as compared to how worried we were a year ago when the lava could have overtaken the area in which we booked the two houses for our family visit last Christmas in Pahoa on the Big Island. That was quite a worrisome event.

We took this photo the night we visited Mount Kilauea, which we visited with family in late December 2014. For more of our volcano photos, please click here.

Where would we have put 14 of us last minute in Hawaii over Christmas? Thank goodness it all worked out when the lava took a turn the last several weeks and our location was off the high-risk list.

This morning the news is reporting about last year’s horrific crash of MH370 Malaysia Airlines and finding a part of the plane on Reunion Island. Neither of us had heard of Reunion Island until we lived in South Africa.

Tom lounging on the veranda at African Reunion House, where we lived for several weeks while in South Africa, thanks to our hosts, Louise and Dani. For more details on this house, please click here.

At that time, we stayed in the above fabulous house managed by Louise and Dani, Reunion House, aptly named after the owner’s home base on Reunion Island. We pray that the balance of the wreckage is found to bring a little peace to those who lost loved ones in the awful crash.

On the return drive, we stopped to take photos of the end of the Four Mile Beach.

Oh, the world is filled with disasters and bad news. Sometimes I wish we’d stop watching the news which even in Australia keeps up updated on what’s going on in the US and all over the world. At the moment, on the Sunday morning news, we continue to hear about the tragic killing of Cecil, the lion which continues to dominate the news.

It is a small world. The more we travel, the more connection we feel to many parts of the world when only three years ago we were preparing to explore as we prepared to venture into the unknown.

In no time at all, as we drove back from Port Douglas we were able to see Double Island once again.

Yesterday afternoon, we decided to walk the garbage and recycling down the very steep road to the bin rather than wait until we’d go out again, which is many times per week. Once we arrived at the road and placed the trash in the appropriate bins, we decided to take a walk on the road.

A few ambitious fishermen.

Looking to the left, we saw a huge steep hill, and then, looking to the right, we spotted another huge steep hill. We opted for the right. Forty-five minutes later after walking up and down the hills in the hot sun, we were ready to tackle the huge hill back up to the house.

Although we walk a lot, mostly out and about at various points of interest, we don’t walk with athleticism in mind. (Tom doesn’t like going for walks although occasionally, he’ll humor me as in yesterday’s vigorous walk). By the time we reached our challenging driveway, we were ready to tackle it, and up and up we went. Surprisingly, we weren’t puffing as much as in the past.

We stopped to take photos from a high point on the return drive from Port Douglas.

Perhaps, our walks and my working out again has contributed to our improved stamina. Perhaps, peace of mind over our good health reports has enhanced Tom’s enthusiasm to walk a little more often. We shall see how that rolls out.

Tom with the Four Mile Beach behind him. Gee, look how slim he is after eating homemade meals this past almost two months.

Me with the Four Mile Beach in the background.

Today, we’re staying put, making a Sunday dinner of bacon-wrapped hard-boiled egg stuffed meatloaf, a crust free mushroom quiche, green beans, and salad on the side. As soon as I’ve uploaded today’s post I’ll be making my way to the kitchen to begin preparing the food.

Have a great Saturday and Sunday, wherever you may be.

Photo from one year ago today, August 2, 2014:

We arrived in Paris on August 1st and posted a few posts with the same date. Here is the first video we took in Paris at 10 pm the night we arrived. What a sight! What an experience! It was hard to believe we were in Paris. Click here for more Paris photos.

My pockets were jammed with my stuff when carrying a wallet, phone, or camera in Paris is subject to pickpockets. We were at the City of Architecture in Paris as we walked for hours on August 2nd. Click here for more photos.

Tom on the steps of the City of Architecture and Heritage as we continued on our 5 miles, 8km walk that day.

Part 2…Road trip…Port Douglas…Lots to share after a perfect day…Photos shown in progression…Cecil, the slaughtered lion…One of our lion photos..

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 30, 2015 with 0 Comment

A number of visitors were lounging in this beach park in Port Douglas.

As we toured the town of Port Douglas we were amazed at how easy is was to navigate the many points of interest. Although the downtown area was packed with tourists it had a laid back, unhurried feel uncommon in tourist beach towns.

