Chinese Gardens and the market

On Saturday (feeling ever so slightly worse for wear thanks to the night before), I had a little lie in and went out to Saturday craft markets. The weather was amazing and there were so many stalls to look around. It is a really cool market.

The market extends out to the river. So I walked along it to get to the Chinese gardens.

There are also some Japanese gardens but the transport there was not obvious so I decided to go to the Chinese gardens instead which were walkable. 

It is only a city block but they designed it to make it feel much bigger. (I took a tour as well as wondering around on my own).

The floors had geometric patterns which reflect the yin and yang. And there is a large pond with bridges over it in many places. 

One of the many very cool doorways.

The tea house

Many fish.

One of the pagodas. 

The moon door.

I sat outside the tea house with a mug of oolong tea for quite some time, reading and watching the dragon flies. I drifted back to the hotel and grabbed some sushi for a late lunch (the sushi was so good). I was going to sit in Pioneer Square, a big public square not far from my hotel, but there seemed to be a protest going on. As I had seen on the news a riot which started as a protest and got a little out of hand only the week before, I decided against this, headed back to the hotel and chilled out (with a nap) and dinner out. 

Around Portland, Oregon

We arrived in Portland on the Saturday so had a free day to explore. We booked a trip to see some of the sights and waterfalls and it turned out we were the only ones on it so got to ask lots of questions. 

The first stop was a lookout over the river.

We got to see Vista Point rest stop at Crown Point on the Columbia River Gorge. (Washington State is on the other side of the river.) It was built as a memorial to the early Oregon pioneers, and is the fanciest rest stop I have ever seen.

View down river at Vista Point

Up river.

Vista Point.

Ceiling inside. 

Obviously a Trump supporter. (He had a sicker too.)

After this, we headed to a group of waterfalls along the historic highway. The first was Latourell falls.

Latourell Falls.

The largest waterfall was the one I wanted to see the most, Multnomah Falls. I have seen photos of it for years. According to Native law, it was created to win the heart of a young princess who wanted a hidden place to bathe.

It is the tallest waterfall in Oregon, over 2 levels with Benson Bridge spanning the middle. (The bridge was named after Simon Benson, a prominent business man who gave the waterfall to the city of Portland and was did a lot for the city in general.)

On the bridge

First tier

Looking down over the second tier.

We were really glad we were there in the Winter. We saw some photos of it int he summer and we wouldn't have been able to get close. But on a semi-raining day (typical of Oregon and Washington state) in winter, there weren't too many people around, though the car park was still full.

The next stop was Horse Tail falls. And there is another one above called Pony tail falls. You can't see it from there, but we did get a glimpse from the road later on.

Horse Tail falls.

We headed down to the river and around some of the docking areas. At one of the areas, there were a lot of brass statues. I really want one like this in my garden when I get one.

The weather mostly held off and only rained when we were in the car. But the cloud cover was quite dramatic. 

The last stop was at the hydro-electric dam. It was an odd stop but interesting. We went into and saw how they built it and how they make sure the fish can still get up and down the river. 

We saw some pretty big fish. They have a lot of salmon around the around and we stopped by a local fish shop owned by a native American family where they caught and smoked their own fish. It was amazing and I brought some which become my breakfast for the next few days.
We got dropped back off at the hotel in time to head to a bar to catch the Super Bowl.

Agincourt Pontoon

Saturday was the conference excursion out to the Barrier reef. It was the same company I went with the previous Saturday, but this time to the pontoon. There was a very good reason I didn't do this the first time. You are stuck in one place with a large number of people. Plus there are often that many people here so the reef is damaged in parts. Still it was interesting to see the 2 different ways.
I decided to do a dive anyway (my instructor from last time was there but I couldn't get to dive with him). I regret spending the money. It was a LOT more expensive than the last time and frankly rubbish. We had to hold hands for most of it. I hate that! We stopped to see a Nemo and giant clam but that was it. Every time I slowed to look at fish I was pulled forward. The others decided to go for the second dive. I was very glad I did not!

In fact everything was more expensive. You had to pay this time to hire the stinger suits. People thought I was a little strange but one girl hurt her foot on the coral and I think I was a lot warmer than those who didn't. Plus I avoided sunburn so that part was worth the money.

So I was in less than a happy mood. But everyone else seemed to enjoy their dives so maybe I was just spoilt last time.

I took a quick snorkel but couldn't see anything so went for lunch. After, I found the semi-sub and went for the trip around the reef, chatting to a nice woman from New Zealand.

Plate coral

Valley between coral

The best fish were right under the pontoon

 I was in a bit of a better mood after this so decided to give snorkeling another go. (I was there after all.) And I was glad I did. I went out as far as I was allowed and I was completely on my own so there were lots of fish. I was a lot happier! :-)

They change color (blue and green) to communicate

Sargent major fish 

Male parrot fish 

Plate and stag coral

2 blue legs of a starfish (we think)

Free diving - and apparently I am a red head! 

Sturgeon

Sixbar Wrass

 But then something made my day. I was swimming along and turned to look to my left.

Hawksbill turtle

He just sort of looked at me as if to say "coming?" So I spent the next 1/2 hr just following and watching. I had him all to myself - there was no one else even closely nearby. He was beautiful!

Found something tasty

Coming up for air

and back for more food

I did spot someone else (a student form the conference it turned out) and showed him. He was quite happy, though I think I did scare him when I grabbed him as he swam past. :-)

We stayed until the ship blew the horn, which means get back to the ship or we leave without you.

I spent the trip back looking through my photos and talking to a lovely group of grey nomads (retirees who travel the country) from Melbourne. They also showed us the video they had made of our dive. It was ok, but they were expecting people to buy it for $106 for 1 DVD! They were destined for disappointment. I didn't even buy any of the photos they took. One because I couldn't tell which one was me. Put on a mask, regulator and wet suit and everyone pretty much looks the same. And secondly they cost $22 each. I like mine better and I got a lot more of them!

Back at the marina, I said goodbye to people (and organized a dinner meet-up - without phones it's trickier). They all got the coach back to shower and change but I didn't want to miss the sunset. It was the shortest day in the southern hemisphere and the skies were clear. I wondered down to the park near the estuary.

Over the estuary

I also spotted this girl lying on near the water. Right in front of the crocodile warning sign. And they really do mean it here!

Crocodile food!

I ended up at the end park. There were these amazing trees around the far edge.

One tree or multiple?

I found a spot to watch the sun go down behind the mountains. A lot of people had brought blankets and bottles of wine. I wish I had thought of that.

Enjoying wine and the sunset

After the sunset (and I was being eaten alive once again), I headed back to the marina for a quick drink (and to borrow some more bug stray at a restaurant) before meeting some people for a final sea food dinner. (Got to get it in while I can!)

Quiet final drink at the marina