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After a quick breakfast, Anne and I were the first to board the 11-person tender, excited to explore the largest of 74 islands in the Whitsundays. Our day trip began with a huge sea-turtle sighting…we named him Gilligan. We hiked a beautiful trail through Whitsunday Islands National Park to the scenic view that overlooks the world-famous Whitehaven beach. What's so cool about this view is that you can watch the tide rise and fall, as the water makes ripples over the beach, creating isolated pools and swirling the light-weight sand into unique designs. The sand on Whitehaven beach is comprised of 98% silica, so you can use the fine granules to buff your jewelry (our wedding rings never looked so shiny!), exfoliate your skin, or even polish your teeth (yes, people actually put the sand in their mouths!). NASA even used the sand from this beach to make the glass for the Hubble telescope. As soon as we got our toes in the sugar-like sand, we enjoyed every step of the day…walking up and down the vast stretches of the beach, writing messages in the sand, digging up crab holes and sand dollars, and visiting the pools of water to spot stingrays and tropical fish. After a few hours, the tide had moved in, squeezing the growing population of visitors onto increasingly smaller plots of dry land. Once back on the Clipper, we ate lunch and were shuttled over to Luncheon Bay for a snorkeling excursion off the island shore. We really enjoyed seeing all the various colors, shapes, and sizes of coral and reef fish, however, due to the lowered visibility, we decided that our favorite snorkeling experiences in Belize and Honduras are still unsurpassed. Back on the Clipper, the top-deck diving board and water slide were out and ready to rock. From the moment I heard about the diving board, I'd been mentally preparing myself to attempt a backflip. I'd done it before while cliff diving in Osh Kosh, so I knew I could pull it off, but it still required quite a bit of courage to climb up to top of the roof of the boat for another attempt. With the GoPro in hand, I put all the coordination I had into that back flip and landed in the water unscathed. We spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing on the deck and relaxing in the hot tub (yes, the Clipper has a hot-tub on deck). That evening, after brief marine-biology lesson and a hearty meal of spaghetti and garlic bread, the crew put on a big elimination-style game show (the costume bin came out for some added hilarity) where the last contestants standing would be crowned King and Queen of the Clipper. Everyone was disappointed that Anne went to bed early (knowing that she'd probably be good competition), but the show was extremely entertaining (side note: we may have been one of the few who didn't have any regrets the next morning).
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