The main street, Macrossan Street, in Port Douglas consisted of one store, shop, and restaurant after another.

Whether we wandered the quaint streets or walked the Four Mile Beach we always felt safe and comfortable. The only fear was going into the water where stingers lurked in abundance awaiting their next brush against human skin to leave their indelible mark.

Taking photos was easy on a sunny day.

We surmised that the possibility of being stung by one of many of a variety of stingers keeps swimmers out of the water at all of the pristine beaches we’ve visited over these many weeks.

More shopping continued on Wharf Street.

We noticed that there are no vendors lining the beaches in Queensland scrambling in an attempt to sell their wares. Either there are laws regarding this or, we are in an area of less poverty than many other areas of the world we’ve visited in the past.

There are almost 100 restaurants in Port Douglas.

Its become familiar to us to being approached by locals trying to encourage us to purchase their handmade crafts and local trinkets. With no room in our luggage and no home to eventually use or store such products, buying anything doesn’t fit into the realm of our lives.

Many of the restaurants are huge and elaborate attracting the most finicky of diners.

Without question, we certainly appreciate the diligence and hard work of those vendors throughout the world. But, for us, practicality must prevail.

As we wandered on foot a beach area, we spotted the historic Court House and museum. Unfortunately, it was closed or we’d have loved to go inside.

As we wandered the main streets in Port Douglas, we realized that no matter how much “sightseeing” we do, we don’t fit into the typical tourist category. Walking past the shops we chuckled over how unlikely it is that we’d purchase any of the clothing, bags, shoes, and household goods.

Tom was admiring the trees at the beach park.

And, the many charming beachfront restaurants didn’t appeal to our senses either when we’ve resigned ourselves to the fact that dining in restaurants in Australia may not be possible for me.

An unusual tree with a portion of its root system above ground.

Checking out every posted menu as we walked, we further confirmed this fact. Most of the meats offered on the menus are coated in sauces and battered in a manner that doesn’t work for me. The side dishes are starchy and often tinged with sugar.

It’s winter in Australia and we don’t see as many of flowers as there are in the spring.

The thought of spending US $22, AUD $30 for a unseasoned slab of barramundi and a plain lettuce salad doesn’t appeal to me when we can go to our favorite fish market and purchase barramundi for under US $5, AUD $9 a serving, seasoned by us to perfection, with a side of sautéed veggies, a salad with homemade dressing and a coconut flour muffin slathered with grass-fed butter.

We wandered about this beautiful beach park.

When dining in restaurants we have the concern of the food having been cooked in the same pan as those items I cannot have. The risk of contamination is high. Nor do we expect restaurant cooks and chefs to make special accommodations for me with the use of their cookware.

The views from every direction were breathtaking.

Sure, we’d love to visit a fabulous beach area and sit down for meal. But, we always remember that we wouldn’t be traveling the world if it weren’t for my strict low carb, grain free, starch free, sugar free and chemical free way of eating that brought me to exquisite good health after years of suffering.

A buoy to mark low water.

If Tom would like to dine out, I’m happy to join him and order that plain steak or fish and plain salad with nary a complaint. Surprisingly, after all of this time, Tom doesn’t feel shortchanged. Perhaps, that is why he loves cruising.

The tide was low giving us an entirely different perspective of the beach.

While on a cruise, Tom can order anything he wants without concern or worry when the ship’s chefs manage to make everything work for me as they do for many other passengers with special diets.

There are many beaches that are covered with rock but, overall the beaches we’ve seen are sandy.

Without shopping, without dining out, without spending on pricey tourist attractions we happily find an entire world of wonder that we easily appreciate and cherish for its natural and unique beauty.

This enormous Banyan Tree reminded us of the tree across the street from our condo in Honolulu.

In our old lives of seldom traveling, we’d often spend considerable time at the hotel, the pool, the hotel’s beach, a wide array of local restaurants, and visiting a few choice attractions popular in the area. This gave us a limited perspective of the area.

Possibly, a memorial for a beloved individual lost to the sea in this location.

Now, we live in an area shopping in their shops, cooking their locally grown foods, meeting the locals, wandering through their farmer’s markets, and most of all visiting those special places that Mother Nature created for us to respect and, for us to appreciate with love and care.

