Michaelmas Cay, Australia

Miles from Christmas (Part XNUMX)


in the sun
Passengers relax on their way to Michaelmas Cay.
International Shipping
Flags of countries with passengers on board wave in the wind.
Top end
One of the small peninsulas of Michaelmas Cay, a sandy islet lost in the Pacific Ocean that birds use as a base for rest and nesting.
Galvinic crowd
Birds of various species share the meager sandbar of Michaelmas Cay, which is semi-protected by Australian maritime authorities.
windbreak
Birds flutter against the wind over little Michaelmas Cay, a sand island lost in the Great Barrier Reef.
amphibious photos
Ocean Spirit's Asian passengers photograph themselves on a flawless summer day off Cairns, in the Australian state of Queensland.
christmas friends
Australian friends photograph themselves in Tropical Christmas mode.
of boat
A crew member of the Ocean Pacific catamaran brings delayed passengers on board.
Australian Pacific
A perfect Christmas day, spent in the translucent waters of the Pacific Ocean.
The balcony
Casal takes a look at the marine activities of the other passengers, from the deck of the Ocean Spirit.
underwater cinema
Submersible passengers observe underwater life around Michaelmas Cay.
blue fauna
Fish investigate the unexpected presence of the small submarine in the service of the catamaran Ocean Spirit.
Saves Christmas Lives
Crew member of the Ocean Spirit catamaran at the water's edge, wearing a slightly Christmas outfit.
Back
Snorkeler swims towards the shallow land of Michaelmas Cay.
of sentry
Ocean Spirit catamaran crew watch passengers in the water.
bird vacations
Oriental vacationer abandons his landing on the beach, shared with dark terns.
In Australia, we live the most uncharacteristic of the 24th of December. We set sail for the Coral Sea and disembark on an idyllic islet that we share with orange-billed terns and other birds.

The end of the year is approaching and the ever-stormy North East Australian monsoon season begins.

Amidst tropical showers and a blazing sun, Cairns remains hyperactive, served by a battalion of young men aussies, Europeans and other parts of the world who flock to the Queensland Top End, attracted by the possibility of combining income with little or no taxes with undisputed entertainment.

Strategically parked teenage pedestrians hand out flyers from guest houses and bars that foist wild parties.

They also suggest a panoply of inexpensive radical activities – of which free fall jumps stand out –, the most likely reason why we see so many teenagers with limbs in plaster when we walk the streets. But they also offer us more peaceful walks around the city's land and sea surroundings.

Catamaran crew, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Ocean Spirit catamaran crew watch passengers in the water.

"no worries mate”. The insecure employee at the Tourism information desk repeats the national expression ozzie-porreirista but doesn't explain it to us any further.

Every reef, island or cay it proves a potential snorkeling or diving tour. Undecided by the profusion of more compartmentalized leaflets and brochures, customers swarm and leave the employee in trouble.

We had already explored a substantial part of the Great Dividing Range tropical jungle and we counted on devoting ourselves, however, to the exotic plateau of the Atherton Tablelands. But this Christmas Eve, the day remained as sunny as it had dawned.

Far from the cosiness of home or the festive company of families, we decided to treat ourselves to a day of pure delight off North Queensland, in an unlikely corner of the Great Barrier Reef.

Boarding towards the Great Barrier Reef

It's just after nine when we arrive at Cairns dock and board the Ocean Spirit, an impressive and welcoming catamaran. The expected passengers arrive a little later on board and the vessel sets sail for the east. We noticed that they hold us with the honor of a small Portuguese flag, side by side with the Spanish, Japanese and several others.

Flags, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Flags of countries with passengers on board wave in the wind.

We settle on the hammock deck already packed with laid-back vacationers and soak up the sun, hot wind, iodine and unobstructed views of the Pacific Ocean.

Other vessels had set sail simultaneously for Trinity Bay and different parts of the Great Barrier Reef.

In the Sun, Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Passengers relax on their way to Michaelmas Cay.

The biggest barrier to the face of the Earth. Or rather, submerged in it

An insignificant segment of an ecosystem that stretches 2.600 km off the coast of Queensland and occupies an area so vast that it can be detected from space and is appreciated with relative clarity from the 11.000 meters that airplanes normally fly awaited us. commercials.

That natural structure is made up of billions of coral polyps. These, in turn, form around 2900 individual reefs to which 900 islands are added, many of them sandy.

