Puerto Rico Day 4 -- 4/19/13

You know, this trip didn’t seem so short when I booked it.  But already it’s time to go home.

I’d done most of the packing the night before so there wasn't much to do in the morning. I then went back to the trusty Caribe Café for breakfast (same as yesterday – why mess with a good thing).  Grabbed the gear, checked out, and went out front to wait for my ride …

Which seemed to take forever.  Five minutes after I was to be picked up a guy approached me and asked if I was waiting for Elegant Transportation.  I said yes though I didn’t see a van pull up from the company.  Turns out that the guy had arrived early and was looking for me inside.  He was helping out the company since the drivers were swamped.  His black SUV had been parked out front for at least ten minutes.  Oh.

The sun was shining brightly as we headed to the airport but even though I’d only been there two days I’d already had enough rays.  I noticed after my shower on Wednesday that the skin around my hairline was really tingly and irritated like it would be after I’d gotten a perm.  I kind of shrugged it off as no big deal.  But after Thursday’s shower I could actually feel the skin on my forehead getting all tight and leathery.  That had never happened to me before.  This wasn’t the first time I’d been to the beach and even though I don’t usually bother with sunscreen, I’ve never before had a problem.  Two days in Puerto Rico and I ended up burnt to a crisp. 

Going through the airport was fun.  I got in one line, realized I was in the wrong one, went to customs, got some stickers, then finally got in the first line for real.  Would have been nice if someone had told me about that from the start.  This whole trip just reminded me that I really need to learn Spanish.  I'd taken it in college but I'm nowhere close to proficient.  Fortunately most of the people I met in Puerto Rico spoke English.  Still, it's something I really need to get on since I'm sure this won't be my first trip to a Spanish speaking country. 

Speaking of which, yes, I would return to Puerto Rico.  There is still so much I didn't get a chance to see and the island is truly beautiful.  I just have to find a way to be better prepared for the aftermath.  Industrial strength sunscreen would help but it's more than just that.

Despite being well both before and during my trip, I brought my nice, cleaned-out lungs back to Atlanta and caught a double dose of pollen filled smog.  This led to two weeks (!) of hacking and coughing, scratching at my peeling skin, and suffering a heat rash on my arms to boot.

So the question becomes: Was two days of sun and fun worth all this?

                                                                                                           Yep.

Puerto Rico Day 3 -- 4/18/13

Second and last full day in Puerto Rico and I’m up early for the rainforest tour.  One of the lessons I learned from the Rome trip is to make sure the alarm clock actually works before relying on it to wake me up.  The alarm of the clock in the room didn’t work so I whipped out my travel clock (bought in Rome) and set up the alarm on my phone for backup (ended up not needing it).

The tour company advised me to bring a swimsuit in case I wanted to swim in the waterfall.  Wasn’t sure about all that but brought the suit along anyway along with my beach towel and headed out for breakfast.  The hotel café worked so well the first time, I headed there again choosing eggs, sausage and toast this time along with the angry coffee.  Damn good meal for about $8.  Then I set off to sit in front of the hotel to wait for my ride.

The tour company told me that my guide’s name was Sammie so I was really surprised to find Francisco coming up to me.  He would be leading the tour so he gathered me and two other chicks from the Conrad and we were off.  We picked up a man traveling with his elderly mother and his two teenage daughters from a hotel way on the other side of the island then drove the 30 or so minutes to the rainforest proper.

The trip made me very glad I didn’t rent a car.  We were right in the middle of rush hour, mercifully going in the opposite direction to the Atlanta-like traffic heading for the more industrial areas of the island.  Most of the folks on the tour were from Boston and commented that the traffic wasn’t too great there either.  I can’t imagine what it looks like now after the bombing incident on the 16^th.

The road up to the rainforest winds through a neighborhood (ooh look a horsey!) and up a really narrow road.  There are houses and the occasional restaurant or convenience store along the road making me think that the people who maintain the forest don’t live too far away. 