For this, we are grateful and for this, Port Douglas never let us down.

From this view, we were seated in white chairs facing the ocean, left from a recent wedding. It was a perfect spot for a wedding.

It was these rose petals on the ground that made us realize that a recent wedding had been held in this spot.

On Cecil the lion: We can’t avoid addressing the recent heartbreaking slaughter of Cecil, the lion, in Zimbabwe, Africa. Rather than rant our personal views which our many worldwide readers can easily imagine, we share this well-written tribute by Simon Espley to Cecil on my personal favorite website, Africa Geographic:

“While that rich American dentist and the hunting industry at large, scramble for excuses and justifications for their actions, your rivals will already have killed your cubs and settled into your territory. Yes, those weak ones who could not challenge you now run your kingdom. See more at http://africageographic.com/blog/rip-cecil-lion-king/#sthash.KHlfCBVR.dpuf

You, Cecil, are the reason I am a proud African. Your spirit, your grace, and your courage epitomize my Africa. You are the reason my team and I do what we do. I am so sorry that you had to endure 40 painful hours with an arrow lodged in your body, that you were then shot, beheaded, and skinned – turned into a trophy for a man whose only understanding of Africa is that our laws cannot protect you from his money.

I am sorry that more was not done to protect you and I am outraged that you and your kind are seen not as kings, but as commodities. On a selfish level, I am sorry because I will never see you with my own eyes.

RIP big guy, and know that many of us humans DO care, and we are trying, desperately, to fight for you and yours. A luta continua!” (translated: the fight goes on)

Last photograph of Cecil with his pack friend Jericho (standing) a month before he was killed

Last known photo of Cecil (lying down) and Jericho who both protected their 25 cubs. Now, with Cecil gone, Jericho may not be able to protect those cubs on his own, resulting in their death. (We borrowed this photo from the UK Telegraph).

We took this photo as one of many lion photos that we had the gift of seeing in the Masai Mara in October 2013 while on a photo safari. This experience forever changed our hearts and minds with love and appreciation of these magnificent beings. For more photos and details of our safari which we spread over many posts, please begin by clicking here and continuing on from there.

Photo from one year ago today, July 30, 2014:

Our last night in Madeira, Portugal as we’d begin the trip to Paris in the morning. It was a memorable two and a half months but, as always, we were ready to continue on. For that final post with some of our favorite photos, please click here.

The news follows us…We can run but can’t hide…

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 24, 2015 with 0 Comment

The surrounding mountains remind us of Kauai, although it’s very different here than in Hawaii.

We watch the news almost every day now that we have a TV. Once we arrive in Fiji in early September for four months on two different islands, we won’t have a TV. The only news we’ll be able to access is online from that point forward. Unsure as to the quality of the wifi, it’s questionable.

We walked out onto a very short pier for a slightly better view of the beach.

We haven’t had a TV in a number of past locations and we’ve managed fine without it. After all, it’s only news and documentaries we care to watch, aside from at the moment Australia’s version of Dancing with the Stars that started last Sunday and in a few days, Australia’s version of The Bachelor.

A long stretch of uninhabited beach in Cairns.

We’re not too proud to admit we do enjoy these types of mindless drivel from time to time. Seven days a week, we spend the entire morning researching and preparing for our daily posts. A bit of mindless drivel in the evening is a welcome break from our lives of travel, including writing, researching, and photo and the accompanying challenges and level of planning and concentration required to live such a life.

Oh, we love our lives and particularly enjoy the diversity of our lives. Learning new information about the world around us, visiting venues in our current place of residence, meeting new people with perhaps a different manner of speaking and communicating their hopes, dreams, and views and, the constant search for anything of interest that may appear in the lens of our camera and into our hearts.

A huge tree along the Cairns Esplanade. Looking online, I couldn’t find the name of this tree, but soon we’ll visit the Cairns Botanic Garden (yes, botanic, not botanical) and I’ll update this photo with the correct name. Any suggestions out there?

We spend a period of time some days doing nothing of significance. I’ve gone as far as downloading a few mindless drivel jelly-type games on my phone. I can easily wile away an entire hour of news or a documentary on the TV in the background while playing either of these silly games, paying total attention to both.

Cloudy day at the beach in Cairns at low tide.