Having almost navigated the 20 km route and having heard an endless environmentalist briefing, we were about to dock at Michaelmas Cay, a sand island only slightly elevated from the water that sheltered undergrowth permanently fertilized by the flocks of birds that colonized it and surrounded by abundant reefs. coral.

Guest, Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Oriental vacationer abandons his landing on the beach, shared with dark terns.

The Short Invasion of the Ilhéu das Gaivinas

The islet is part of a larger area declared a national park by the Queensland authorities. It was kept under the protection of a rope fence that delimited the tiny area of ​​beach that we could enjoy.

Ocean Spirit crews rush to overflow passengers. On land, we settled side by side with countless orange-billed terns tousled by the wind and with the shrill and strangely aromatic nuclei of other seabirds.

Orange-billed Terns, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Birds of various species share the meager Michaelmas Cay sandbar, which is semi-protected by the Australian maritime authorities.

The Inevitable Diving and Snorkeling

“Dive guys, come on,” warns Craig, a semi-equipped crew member with a heavy northern Australian accent. “Snorkeling ones are next!”

Snorkeler, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Snorkeler swims towards the shallow land of Michaelmas Cay.

We don Lycra suits, join the second group and enjoy gliding among lush brain corals, frenzied shoals of barracudas and other fish that are less fast and stealthy but, to compensate, far more colorful.

Fish, Michaelmas Cay, Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Fish investigate the unexpected presence of the small submarine in the service of the catamaran Ocean Spirit.

We are not drunk on rum nor do we hallucinate but we long for the sight of the transforming sirens that once drove sailors mad.

Probably intimidated by human invasion, not one of the sea cows that inhabit the bottom of those seas deigned to appear.

On the way back to the beach, we split into shifts and get into a mini-submersible.

that way something julienne and investigated over and over again by intrigued fish, we continue to explore the shallow depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Until the time for the next shift approaches and we have to return to the surface.

Passengers in Submersible, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Submersible passengers observe underwater life around Michaelmas Cay.

Some younger and irreverent passengers are getting ready to rebel and return to snorkeling without the proper attire, in an area different from the one traveled before.

Bandu, an austere Malaysian-looking crew helper, is ready to contain them. “Friends, you seriously want to do this?

You weren't aware of the briefing, right? So we didn't tell you that this sea is full of stingers (sea wasps). So far, we haven't detected much but they could get here with the current at any time.

Saves Christmas Lives, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Crew member of the Ocean Spirit catamaran at the water's edge, wearing a slightly Christmas outfit.

If they get caught with one, they will be in big trouble. To return to the choirs, you really have to wear the lycra and, please, stay in the area we indicated a moment ago.”

We had participated in two underwater incursions. The first, long, largely countercurrent and laboriously self-moving, left us exhausted.

We decided to return to the beach and the surroundings of the dividing rope. We went back to charging batteries in the sun, now in the company of dozens of dark terns that used the suspended wire as a landing.

The Almost Forgotten Christmas Celebration

A couple of Australian friends next door had been doing the same for some time. Eager for more fun, they get up and move to the water.

Photos, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Ocean Spirit's Asian passengers photograph themselves on a flawless summer day off Cairns, in the Australian state of Queensland.

There, with the turquoise ocean palette as a background, tanned and only in a bathing suit, they put on Christmas caps and practice creative poses while a third aussie photographs them.

“Ah!!! You can come to me at will with stories of snow, fireplaces, reindeer and goblins! exclaims one of them effusively. "Tell us if there's a better Christmas than ours there."

Christmas Duo, Michaelmas Cay-Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Australian friends photograph themselves in Tropical Christmas mode.

At that precise moment, far away from family, tradition and sweets but caressed by the tropical heat, we felt enchanted by the gentle unwinding of the Pacific over the island and the obligation to agree.