We stopped first at the visitor’s center for bathrooms and gift shop.  The center had displays spread around with picture of the plant and wildlife in the forest as well as a small movie theater showing a short film.  We spent about a ½ hour there before climbing back in the van to go further up the mountain.

 

From a small parking lot we set off on our hike.  Most of the hike was downhill which is great to start but I already know it will be a beast on the way back.  The weather was perfect though; not too hot and steamy and no rain.  We kept a good pace but made frequent stops both for Francisco to point out a particular sight and to let the man and his elderly mother catch up.  She may have been bringing up the rear while using a cane but to her credit she managed to navigate the sometimes rocky and uneven trail.

After maybe a 45 min. hike we reached the waterfall.  It was gorgeous of course but after seeing it I wasn’t sorry that I hadn’t bothered to change into my bathing suit at the visitor’s center.  Those rocks were hella slippery even if you didn’t approach the water.  Not really looking forward to twisting my ankle so far away from the van.

 

Francisco then offered to take folks to a series of smaller waterfalls.  To get there though required the group to strip down to their bathing suits, leave everything behind, and go under the bridge over even more slippery rocks.  Please note I said ‘their’.  There was no way I was taking this particular ‘trail’.  Even if it meant that it was only me and the elder waiting on the bridge.  It made for a nice rest period before the hike back up.

                                                  (Yes.  That's the actual 'trail' underneath the bridge.)

The place filled up quickly with folks coming from both sides of the trail.  I parked myself on a nice dry rock until the rest of the group returned maybe 20 minutes later. 

 

Then it was back up the trail.  As I’m huffing and puffing, I was again reminded of my difficulty with altitude.  I can hike all day when the trail is relatively level but as soon as there are stairs and steep climbs – yeeesh.  This is one of the many reasons why climbing Mt. Everest will never be on my life resume.  That and the cold.  Lots and lots of cold.

 

We piled back in the bus on the way to lunch making a brief stop at a lookout tower.  There were yet more stairs to climb if you wanted to get a good view from the top (pass), restrooms, and a small gift shop. Also of note were the warning signs posted around the area telling everyone to beware of rabid mongooses.  Oh.  Fun.  Fortunately, no one saw any.

 

We lunched at a restaurant called Anticito’s (I think) that was not far from the mountain.  Nice small buffet-style spread of real PR food that was very filling after the trip and reasonable to boot.  Just like the café at the hotel, there were some very bold birds who were more than eager to clean up our leftovers before we’d left them over as the seating area was windowless.  There were also these two owl figurines on the tables creeping us out because at various intervals the heads would spin around a full 360 degrees.  Okay.

We headed back to San Juan, dropping off the bulk of the group before returning to the Conrad.  The two chicks and I had the exact same idea of going to our rooms and changing into our suits for some beach time.  I had said during the tour that if I had any energy left that I would tour Old San Juan since everyone was recommending it.  Didn’t happen.  I was perfectly happy to grab my book and plop down into a deck chair which is exactly what I did until it got too windy.

A quick shower and a change, another visit to the souvenir shop, and I called it a night.

Puerto Rico Day 2 -- 4/17/13

Ahhh.  That’s better.  Glad to see that the rain wouldn’t last the entirety of my short vacation.

I bounded out of bed ready to explore.  First stop, the Caribe Café on the second floor.  The waiter was kind enough to talk me down from the pancake meal I wanted but never would have finished (3 pancakes the size of a large dinner plate).  Instead I order the side order of one pancake (still too big), some bacon, and some local coffee.  With milk.  Definitely with milk.  Puerto Rican coffee, I discovered, is just as dark and angry as Italian coffee.  I think I’ll pass on buying any to take home.

With a map I pilfered from the concierge desk, I thought I would set out to explore Old San Juan.  Yes I know Francisco said it’d be best to get a ride but I figured it was only a few miles.  Surely I could walk that?

You know, I probably could have.  If only I had walked in the right direction.

I took a left out of the hotel and started the journey, passing a bunch of hotels, restaurants and shops along the way.  Again there were cops everywhere lending to the very safe air of the area.  Oddly enough there were also a few homeless just hanging out in doorways or by bus stops.  I guess the cops figured that as long as they weren’t harassing anybody they would leave them alone.

