December 7

**First, this is "The Clipper". Second, Matt and I with the 'sand-man' that we made at Whitehaven Beach**
The three of us just arrived in Magnetic Island. Lindsay, Matt & I spent the last three days on a Whitsunday Island sailing trip (I went for free, woo hoo!!) We left on Tuesday at about 2pm and went down to the Marina to get onto our boat and begin the trip. Our boat was called "The Clipper" and had 5 crew and 53 passengers. It was SO great that it was big!! I loaded myself up with ginger before we left so that I wouldn't get sea-sick. I even got sea-bands and gravol just in case. The three of us stayed in the same room, our cabin was pretty nice. At first we were confused because we were separated from the rest of the passengers in a room near the back of the boat. We later realized that we were sleeping in one of the crew rooms & were lucky to have air conditioning and our own personal bathroom. At one point, one of the other passengers noticed me coming out of there and asked 'is it boiling hot down there too?' hahaha, I just said yes and hoped she didn't notice we were getting the royal treatment. The first day we didn't get off of the boat at all. We took the time to meet some of the other passengers, eat dinner and start the party. The night was great!
I woke up in the morning at about 5am... SO seasick!! By 5:30am I gave in and got out of my cot to sit on the deck for a while. Only the crew members were up and told me I had JUST missed the sunrise. Too bad. I tried eating some fruit salad to make myself feel better, but it just didn't do the trick. One of the crew members that I had made friends with the night before, Jimmy, took me under his wing to try to help me feel better. He showed me all kinds of cool things about the boat and even let me drop the anchor!! Pretty special, I know. We went to whitehaven beach. It was GORGEOUS! crystal clear water, bright white sand & mountains in the distance. We couldn't swim without wearing stinger-suits. In the afternoon we went snorkeling. It was incredible! The great barrier reef is stunning. We got out of the boat and were floating at times about 3 feet away from the reef, with bright fish swimming all around. We loved it!!!! When I got into the water, I didn't realize that the coral was so close and I cut my foot on it. It's SO sharp. Apparently coral is so dirty that I could have a really serious problem with the cut, so I'm trying hard to keep it clean. We went snorkeling twice that day. After getting back on the boat, my sea-sickness went away (hallelujah) and the rest of the day was great. That night was another party on the ship. It was funny because Lindsay and I had made friends with 2 of the crew members so we spent a lot of the time talking with them. Almost all of the other girls on the boat were really ... (looking for a good word) ... crazy & loose. They were running around drunk in their bathing suits and trying to get the crew to notice them. Lindsay and I laughed so hard every time the guys just rolled their eyes and avoided contact. Another good night.
We were up early again the 3rd day, but I didn't feel sick at all! A lot of the people on the boat woke up in the morning covered in bed-bug bites. The three of us didn't have any problems at all, but it's scary & gross to think about. We got off the boat and wandered another beautiful island before heading back to the boat and sailing home. It was a pretty fantastic trip. & I have to thank the boat company for making a mistake and letting me go for free.
This morning, we got on another coach and took the 5 hour bus ride to Townsville. From there, we took a ferry over to Magnetic Island where we're spending 2 nights. This hostel is gorgeous & right on the beach front. It's nice to be out of Airlie Beach where every night was a party.