Maldives

Cruise the Maldives, among Islands and Atolls

Brought from Fiji to sail in the Maldives, Princess Yasawa has adapted well to new seas. As a rule, a day or two of itinerary is enough for the genuineness and delight of life on board to surface.
Sydney, Australia

From the Exile of Criminals to an Exemplary City

The first of the Australian colonies was built by exiled inmates. Today, Sydney's Aussies boast former convicts of their family tree and pride themselves on the cosmopolitan prosperity of the megalopolis they inhabit.
Boat Trips

For Those Becoming Internet Sick

Hop on and let yourself go on unmissable boat trips like the Philippine archipelago of Bacuit and the frozen sea of ​​the Finnish Gulf of Bothnia.
Atherton Tableland, Australia

Miles Away from Christmas (part XNUMX)

On December 25th, we explored the high, bucolic yet tropical interior of North Queensland. We ignore the whereabouts of most of the inhabitants and find the absolute absence of the Christmas season strange.
Morro de São Paulo, Brazil

A Divine Seaside of Bahia

Three decades ago, it was just a remote and humble fishing village. Until some post-hippie communities revealed the Morro's retreat to the world and promoted it to a kind of bathing sanctuary.
Discovering tassie, Part 1 - Hobart, Australia

Australia's Backdoor

Hobart, the capital of Tasmania and the southernmost of Australia, was colonized by thousands of convicts from England. Unsurprisingly, its population maintains a strong admiration for marginal ways of life.
Rovaniemi, Finland

From the Finnish Lapland to the Arctic. A Visit to the Land of Santa

Fed up with waiting for the bearded old man to descend down the chimney, we reverse the story. We took advantage of a trip to Finnish Lapland and passed through its furtive home.
Cairns to Cape Tribulation, Australia

Tropical Queensland: An Australia Too Wild

Cyclones and floods are just the meteorological expression of Queensland's tropical harshness. When it's not the weather, it's the deadly fauna of the region that keeps its inhabitants on their toes.
Cairns-Kuranda, Australia

Train to the Middle of the Jungle

Built out of Cairns to save miners isolated in the rainforest from starvation by flooding, the Kuranda Railway eventually became the livelihood of hundreds of alternative Aussies.
Perth to Albany, Australia

Across the Far West of Australia

Few people worship evasion like the aussies. With southern summer in full swing and the weekend just around the corner, Perthians are taking refuge from the urban routine in the nation's southwest corner. For our part, without compromise, we explore endless Western Australia to its southern limit.
Busselton, Australia

2000 meters in Aussie Style

In 1853, Busselton was equipped with one of the longest pontoons in the world. World. When the structure collapsed, the residents decided to turn the problem around. Since 1996 they have been doing it every year. Swimming.
Melbourne, Australia

An "Asienated" Australia

Cultural capital aussie, Melbourne is also frequently voted the best quality of life city in the world. Nearly a million eastern emigrants took advantage of this immaculate welcome.
Discovering tassie, Part 3, Tasmania, Australia

Tasmania from Top to Bottom

The favorite victim of Australian anecdotes has long been the Tasmania never lost the pride in the way aussie ruder to be. Tassie remains shrouded in mystery and mysticism in a kind of hindquarters of the antipodes. In this article, we narrate the peculiar route from Hobart, the capital located in the unlikely south of the island to the north coast, the turn to the Australian continent.
Great Ocean Road, Australia

Ocean Out, along the Great Australian South

One of the favorite escapes of the Australian state of Victoria, via B100 unveils a sublime coastline that the ocean has shaped. We only needed a few kilometers to understand why it was named The Great Ocean Road.
Alice Springs to Darwin, Australia

Stuart Road, on its way to Australia's Top End

Do Red Center to the tropical Top End, the Stuart Highway road travels more than 1.500km lonely through Australia. Along this route, the Northern Territory radically changes its look but remains faithful to its rugged soul.
Perth, Australia

the lonely city

More 2000km away from a worthy counterpart, Perth is considered the most remote city on the face of the Earth. Despite being isolated between the Indian Ocean and the vast Outback, few people complain.
Perth, Australia

The Oceania Cowboys

Texas is on the other side of the world, but there is no shortage of cowboys in the country of koalas and kangaroos. Outback rodeos recreate the original version and 8 seconds lasts no less in the Australian Western.
Perth, Australia

Australia Day: In Honor of the Foundation, Mourning for Invasion

26/1 is a controversial date in Australia. While British settlers celebrate it with barbecues and lots of beer, Aborigines celebrate the fact that they haven't been completely wiped out.
Red Center, Australia

Australia's Broken Heart

The Red Center is home to some of Australia's must-see natural landmarks. We are impressed by the grandeur of the scenarios but also by the renewed incompatibility of its two civilizations.
Wycliffe Wells, Australia