I’m walking and I’m walking and I pass a couple of little park areas on my left with views of the ocean.   I didn’t stop at the first one because I was on a mission but the second one caught my eye.  Tired of the sidewalk already, I took a detour for a little beach time.

 

This is why I am will travel so many miles to get to the ocean; the simple pleasure of walking along the sand with my bare feet in the waves.  There is nothing like it on this earth.

 

I seemed to have picked a great time to travel to the island as the beach was not very crowded.  I followed the shore for a while before getting back on the sidewalk.  Another ten minutes of walking through a neighborhood (eek! Lizards!) and back onto a busy street and I realized that i was nowhere near Old San Juan.  There was nothing old about where I found myself, just the same things you'd find in any small city.  Instead of chiding myself for going the wrong direction, I just remembered that I never would have seen this part of the island if not for my mistake.

My dogs were starting to bark so I headed back in to the hotel.  I was out of water so i stopped at a vending machine not realizing it was out too.  But somehow someone had purchased a Gatorade and conveniently left it in the slot.  Not usually to my taste but I scooped it up along with my returned change.  I was refreshed by the drink and delighted to find a Texas quarter among the coins.  I've been collecting the special quarters with the state logos on the back for years and the only one I was missing was Texas.  Geeky, I know, but it made my day.

I stopped at a souvenir shop on the way back to the hotel then it was bathing suit and beach time for me.  The water was not as warm as I would have liked but it wasn't freezing either and I got used to it quickly.  The water off the little beach was shielded from the big waves by a line of rocks maybe fifty feet from the shore so it was nice to just get in a soak without fear of being knocked over.  The floorbed was really rocky but the water was clear enough to almost distinguish a rock from a shadow.  Almost.  Good thing I went back for the swim shoes otherwise my poor toes would have been in bad shape.

I lunched at the poolside diner on a nice PR inspired sandwich, fries, and a very strong fruity adult beverage that the waitress suggested.  I'm not much of a drinker but I do love to experiment with the tropical cocktails.  The birds, like in Maui, got a little bold while I lingered over my meal so i grabbed my gear and adjoined to one of the seaside chaises located a little distance away from the pools.  I was quite content to lay there reading my book; no schedules, no traffic, no rush to be anywhere other than where I was.  Nice.  It was only my rapidly drying-out skin that made me go up for a shower. 

The cafe where I had breakfast also sold Edy's ice cream.  I got a cup and my book and went right back to the chaise to soak up as much sun as I could.  It started to get really windy before it even got dark so I reluctantly left again and turned in for the evening.  

Puerto Rico Day 1 -- 4/16/13

Before this trip, I knew absolutely nothing about Puerto Rico except that it was down near the Bahamas somewhere.  I didn't know the language and I’d never had any urge to go there.

These are all good things.

I’ve often lamented the fact that I’m not more spontaneous when it comes to travel.  In each of the last few years I’ve been fortunate enough to take one big trip that gets planned out months in advance.  But what about all those weekends I spent at home staring at the cat?  What about the Christmas breaks and long summers that I always wanted to do something but just … didn’t?  Not this year.  With my car note finally paid off (yay!) I actually had a little more scratch to play with this year and I was bound and determined not to spent another week of vacation wishing I could do something.  I decided it was beach time.

Thanks to the suggestion of a co-worker (good looking out Chere!) I picked Puerto Rico for my next quick trip.  I found a cheap fair through one of the emails that Travelzoo sends me and before you know it I had a whole package deal with airfare, 3 nights in a hotel, transportation to and from the airport, and a rainforest tour all booked for around $900.

Saturday before the trip was my 42^nd birthday.  Didn’t do much on the day what with the trip planned.  I bought myself a couple of DVDs and a new travel tote, got some Chinese food (a rare treat), scored an oversized cupcake from Kroger, and basically chilled. 

