Bad News:  Paleo Diet suffered a massive blow in the past week...complete and utter failure, by way of "biscuits" (cookies) and frequent greasy boat-cooked meals.  "Do not pass GO.  Do not collect 200". However, it was a successful Day 1 back home in the Gold Coast. Sigh.

Good News:  It was one of the best trips of my life!  Not only am I now PADI certified for scuba diving and can go anywhere in the world (next up: Fiji), but we had such an incredible experience in Cairns and on the Great Barrier Reef with Pro Dive Cairns -- definitely the best in the business.  After completing a few days of classroom and pool courses at the local facility, we loaded up on new scuba/snorkel gear (mine is so cute - all black and pink!), and boarded our 40-person yacht for 3 days and 2 nights on the Great Barrier Reef.

Though my paleo-fail-of-a-diet may have contributed to significantly more buoyancy, I was able to complete 9 dives (Doug had 11) in the 3 days. It was AWESOME and I didn't even screw up my other ear!  (Phew.)  Aside from the crystal clear waters and breathtaking coral, we saw hundreds of species of fish (yes, lots of Nemos!), sea turtles, barracudas, 5 ft purple clams, starfish, angry Moray eels (gulp), and lots and lots of sharks!  

The night dive was definitely my favorite.  It's pretty eerie to jump into black water, holding only a flashlight and a glowstick.  The blasting techno music from the loudspeakers DEFINITELY helped as we jumped in one by one.  You have a strange sensation that something is watching you down there...something with much better night vision than humans -- didn't love that feeling.  We even went as far as to ATTRACT the sharks by turning off our flashlights and hovering at 6-9 meters under the surface.  They came.  Doug chased them.  I yelled profanities at him into my respirator, to no avail.   We survived...and now I can't WAIT to do it again!  :)

The tour was fantastic -- friendly & energetic Aussie crew (with killer music), delicious food, and we even met some lifelong friends -- evidenced by the fact we stayed out with them in Cairns until 5:30am on our last night in town.  In truth, Doug stayed out until 5:30 -- I had some kind of a chicken schnitzel wrap (??) and was happily tucked in at the hostel before 2...I heard.  (Side note: Does anyone actually know what schnitzel is?  Is there a Paleo version?)

Finally we are back home on the Gold Coast, where it has finally stopped raining and it is nice and toasty.  Looking forward to planning our next getaway to New Zealand in another month.  Send your recommendations, please!