Wycliffe Wells' Unsecret Files

Locals, UFO experts and visitors have been witnessing sightings around Wycliffe Wells for decades. Here, Roswell has never been an example and every new phenomenon is communicated to the world.
savuti, botswana, elephant-eating lions
Safari
Savuti, Botswana

Savuti's Elephant-Eating Lions

A patch of the Kalahari Desert dries up or is irrigated depending on the region's tectonic whims. In Savuti, lions have become used to depending on themselves and prey on the largest animals in the savannah.
Yak Kharka to Thorong Phedi, Annapurna Circuit, Nepal, Yaks
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit 11th: yak karkha a Thorong Phedi, Nepal

Arrival to the Foot of the Canyon

In just over 6km, we climbed from 4018m to 4450m, at the base of Thorong La canyon. Along the way, we questioned if what we felt were the first problems of Altitude Evil. It was never more than a false alarm.
Architecture & Design
napier, New Zealand

Back to the 30s – Old-Fashioned Car Tour

In a city rebuilt in Art Deco and with an atmosphere of the "crazy years" and beyond, the adequate means of transportation are the elegant classic automobiles of that era. In Napier, they are everywhere.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Adventure
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
Military Religious, Wailing Wall, IDF Flag Oath, Jerusalem, Israel
Ceremonies and Festivities
Jerusalem, Israel

A Festive Wailing Wall

The holiest place in Judaism is not only attended by prayers and prayers. Its ancient stones have witnessed the oath of new IDF recruits for decades and echo the euphoric screams that follow.
Sheets of Bahia, Eternal Diamonds, Brazil
Cities
Sheets of Bahia, Brazil

Lençóis da Bahia: not Even Diamonds Are Forever

In the XNUMXth century, Lençóis became the world's largest supplier of diamonds. But the gem trade did not last as expected. Today, the colonial architecture that he inherited is his most precious possession.
Tsukiji fish market, Tokyo, Japan
Meal
Tokyo, Japan

The Fish Market That Lost its Freshness

In a year, each Japanese eats more than their weight in fish and shellfish. Since 1935, a considerable part was processed and sold in the largest fish market in the world. Tsukiji was terminated in October 2018, and replaced by Toyosu's.
Tiredness in shades of green
Culture
Suzdal, Russia

The Suzdal Cucumber Celebrations

With summer and warm weather, the Russian city of Suzdal relaxes from its ancient religious orthodoxy. The old town is also famous for having the best cucumbers in the nation. When July arrives, it turns the newly harvested into a real festival.
Spectator, Melbourne Cricket Ground-Rules footbal, Melbourne, Australia
Sport
Melbourne, Australia

The Football the Australians Rule

Although played since 1841, Australian Football has only conquered part of the big island. Internationalization has never gone beyond paper, held back by competition from rugby and classical football.
travel western australia, surfspotting
Traveling
Perth to Albany, Australia

Across the Far West of Australia

Few people worship evasion like the aussies. With southern summer in full swing and the weekend just around the corner, Perthians are taking refuge from the urban routine in the nation's southwest corner. For our part, without compromise, we explore endless Western Australia to its southern limit.
deep valley, terraced rice, batad, philippines
Ethnic
Batad, Philippines

The Terraces that Sustain the Philippines

Over 2000 years ago, inspired by their rice god, the Ifugao people tore apart the slopes of Luzon. The cereal that the indigenous people grow there still nourishes a significant part of the country.
Sunset, Avenue of Baobabs, Madagascar
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio

days like so many others

Nahuatl celebration
History

Mexico City, Mexico

mexican soul

With more than 20 million inhabitants in a vast metropolitan area, this megalopolis marks, from its heart of zócalo, the spiritual pulse of a nation that has always been vulnerable and dramatic.

Cargo Cabo Santa Maria, Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde, Sal, Evoking the Sahara
Islands
Boa Vista Island, Cape Verde

Boa Vista Island: Atlantic waves, Dunas do Sara

Boa Vista is not only the Cape Verdean island closest to the African coast and its vast desert. After a few hours of discovery, it convinces us that it is a piece of the Sahara adrift in the North Atlantic.
ala juumajarvi lake, oulanka national park, finland
Winter White
Kuusamo ao PN Oulanka, Finland

Under the Arctic's Icy Spell

We are at 66º North and at the gates of Lapland. In these parts, the white landscape belongs to everyone and to no one like the snow-covered trees, the atrocious cold and the endless night.
Lake Manyara, National Park, Ernest Hemingway, Giraffes
Literature
Lake Manyara NP, Tanzania