Since I’m still saving as much money as I can for the big trip I have planned for Ireland in September, I decided to skip the house sitter for Beata.  I’d be out on Tuesday and back on Friday so for those few days she’d be fine.  Plenty of food and water and some clean litter and she’d barely miss me.

The one thing I do love about being in the new perimeter location for the job is that I can leave my car in the parking garage when I go on vacation.  So convenient.  I can walk to MARTA to catch the train all the way to the airport and I don’t have to pay for parking.  Sweet.  Now the commute is still ... What's a word that rhymes with "bell"?

So on the morning of Tuesday morning April 16 I set off for work like I do on any other weekday morning -- after some initial difficulty.  I had packed the weekend before but kept remembering things just as I was trying to get out of the house.  Had to turn around once before getting out of the neighborhood and then make a second trip upstairs once I got home.  I thought I was never getting out of there.  The trend only continued when I parked my car at the job.  I had locked up and was walking away when I remembered that the swim shoes I had run back to the house to get were still in the backseat.  Grrrrr …  This one short little trip was never gonna happen if I didn’t make it on the plane. 

Finally managed to catch the train for the roughly 45 minute trip to the airport.  As usual, I'd given myself a good 2 hours to get through security as I'd already printed my boarding pass at home.  This is Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world.  You never knew what it would look like from day to to day.  So I was totally shocked when I got through security in less than twenty minutes.  Apparently, they've laxed on some of the 9/11 restrictions making the whole thing go by much faster.  Cool.  I put my shoes back on and went to get something to eat.

Reminder to self:  always, if possible, choose the upgrade to the exit row.  Yes, it costs more money but the extra leg room is invaluable.  There was even an empty seat between my window and the aisle.  Double sweet.  Being that I was so comfortable, I actually slept for most of the short 3 hour flight.

First impression of Puerto Rico:  it’s much bigger than I thought and covered in high rises. I couldn’t wait to get out and explore but the sky was looking awfully gray as we started to land.  I'd made arrangements with a company called Elegant Transportation to pick me up and before I even had a change to flounder around the small airport I spotted a sign with my name on it.  The driver was a nice man named Franscico.  He led me through the airport to a van with another couple in it and we were off.

On the trip over, he gave us suggestions on tours and restaurants.  He's a bit of a foodie so he was telling us about the restaurants around our hotel, the Conrad San Juan Condado.  Old San Juan was located near the hotel but he advised transport there.  He recommended some authentic PR food in the area but was sure to downvote the Starbucks located right next to the hotel and the Denny's located in the adjoining building (more on that later).

The Conrad is a gorgeous hotel if a little worn down.  There’s a big fish tank in the lobby along with these funky chairs that look like they were crocheted.  There's a full wall of mosiac tiling behind the front desk that reminds me that I really need to get back into tiling, I've always enjoyed.  With card keys in hand, I headed to my room on the 7th floor.

The room was very nice.  I loved the color scheme and the bathroom … well the bathroom needs to be in my house quite frankly.  With a big glass shower in the middle of the room, a vanity on one side and a closet, safe, and fridge on the other, it was way more than I expected.

 

I got unpacked, changed into some shorts and set out to explore … only to find that it had started to rain and not a light tropical storm.  It was pouring.  Dang it.  I want to go outside!  Stubborn me decided to take my trusty umbrella for a short tour around the grounds.

Man, do I love palm trees.  They were all over the property, leaves swaying the breeze.  Some even had coconuts in them!  Nice to look at but I'd hate to be swinging in one of the hammocks strung between some of them if one of those bad boys decided to drop.  The grounds have two pools, a large kidney shaped on with a net, a slide, and a swim up bar, as well as a deeper sea water pool (6 ft deep).  There were cafe tables set up near the larger bar and a massage tent set up between the pools and a small beach and man is it raining.  I trudged my wet shoes back under the shelter of the hotel awning.

