CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

April 11, 2023 — I started my morning off feeling a little more steady than the previous day. Checkout time at this hostel was more like a hotel in that it wasn’t until 11:00am, so I took advantage of the extra time. I still had my unused breakfast coupon so I went to the bar and exchanged it for a delicious slice of toasted banana bread, topped with Nutella, sliced banana, and a strawberry. It was such a good start to the day. After breakfast, I packed up my stuff and checked out of the room, then waited across the road from the hostel for the bus to the ferry.

I had a bit of a wait until the ferry left, which I had timed so that I could pick up a couple things at the IGA if I wanted to. I had a five-hour bus ride ahead of me and wanted to be able to grab snacks if needed. I decided against it, ultimately, and finished my crackers and Brie from the day before while waiting for the 11:00am ferry to Townsville.

The ferry landed in Townsville around 11:30, which was about an early for the bus to Cairns. I read and waited, then finally was able to board. It was a pretty quiet ride with some rather show-stopping views. The mountains were shrouded in cloud and mist more often than not, which made for a stunningly moody tableau. I watched Despicable Me and What’s Your Number on Prime Video in between glades at the scenery.

One of my pet peeves with buses is when the drivers don’t call the stops quite right! We pulled into Gordonvale, a smaller town about fifteen minutes from central Cairns and it sounded like he said this was the Cairns stop, so I got off the bus. When I checked with him, he told me that it wasn’t the right stop and that the right one was another fifteen minutes up the road. Boy, was I glad I checked!

We pulled into the station in Cairns and I followed Google Maps for the walk to my hostel. I checked in and headed up to my room on the first floor, way at the other end from the nightclub, which was a relief. I was staying at Gilligan’s, which has a nightclub attached and is a famous party hostel. I’d been hearing horror stories about people not being able to sleep, so the fact that I was away from the bulk of the noise was a relief. It was also so nice to walk into the room and feel cool air settle onto my skin. Working air conditioning and a decent night’s sleep. Living the dream here, folks!

I found the laundry on the ground floor after settling in and finally, finally, got some clean clothes. I’d been carrying my dirty stuff around since Airlie Beach because I didn’t do any in Townsville and then on Magnetic Island they wanted you to pay $6 for the washer just because they provided the laundry soap. Thanks, but I bought my own laundry soap in Bondi Beach so that I didn’t have to buy it again for a long, long time.

When my clothes finished, I walked to Dominos and got myself a pepperoni pizza. It’s a home thing: late nights scream pizza to me. I ate while I called home and then took a combination cool/warm shower and went to bed.

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