Hemingway's Favorite Africa

Situated on the western edge of the Rift Valley, Lake Manyara National Park is one of the smallest but charming and richest in Europe. wild life of Tanzania. In 1933, between hunting and literary discussions, Ernest Hemingway dedicated a month of his troubled life to him. He narrated those adventurous safari days in “The Green Hills of Africa".
colorful boat, Gili Islands, Indonesia
Nature
Gili Islands, Indonesia

Gili: the Indonesia's Islands the World Calls “Islands”

They are so humble that they are known by the term bahasa which means only islands. Despite being discreet, the Gili have become the favorite haunt of travelers who pass through Lombok or Bali.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
Hammock in Palmeiras, Praia de Uricao-Mar des caraibas, Venezuela
Natural Parks
Henri Pittier NP, Venezuela

PN Henri Pittier: between the Caribbean Sea and the Cordillera da Costa

In 1917, botanist Henri Pittier became fond of the jungle of Venezuela's sea mountains. Visitors to the national park that this Swiss created there are, today, more than they ever wanted
Kayaking on Lake Sinclair, Cradle Mountain - Lake Sinclair National Park, Tasmania, Australia
UNESCO World Heritage
Discovering tassie, Part 4 - Devonport to Strahan, Australia

Through the Tasmanian Wild West

If the almost antipode tazzie is already a australian world apart, what about its inhospitable western region. Between Devonport and Strahan, dense forests, elusive rivers and a rugged coastline beaten by an almost Antarctic Indian ocean generate enigma and respect.
Zorro's mask on display at a dinner at the Pousada Hacienda del Hidalgo, El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico
Characters
El Fuerte, Sinaloa, Mexico

Zorro's Cradle

El Fuerte is a colonial city in the Mexican state of Sinaloa. In its history, the birth of Don Diego de La Vega will be recorded, it is said that in a mansion in the town. In his fight against the injustices of the Spanish yoke, Don Diego transformed himself into an elusive masked man. In El Fuerte, the legendary “El Zorro” will always take place.
Dunes of Bazaruto Island, Mozambique
Beaches
bazaruto, Mozambique

The Inverted Mirage of Mozambique

Just 30km off the East African coast, an unlikely but imposing erg rises out of the translucent sea. Bazaruto it houses landscapes and people who have lived apart for a long time. Whoever lands on this lush, sandy island soon finds himself in a storm of awe.
gaudy courtship
Religion
Suzdal, Russia

Thousand Years of Old Fashioned Russia

It was a lavish capital when Moscow was just a rural hamlet. Along the way, it lost political relevance but accumulated the largest concentration of churches, monasteries and convents in the country of the tsars. Today, beneath its countless domes, Suzdal is as orthodox as it is monumental.
Flam Railway composition below a waterfall, Norway.
On Rails
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Tabatô, Guinea Bissau, tabanca Mandingo musicians. Baidi
Society
Tabato, Guinea Bissau

The Tabanca of Mandinga Poets Musicians

In 1870, a community of traveling Mandingo musicians settled next to the current city of Bafatá. From the Tabatô they founded, their culture and, in particular, their prodigious balaphonists, dazzle the world.
Fruit sellers, Swarm, Mozambique
Daily life
Enxame Mozambique

Mozambican Fashion Service Area

It is repeated at almost all stops in towns of Mozambique worthy of appearing on maps. The machimbombo (bus) stops and is surrounded by a crowd of eager "businessmen". The products offered can be universal such as water or biscuits or typical of the area. In this region, a few kilometers from Nampula, fruit sales suceeded, in each and every case, quite intense.
Fishing, Cano Negro, Costa Rica
Wildlife
Caño Negro, Costa Rica

A Life of Angling among the Wildlife

One of the most important wetlands in Costa Rica and the world, Caño Negro dazzles for its exuberant ecosystem. Not only. Remote, isolated by rivers, swamps and poor roads, its inhabitants have found in fishing a means on board to strengthen the bonds of their community.
The Sounds, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Fiordland, New Zealand

The Fjords of the Antipodes

A geological quirk made the Fiordland region the rawest and most imposing in New Zealand. Year after year, many thousands of visitors worship the sub-domain slashed between Te Anau and Milford Sound.