They call it the Great Barrier Reef for a reason

8:02 PM, Wednesday Feb. 6

It's official: the Great Barrier Reef lives up to its name. It's not some marginally cool reef, nor is it some mediocre reef--it is Great. The Barrier Reef isn't as subjective, so I don't need to explain that part.

I went sailing on a sailboat out there (and I still feel the waves, even though I'm on solid ground--I think it has something to do with the water that remains in my ears) and snorkeled in the reef, and it was incredible. The water was super-warm, even Mom would have had no problem just jumping in. The coral was really cool, and we saw lots of different types. I cuddled with a clownfish (though I didn't name it Nemo, that's just tacky) and pet it a little bit, apparently they like it. I also pet a sea cucumber, which was awesome since I have a personal attachment to them, no pun intended since sea cucumbers stay where they're put, har har. I also swam with a shark! A five foot long one! It was hanging out in the murky waters, and kind of snuck by me. Still, I pulled up my feet and my breathing started sounding even more like Darth Vader than it usually does when you snorkel. It was so cool! Apparently there was a manta ray, but I missed it, and only one person saw it so she could have been making it up. We went out on a sailboat, which was rad since I've never been sailing before, and they gave us free lunch, fruit, crackers and cheese, wine, and cake. As a cheap backpacker that tries to avoid spending money on luxuries like food, it was awesome. I met two other girls from England (like most young travelers here), and we're going out later on tonight. We also got to explore an island called Green Island. To imagine it, think of a postcard that says "I'm in Paradise, Wish You Were Here" or something lame and cheesy to that effect. Anyways, the island you're picturing on the postcard is what it looked like. White sand, jungly, and bright. It was excellent.

My hostel is great--I splurged and paid an extra $1 a night to only share my room with two other people, and they're both pretty cool. Julie is from Wisconsin and is learning to dive, and we had a great time going out to dinner last night and scouring Target for alarm clocks, and Julia is from Argentina and is the epitome of a hippie backpacker. She woke up this morning at 4 AM to do yoga and meditate, is a vegan, has dreadlocks, and didn't want to turn on the air conditioning last night because it's bad for your lungs (I wanted to point out that it's also bad for your body if you don't sleep, and without AC, there's no way we would have been sleeping), but didn't end up coming back anyways till 2 or so, and then peaced out at 4 to do her yoga. She's nice though, and didn't outwardly judge me when I made myself a sandwich with cheese on it, though she looked like she was inwardly judging. The guy that works at the travel counter is super-nice and gets bored a lot, so it's nice to hang out with him. He's got tons of good tips of where to go, how to get there, which tours to do and which to avoid, etc. Plus, he occasionally lets me use his internet for free and let me use his phone. He's an excellent connection to have.

Cockroach update: the one in the bathroom is still there, and has grown bigger. It's now moving its legs around with alarming frequency, and I have now vowed not to use that bathroom and to switch to the other one. Apparently there was one on our door last night that was about a foot long (seriously?! they get that big?!) but thankfully I didn't see it, or else I probably would have moved out.

Happy birthday to Brianna, may 21 be the best so far!