Finishing up some peanut butter toast this morning and I figured I should give a post.  I've been gone for about a week in Queensland, which is the state above New South Wales (where Sydney is located).  My friend Jesse and I flew up to Airlie Beach, basically a backpacker's town and ironically, with no beach.  Airlie Beach is the closest mainland point to the Whitsunday Islands, our reason for stopping there.  So we took a ferry over to South Molle Island, a medium sized, crescent moon island.  We arrived and immediately felt as if we were in Jurassic Park.  It was extremely exotic with birds cawing and squaking and what seemed to be monkeys, although they were birds, hooting and howling.  Palm trees dominated the forest and we quickly grabbed a few coconuts, spiked them, and drank the tasty milk. But at the same time, we could see the destruction that the island had recently endured, with uprooted trees and smashed bungalows.  The place was desolate and other than the few workers, it was basically on Jesse and I on this island, kind of a weird feeling.  So for the next few days we hiked all over the hilly terrain and found some awesome lookout spots and beaches. The workers basically begged us to come out and drink with them, we could tell they were really lonely.  Even on our way back to Airlie Beach, the captain told us how they try to get backpackers to stay longer, lying to them saying that there are a bunch of people coming in a couple days, so they should stay.  They even offer free food and accommodation if guests sign on to work for an extra two weeks. Island fever, I don't think so.  All in all it was a great time, but we had exhausted the island and were ready to move on.  So back Airlie Beach for a lot of sitting and waiting, because there is really nothing to do there besides drink and finally at 7 pm we boarded a ship called the Solway Lass.  This ship was built in 1902, sailed in both the world wars, has struck a mine, been named over five different times, it's been through a lot.  Now a cruise and leisure ship, it took us and thirty other eager guests deeper into the Whitsunday Islands for four days.  Our room was small, with dark hard wood, purple bedding, and dim lighting, but it was actually quite cozy.  We stayed with two other girls from France, both awfully nice.  Later on the crew gave us a short debriefing and really made everyone feel as if the ship was their own.  Everyone began to talk soon after and Jesse and I began to realize how lucky we were.  Everyone on the boat was outgoing, funny, witty, and ready to talk or listen on anything they could.  We met a ton of brilliant people.  After the night spell of sea sickness, that luckily I avoided, we woke up and hopped over to Whithaven beach.  This is the most famous beach in the Whitsundays, ranked in the top ten in the world.  The sand is 99.9% silica, making it the purest form of sand on Earth (NASA used the sand to make a lens in the Hubble Telescope).  It was a beautiful pale white, soothing to look at, especially with the turquoise of the sea lapping up upon it.  A few of us organized a soccer game and soon everyone on the ship, young and old were playing in a giant game.  It was an awesome time.  Later, I jogged down to the end of the beach and just enjoyed the sand and water.  As I said, we got to know everyone really well and soon had a good group formed.  We met a few people from Germany and France who we spent a lot of our time with.  At night we all hung out on the deck and played some drinking games.  We taught them some from America which they thought were hilarious and only wanted to play those for the rest of the time on the boat.  Pretty funny.  The next day snorkeled at a few different fringe reefs, which were good, but nothing compared to the outer reefs.  A lot of the coral was dead and bleached, and it's sad to think that that is how the outer reef will be some day.  But luckily, Jesse and I got to see a Hawksbill turtle, which was gorgeous. After snorkeling, everyone began to launch themselves into the air on a rope swing.  Everyone cheered each other on, again everyone was so friendly.  In the night, I fished for squid with a guy from Scotland.  We used a lure and caught around fifteen or so.  They were a pale red in the water, almost glowing, but once they came up they were a creamy white.  We had some competition though as a few dolphins darted in and out looking for a snack.  For lunch the next day, the chef cooked up the squid and we devoured all of it.  As the trip neared to an end, we all decided to meet up in Airlie Beach for the night and go to the bar together.  We all joked together and it was a nice way to end the trip.  You can't put a price on relations, especially international ones.  I'm extremely lucky as I said and realize how small the world actually is. I learned so much about everything, just by meeting people, it makes me want to backpack as much as I possibly can.  Talk to you all soon and hope everything is well