Recently, Tom and I have begun playing the card game Gin again after a long respite when I was winning so often he got bored and even angry at times, once throwing his cards across the room. I laughed. We quit playing. Now, when back home, we play each afternoon around 4:00 pm, my preferred tea time.

It’s always interesting to visit beaches at low tide when as more birds wander about the sand in search of tasty morsels.

Actually, now the winning seems to be more evenly distributed and the challenge has improved for both of us resulting in the playing being more fun. No card throwing. No swearing. Plenty of laughing.

We walked along the Cairns Esplanade encountering an occasional jogger or bicyclist.

After we busied ourselves with sightseeing, planned or unplanned, we hunker down to the now-familiar “home” for the time being and do what most people do when not out and about…a bunch of nothing…a series of repetitive, familiar comforting tasks and forms of entertainment which we gravitate toward during idle time.

We hadn’t seen this species prior to the visit to the Cairns Esplanade. After considerable research, we found they are Silver Gulls.

As we watch the news trying to figure out what’s happening in the world, we discover little. Once in awhile the US Today Show pops up on the guide which we’ll watch with curiosity as to what is going on in the US and are often disappointed to see that so much of the news revolves around the rampant sensationalism of Hollywood and its celebrities.

It appears these birds are Silver Gulls, common near the sea in Australia with their pink feet and beaks.

Also, we’re amazed by the constant bashing and criticism of other well-known individuals throughout the world for their human-like flaws and foibles. When did any of us become so perfect that we so easily bash others?

The park at the Cairns Esplanade was quiet with few visitors on a cloudy day.

I particularly cringe over the constant promotion of ways of eating and foods that continue to make the world unhealthy and unfit including the ongoing promotion (by the food industry) of a low fat, high carb diet. Ah, I won’t get out the soapbox that I continue to haul all over the world with us.

Are we missing something wrapped up in our own little world? Based on what we’ve seen lately on a smattering of US news, we aren’t. We both have news apps on our phones and laptops that we reference daily. Our intent was never to be totally isolated from that which is transpiring in the world around us.

We’ve certainly seen our share of palm and coconut trees this past year.

Today and yesterday on Australian news we continue to hear about the disharmony between Taylor Swift and Nicki Minaj and now, enters Katy Perry and her opinions. Surprisingly or perhaps not, the Australian news, so far away from Hollywood and the US entertainment industry is also caught up in reporting the scuttlebutt.

This unexplained orange sculpture is along the path on the Cairns Esplanade. Any comments from our Aussie readers as to the story of this sculpture?

Yesterday, at the market, I noticed the magazines at checkout; Kim’s baby bump, Tom Cruise’s new movie, and Bar Raphael’s wedding plans. Oh, good grief. Give me a break. I want to hear about Stephen Hawking’s plan to discover life on another planet, the newly discovered Earth 2.0 or, what is really happening in the world and how the current horrors are being addressed.

It boils down to this simple fact: One can run but can’t hide. No matter how far away we travel, it’s still there. Although, I must admit that when we lived in Kenya without a TV, we didn’t have a clue what was going on and we didn’t miss a thing.

Cute name for a restaurant in Cairns.

Instead, our news for the day in Kenya centered around when the power was going out again, were we really safe at the grocery store surrounded by armed guards and 24-hour security at our home, or how many venomous centipedes inside the house can Tom squash under his shoe in one day? It’s all relative.

Photo from one year ago today, July 24, 2014:

As we ventured out on a road trip with only seven days until departure from Madeira we continued to revel in the beautiful scenery. For details from that date, please click here.

An accidental tourist…The key to our best adventures…Mangrove Boardwalk…

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 23, 2015 with 0 Comment

It was a dreary and cloud-covered day, not the best day for entering a rainforest-like environment. We entered anyway.

Years ago, I watched an excellent movie entitled, The Accidental Tourist with William Hurt, Geena Davis, and Kathleen Turner. It was a quirky movie adapted from the book of the same name by Anne Tyler.The movie, produced in 1988, generated rave reviews for which Geena Davis received an Academy Award

The vast marsh area was relatively barren before entering the boardwalk.

The name of the movie has stuck in my brain over the years and surfaced when we began sightseeing throughout the world over these past almost three years. The accidental tourist…that’s us. Why is that so?

