Even though I was tired, I did not sleep well that first night. Why? Because, once more in no specific order, a) it was too warm for me even with the A/C on, b) I was worried about the car and c) I had seen a mosquito or two floating around the two rooms we had. Well, maybe I should scratch that and say, in increasing order of inducing insomnia! Just last year, DS had contracted dengue and, I had learned from some Airbnb hosts, dengue was prevalent (though only in summer) in the Cairns area. I don't know how true or false this was, but just hearing the word dengue got me worried!
Anyway, we had to wake up early and by golly, we did! We did not wait for the day to break or for dawn to show up. As we were supposed to be at the Marina by 7:30 (per instructions), we knew we had to leave very early. The only decision we were left with was whether we would walk over to the Marina (20 minutes per our host) or take the car and leave it in the paid parking spot. That decision was made the previous night based on the locality. No way we were leaving the car there and our stuff in the room. So, early in the morning (well, it was still night) after a rather cursory breakfast (of all things, I had forgotten milk from the store the previous night, so we had to make do with black tea which I can barely stand), we started packing everything back into the car. And now is when my flashlight (remember it?) finally came to our assistance.
We had put everything in the trunk of the car; kids were inside and we were ready to leave when I was unable to find the car keys. Not in my pocket, not in the seat of the car, not on the trunk, not on the roof ... Sam, I was not ... happy! Enter, Senor Flashlight. We searched high, we searched low. I peered into all corners of the trunk. Finally, I opened the door and sat down - and finally remembered, that for whatever reason, I had shoved them into the side pocket by the driver's seat. So, we got started. For good measure, this time I switched my navigator and back seat drivers around, to get better traction on the proceedings!
The place was not far, and I was armed with a map, GPS and sunlight (OK, no sunlight, as it was not yet six in the morning, plus it was drizzling). I was going to be driving at about an ant's pace on a weekday morning, though it was way early for rush hour traffic. Not to forget the rain, as it had been drizzling steadily all night and was continuing unabated. After driving a couple of blocks, I saw an idiot light (red) peer back at me from the dashboard. It appeared to indicate low tire pressure (though I won’t swear to it today!). Got out of the car, took flashlight with me, checked all tires – everything appeared normal. However, I did notice when I went over a couple of speed bumps that the car appeared sluggish. It appeared as if something had happened to the axle. Now, I had checked the car and verified that the only issue caused from the previous evening was a cracked rear view mirror frame – the plastic cover had gotten chipped, but that had nothing to do with the car frame itself!
Now I got worried if someone had done something to the car overnight that we were unaware of! The first thought we had was to get the car switched at the rental place. But there was precious little time to lose in doing anything like that; besides, they probably would not be opening before nine am, by which time our cruise would’ve left! So, we decided on the next best option – see if we can stop and ask someone for a gas (petrol) station to have someone take a quick look at the car.
Like most places, Cairns was a ghost town at six am. But, luckily for me, a car in front of us pulled into a shopping complex … and we followed. After getting some information from the lady about getting to a gas station, I got back in the car. A few left turns, right turns – and even one u-turn (though these are typically not allowed, there are a few places where you can do so) – later, I gave up trying to find the gas station. Our best bet now was to keep going slowly to the marina.