 

I ended up on the patio located on the side of the hotel facing the water.  I plopped myself down on a deck chair.  Despite the rain I was happy to be on the island, watching the palm trees and the waves.  After a while a guy from a nearby group of people wandered over and introduced himself as Brian.  He was waiting to leave and decided to talk to a friendly face since he joked of being tired of his companions.  He was a social worker from New York on the island for business.  We ended up talking for a while about ATL vs. NY airports (ATL scared him for being so huge), sports (he was a Mets fan and hoped I wasn’t a rabid Braves fan), and other stuff.  I asked him about any sights I should see while on the island and he said that he’d been there multiple times (monthly meetings over the last few years) and couldn’t really see anything but the job anymore.  Apparently, the PR government was setting up too much red tape in trying to help the homeless so the island visits just meant frustration for him.

After our conversation ended, it started to get a little too windy for me so I headed inside to explore the hotel. There’s a small club of sorts as well as a freestanding bar and a gift shop on the first level.  The Mezzanine level has a couple of restaurants, meeting rooms, and a small casino.  I walked right on by -- never been a gambler.  On the far side of casino was the skywalk leading to the hotel's other building.  More conference rooms and a Denny's on this side.

I wasn't actually hungry (I rarely am on vacation) but I figured I'd eat.  I chose Denny’s (I know – real authentic PR food) as it happened to be right there.  I should have known that was a mistake based on how empty it was.  The waiter didn’t write down my order, had to ask me again, then came back to say that they didn’t have any pickles, and then brings me a burger with tomatoes that I didn’t ask for.  I shouldn’t have tipped him but habit made me leave him something.  Turns out Fransico knew what he was talking about.  Lesson learned but at least the burger was tasty. 

As the rain had slacked up during my meal, I took a brief walk outside.  A bunch of hotels, restaurants and shops line the street along with a bunch of cops.  They were everywhere, in cars, on bikes and on foot.  Good to know I'd be safe while there.

It started to drizzle again so I headed back to the room to rest up. I could only hope that the island would get all that rain out of its system overnight. 

Maui -- Day 7 6/12/12

Slept well for once.  I think The Party Girlz!^© moved out, thank the heavens.  At least I’d be rested for this my last day on the island L.

I watched part of V: The Mini Series while packing up the rest of my stuff.  Boy did I do some shopping.  Even the collapsible bag I always travel with was full.  I would definitely have to check a bag at the airport.

Walked to Denny’s for breakfast before going across the street to the beach.  As I took my final beach stroll, I couldn’t help but think about the possibility of moving to an island.  Part of the magic of the island vacation is that you’re getting away from the everyday grind.  You’re off schedule and have deliberate plans to relax and enjoy.  Does that change when you live on the island?  I’d spoken to various people on this trip.  There was Colleen on the plane, a native returning home ‘back to the grind’ as she called it.  She also remarked, after asking me what I’d planned to do on the trip, that when you live on the island you never go to the beach.  Then there was the woman who worked in the Hard Rock in Lahaina.  She worked just across the street from the water and had a great view of it. Yet when I asked her if Maui was better than the mainland she said only sometimes.  John, the boat captain from yesterday, got to spend all his time on the water (absolute heaven for me).  The price was that he was living in a house with a few roommates, couldn’t afford to travel, and lived off of tips.

Does the island lose its luster when you work there?  Native Hawaiians aside, anyone not fabulously rich would have to get a job and pay the bills in order to stay.  And let’s face it; retail, landscaping, construction, housekeeping is all the same whether it’s on an island or the mainland.  Maui is wonderful and all but I wouldn’t want a move to kill my chance to travel anywhere else.  I think an island would definitely become confining if you simply can’t afford to leave.

This all goes to the idea that it’s best to just be independently wealthy.  I really gotta work on that.

Anyway, I collected some water and sand in a small plastic bottle and went back to the hotel.  I hadn’t planned to check out so early (check out was noon and it was only around 8:30) but Housekeeping was on the way so I figured I’d beat it ...

… Right back to Lahaina.  Gee.  I must really like this city.  And boy do I miss the drive.

This trip I stopped by the Lahaina Cannery Mall to buy all the things I’d managed to resist on my last trip.  Another stroll along the main shops and the pier, then I reluctantly headed for the airport.