We never saw another person the entire time we walked through the salt marsh. It was a little eerie entering on this dreary day.

As it turns out, our favorite sightseeing experiences are those we stumble upon as opposed to planning in advance. Whether it’s a beach, a desert, a flock of birds or an interesting neighborhood, when we happen to encounter a photo-worthy scene, it’s often by “accident.”

You can zoom in to read any of these signs.

So was the case a few days ago when returning from the Cairns Central mall when Tom unintentionally turned down a road leading to the airport where a sign prohibited him from making a left turn to the main highway back to Trinity Beach.

Once inside the long, narrow boardwalk took us deeper and deeper into the marsh.

This happens from time to time. How can we possibly anticipate every left or right turn as being accepted on an unknown road when we don’t have wifi on our phones with no cell contracts?

As it turned out, low tide gave us an opportunity to see the unusual tree roots which at times are under water.

We map ourselves the old way. We either take a photo of a map with turn by turn directions before we leave home or commit the directions to memory which here in the Cairns area is easy to do. There are only a few main roads leading to everything.

Notice these little holes that creatures quickly ran in and out of as we passed.

Thus, if we explore without a plan in mind and most often we do, we’re “winging it.” Thus, the term accidental tourist certainly comes into play when we frequently discover an area we may never have found otherwise. Tom’s superb sense of direction always, prevents us from getting lost.

When we lived in Belize, we toured a mangrove area by boat and explored the rainforest.

Plus, a person could drive the entire perimeter of the continent of Australia without a map and never get lost. Following the coastline itself continues for an estimated over 12,700 kilometers, 7891 miles. Click here to see a video by a scientist explaining how difficult it is to determine Australia’s or any other coastline’s measurements.

In certain spots, the holes were larger.

As a result, whenever we drive to a specific location, we find ourselves veering off the beaten path on the return drive hoping to stumble upon something amazing we may have never planned and mapped to see. That’s the essence of what makes our travels all the more exciting.

The more we continued on the boardwalk, the denser the tree became.

If any of our readers review our previous over 1000 posts, it would be apparent that many of the highlights of our experiences have been as a result of being the “accidental tourist,” perhaps not in the manner as implied by the book and subsequent movie but, instead, by the interpretation of the words in themselves.

The fact that these trees survive living in saltwater for part of the season is interesting to us.

As Tom turned down the above-mentioned road that led to the airport with no apparent exit for turning around, we both expected that in moments we’d arrive at either the departure or arrivals levels.

Tangled root systems proliferate in this environment.

Of course, I never complain about Tom having to make such an unexpected turn. I don’t drive the car leaving me with little right to comment about possible wrong turns. Nor would I want to when I, too, am scanning the area for potential points of interest we may have otherwise missed.

We never thought much about these types of areas. Seeing this firsthand gave us a new perspective.

There we were on the airport road and suddenly a small parking lot appeared to the right, a spot where we could possibly turn around to avoid driving into the airport complex. As we pulled into the “car park” a sign read, “Parking for Mangrove Boardwalk, visitors only.” Our interest was peaked. What’s a Mangrove Boardwalk?

Wouldn’t this be a logical spot for crocs to hang out? If one appeared, we were up high enough to avoid being eaten (after I’d take a photo, of course).

Getting out of the car we moved to read the posted signs to discover that the Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk is a scenic, easy to navigate path through a dense saltmarsh and marshlands. To quote from the site:

We scoured the banks of the creek hoping to spot wildlife.

“The Jack Barnes Bicentennial Mangrove Boardwalk is a special place to learn about tropical Australian mangroves and saltmarsh. Visitors can learn about a broad range of species, and some of the key functional attributes of these tidal wetland systems. The walk has two distinct parts, heading either north or south into closed mangrove forests from the carpark situated adjacent to a small saltmarsh and saltpan area.

Water from the creeks remained in some areas of the saltmarsh.

The northern boardwalk extends to Little Barron Creek where viewing platforms are provided at the creekside. About half way along the walk, a canopy tower offers a view across the tree tops. This section of the walk returns in a circuit to the carpark. Signs are placed along the boardwalk to provide information on the many ways that plants and animals have adapted to this interesting environment.

