Tourist Sites

So the pictures have surfaced. And YES, this place actually does exist. Here is a little photo tour of the amazing Whitsunday Islands and my place within it. Please enjoy...I know I did :-P

The glorious boat:

Our fabulous skipper:

My wonderful room:

A wonderful life:

The girls:

The guys:

The fish:

And Spiderman:

The amazing view:

Heaven 1 :

Heaven 2: (also known as Whitehaven)

Me in Heaven:

A shot from the next episode of Lost:

The sunsets, oh lord the sunsets...

And of course, what would Australia be without the animals...

Kangaroos:

Kangaroos:

And more Kangaroos:

And how about a whale...or two

Oh my, gotta love Australia...no?!?

Besitos,
Cristina

So I have returned from the most beautiful, deserted, and amazing beach I have seen before in my life:Whitehaven. And man was it as impressive as every picture makes it out to be.

My 3 day/3 night sailing trip proved to be by far one of the coolest things I have experienced to date. Loaded with 18 foreigners, we set sail for a 3 day adventure that took us walking through the Whitehaven Beach, diving in the crystal blue ocean water, and snorkeling (ok I chickened out on this one) in the Great Barrier Reef. Without a cloud in the sky, we watched whales dive through the water, turtles float their way to shore, and fish of all shapes and colors search for Nemo. It was quite the surreal experience...aside from my toes nearly falling off (the water was FREEZING).

Best of all was the bed I got to sleep on. Situated on the top bunk, I was one of the few fortunate people to have a retractable roof. Meaning that at night I got to lie in bed and watch the stars fill the sky and eat breakfast watching the sunrise in the morning...all while under my sheets. Amazing.

The other boat cruisers were a lively, sweet bunch and we entertained ourselves ceaselessly playing games from all countries in all languages. My favorite -and everyone MUST play this game - was the animal calling game. Everyone chooses an animal to represent themselves (I clearly chose an elephant) and then you proceed to pat your thighs and clap in unison. On the first clap you signal your animal -the elephant- and on the second someone else's. If you get off beat or you miss your signal, you are out. Fantastic game. And I am not trying to brag or anything ;-) but I did make it to final round 3 times baby. Go Bernardo, it's your birthday.

All in all it was fabulous trip. Extremely hard on the pocketbook though which means I need to find a job asap. Oh and a place to live. Wish me luck!

love you all,
Cristina

Amazing. Just one word to describe it. Today we drove 3 hours each way to Kanchanburi Park to ride on an elephant's back, take a bath with its cute large trunk, and pet tigers. What could be better?!

It's so incredible to see such beautiful creatures up close. I hugged that elephant until my arms were raw, and dreamily thought about keeping one for my own. Meanwhile, Cat and Cnuts were getting thrown around by Full Moon the crazy party elephant, with a tour guide jumping from water to elephant back like Vanilla Ice. After reading "Water for Elephants" - a book I LOVED and highly recommend - it was an amazing feat to be sitting upon one of the earth's largest and most gentle creatures. Life is in fact beautiful.

Man I love traveling. I feel so much more myself out here in this big bad world, where animals and humans are one, time is an unimportant detail in the seams, and the locals laugh with a hearty chuckle. This world is awesome. Thanks Discovery for reminding us.

Tonight is my last night in Thailand. Off to Australia tomorrow where I will be sure to upload some pictures of an amazing 3 week stint in this beautiful, friendly, and loving country. I will surely miss it. Besitos a todos.

love,
Cristina

For a spanking $9. Imaginate.

Us ladies decided to take the day off today. We figured that is exactly what we needed/deserved after 10 days of paradise with Cat's padres. Off for a pedicure and a wash, cut,and blowdry. We really broke the bank there. All for under $10! Have you ever had 4 people dry your hair?!? Because Cat and I did today. Nutso.

These Vietnamese people are just the sweetest. I really do love this place and recommend it to anyone. We are in this tiny town in the mountains and everyone is just so nice. They may have guessed Cnut's gender incorrectly, but hey, we can forgive anything.

They all remember us though and wave at us on the street. I mean I don't understand why, since we all just totally fit-in. I mean a 6 foot white girl? They are everywhere in Asia...

Off to Hanoi tomorrow. Capital of Northern Vietnam. Should be an adventure. Us lazy-butts opted to fly. Guess we are not as adventurous as we seem, but I promise, we still take cold showers!

Gros Bisous,
Cristina

Slowly but surely, I am uploading all my pictures. Here are a few of my favorites from Japan.

Great views..

Friends..

And...deer. Who knew!

This one is for you Dad. Who would have known that our family's old time favorite - Shakey's- could be found in Tokyo?!

love,
La Beba