The southern boardwalk offers a slightly different experience and explores a number of different types of mangrove forests. This section terminates at a canopy tower near the mouth of Swampy Creek. Signs along this section provide information on the productivity of mangrove forests.

It was odd and somewhat eerie, never seeing other people.

The boardwalk was opened on 27 February 1988 by Dr. JT Baker, OBE, Ph.D., FRACI, Director of the Australian Institute of Marine Science. It was constructed by the Cairns City Council on land made available by the Cairns Port Authority. Construction was supported by the Cairns Bicentennial Community Committee, with the assistance of dedicated employees who constructed the boardwalk, working closely with the Cairns Port Authority, the Queensland National Parks and Wildlife Service, and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.

Location Details

- Distance/length: Two sections: north 0.8 km, and south 1.2 km

- Location: Just off the road to Cairns Airport.

- Walking Time: 30 and 40 mins, respectively.

- Address: Airport Avenue, Cairns.

- Directions: Directions as if going to the Cairns International Airport, look for signs to Mangrove Boardwalk when nearing the airport.

Contact: For more information: Cairns City Council, Cairns

We wondered if these little sticks popping out of the ground were remains of downed trees or future trees growing in the salty ground.

Walking through this unusual area was both eerie and interesting at the same time. The raised wooden walkway was in excellent condition and easy to walk, although too narrow for us to walk side by side. I led the way while Tom followed behind reminding me not to fall off a few times. I never felt as if I’d fall off the one-meter wide boardwalk without a railing. Then again, he’s always looking out for me.

It wasn’t far down to the ground from the boardwalk.

As we continued on, the mosquitos started to congregate around my repellent free legs causing me to stop on occasion to swat them off. It wasn’t until the next morning that the bites began to itch which still continues today. Alas, I could have refused to enter this heavily forested area. But, being who I am, I was determined to go and never complain.

This complex cluster of tree roots was hard to miss.

At one point, it felts as if the boardwalk would never end and perhaps we’d get lost. I suggested to Tom that we may have to turn around and go back the way we came when there were no signs posted with map of the boardwalk once inside the path.

We stopped to read each sign along the way.

Tom said, “Let’s keep going. The path will come back around to the beginning.”

I didn’t take the time to read this sign when close to the water, the mosquitos were in a frenzy.

We continued on and alas, in time, we eventually found the path that circled around the entire perimeter returning us to the beginning. It was quite an interesting and unusual walk unlike any other than we’d done in the past, except for a few tours on which we embarked into various rainforests in a few countries.

Another large muddy creek, a habitat for wildlife.

The only wildlife we encountered was birds none of which we were able to take photos of and also, the most peculiar little creatures that rapidly ran in and out the holes in the ground at low tide when they heard us coming, again never able to get a good look at them, let alone take a photo. We assumed they must have been some miniature type of marine life.

Finally, we were back at the beginning. Although I enjoyed seeing this most peculiar area, I was thrilled to get back into the car away from the mosquitos. Once inside I noticed a stick roll-on repellent I’d left in the car. Next time we explore, I’ll bring it along, using it as needed.

When the walk ended, we commented on how often we find such interesting spots to explore and that truly our favorite experiences are often those we encounter as “accidental tourists.”

Photo from one year ago today, July 23, 2014:

The scenery over the island of Madeira was breathtaking every day. Our time was winding down and we began to think ahead in this year ago post.Please click here for details.

The progression of a sunrise over the Coral Sea…Pinching ourselves…Not used to it yet! TV in Australia…

Posted by worldwide-admin on July 19, 2015 with 0 Comment

Tom’s first photo of sunrise over the Coral Sea at 6 am this morning.

A few days ago while we were busy with our record-keeping flipping between screens on both of our laptops, a wildlife show flashed on the TV. Australian TV offers a constant stream of interesting documentaries of both its own continent and that of other continents which when we staying in we often keep running in the background.

Quickly, the scene began to change.

It was from watching documentaries that we’ve been inspired to visit many parts of the world. It was in 2004 that we watched a documentary on the Great Migration that stuck in our brains. It was nine years later that we found ourselves in the great Serengeti and the Maasai Mara in Kenya.

He said it changed in seconds, not minutes.

We must admit that while I’m preparing the daily posts and Tom’s busy searching for future travels we keep the TV turned on to Australian news and documentary type shows. Without cable TV and only an antenna at our rental, there’s no BBC, US news, or world news on any of the channels here, although on occasion the US Today Show will pop up for no reason at all.

TV programming by antenna only is lacking, to say the least except for the few treasures we’ve stumbled up. We were warned about this by our shipmates on the last cruise. Most often one can only find “footy” (football/soccer in Australian talk), old reruns of MASH, and a few tiring game shows.

Tom doesn’t usually capture amazing shots such as these. I’m impressed!

We seldom, if ever, sit down to watch the TV itself. It’s only at night after dinner that we watch a few of our favorite shows. Instead, as we’ve mentioned in the past, we feel lucky when there is a flat-screen TV into which we can plug my laptop via an HDMI cable to watch a few favorite downloaded shows. In a few past vacation homes, we had no TV at all and we were content to watch the laptop’s 15.6″ monitor.

At present, we’re watching “Breaking Bad” (starting season three tonight) having recently completed the fabulous seven seasons of Sons of Anarchy, an all-time favorite. Also, we love BBC shows, recently completing Poldark and Crimson Fields, both amazing shows recommended by our friend Liz in Bristol, UK.

By the time I walked out the door, it had already changed this much.

Let’s face it, we’re just like most people who wind down at night to engage in a number of favorite pastime activities such as read, listen to music, drink wine and/or watch a few shows. We all need some “downtime” and the fact that we live a life of travel doesn’t change that fact.

He handed me the camera, but at that point, the magical scene was nearly gone.

By evening, especially after a good meal and cleanup, we have no interest in searching for new places to visit in the future and our brains aren’t working well enough to maintain record keeping or handle financial matters. Those tasks are best served during the day when we’re most alert.

What we’ve found most peculiar about Aussie TV programming is the fact that shows don’t necessarily start “on the hour or half-hour” and aren’t necessarily on at the same time each day or week or, on at the time listed on the online guide. One can easily miss a favorite program if counting on the next episode occurring on the same day and time a week later.

Tom had already captured the very best of it.

As a result, we’ve made little effort to watch any Aussie produced shows other than documentaries that pop up on occasion when we happen to take notice. As mentioned a few days ago, we’ve loved David Attenborough’s documentaries but, there are numerous documentaries about life in Australia, the Outback, and travel around the continent.

Many of these shows we’ve stumbled upon have inspired us to visit various beaches, book more Australian cruises, and consider returning to Australia during the gaps in our itinerary as shown in yesterday’s post.

Mountains and the sea are a perfect combination here in Trinity Beach.

The Australian documentaries are beautifully produced and give the viewer an appealing perspective of this vast relatively low populated continent. With its 23.5 million residents (2014) and size comparable to the US with its 319 million (2014), Australia relatively unpopulated for its size with most of the population residing near the perimeters closest to the sea.

Watching an occasional documentary has inspired us in many ways to further appreciate this unique continent. I supposed we could say that most continents we’ve visited thus far are unique in their own ways for their terrain, lifestyle, and of course, their people.

The beauty of the sunrise wafts away. The beauty of a new day just begins.

Yesterday, we took a drive with more good photos to share over the next few days. Tomorrow morning, we’re off to Tom’s medical appointment and my final test results. Since he won’t be able to have breakfast before we leave due to upcoming blood tests, we plan to go out for coffee and breakfast in Trinity Beach by the sea, weather permitting. Photos will follow.

The dawn of a new day. We’re grateful for every day we’ve been given.

For today, we couldn’t resist posting these sunrise photos Tom took this morning when getting up before 6 am. I heard him go outdoors and I followed shortly but by the time I got outside, the amazing sky had begun to wane. The more intense photos shown here today are his and mine are the less than vibrant batch.

Have a lovely Saturday or Sunday, wherever you may be!

Photo from one year ago today, July 19, 2014:

While in Madeira one year ago, we visited one of the other rental homes owned by our landlords, Gina and Carlos. As we toured the beautiful house, our eyes were glued to the many works of art on the walls including this above needlepoint made by Gina’s mother and aunt. As a result, we posted photos of many of these works which can be found by clicking here.