Quickly returned the car without getting charged any extra, shuttled to the terminal, then it was on through customs.  I had to ditch the ocean water but it didn’t bother me;   I had enough sand in my swim shoes to more than compensate for what I’d collected in the bottle.  The agricultural dudes scanned my bag and asked me about the two round objects that they couldn’t identify.  It took me a minute to remember what they were talking about then just abruptly said “soap bombs”.  I actually said it again without even realizing it then thought, ‘hey.  I got to say the word ‘bomb’ twice in Maui airport and wasn’t wrestled to the ground.  Woo Hoo!'

Since I’d gotten to the airport way too early, I made an unprecedented third Starbucks run (staring at the picture of their new cookie crumble frappachino was way too tempting) and found an nice bench near an open window to wait for my flight.  Last chance to see palm trees and get a tropical breeze before being once again confined to a cramped metal tube with a bunch of strangers.  Best waiting period ever! 

Fortunately the flight was not too bad as it’s always worse going to a location than coming back.  This being an overnight flight made things easier.  I watched the movie (Journey to the Center of the Earth Mysterious Island – eh.) and once again managed to not get sick.  Landing in Dallas, I grabbed a quick breakfast then it was on to Atlanta.

I was very glad to the see that the car had survived the parking lot at work.  It was very dirty for some reason but in one piece.  Driving back home a couple of things struck me; 1) I live really far away from my job – it took forever to get home and 2) such a long drive makes entirely no sense without being able to see the water.  Twenty-six miles of Publix grocery stores and mini malls just won’t cut it after the ocean views I just left.

House intact and cat still alive – always the best welcome home you can get after a vacation.  I unpacked and then lay down on the living room floor to get reacquainted with the cat when suddenly I couldn’t keep my eyes open.  The time difference, trying to sleep on cramped planes, along with being up since 6 Atlanta time meant that it was way past nap-time for me.  I went upstairs and conked out.

Woke up four hours later completely disoriented, no idea where I was or what was going on.  Hey!  Whose cat is this?  She sure is friendly … wait.  That’s Beata.  This is my room, at home in Atlanta.  Which is why I hear air conditioning and not the ocean.  Bummer.

So that’s the tale.  I’m home safe and sound though I ended up with a nasty case of prickly heat on my arms and neck that lasted for over a week.  Small price to pay for a week in paradise.  As usual, though, travel just makes me want to do more traveling.  Of course, now I’m broke but that doesn’t mean I can’t make plans for next year.  I’m really digging the water outings I’ve had in the past two years.  I need to make that happen more often.  Also, my passport expires next September so I’m thinking I need to get one last stamp before I have to renew.  Maybe the bed and breakfast thing across Ireland that I’ve wanted to do for a while.  Peru is another option as I want to see Machu Pichu. 

Next trip to Hawaii I plan to hit the Big Island.  I just hope it doesn’t take me another five years to do it.

Mahalo and Aloha!

Maui -- Day 6 6/11/12

Woke up at midnight, four, five – I hate my neighbors!  Yet despite the constant interruptions (or in anticipation of them) I didn’t need to use the loud alarm on my phone as I was once again up before six.  I put on my swimsuit and ate a power bar before gathering my gear and heading out the door for my planned snorkeling adventure.

Got checked in at the nearby dive shop; which meant getting huge flippers for my huge feet, the strongest goggles they had, and of course signing a waiver absolving the shop in case of my getting eaten by sharks or something.  Then it’s back to the car and back the way I came until I reached Kihei pier.

A small young woman named Tia introduced herself and checked for attendance while a couple of guys unloaded the boat from the truck that was towing in into the water.  Then we slowly piled into the boat and met the captain named John.  John explained what would happen on the three-hour tour (can anyone ever utter that phrase without thinking about Gilligan’s Island?) and that while he would be steering the boat, Tia as a dive instructor, marine biologist, and nautical ninja would be in the water with us to assist.  They offered us coffee and small snacks before we took off.

Unsurprisingly, I’m the only single and the only black woman on the boat.  There is one older couple, two couples with two teen daughters each, a woman with her two daughters, her son and his girlfriend, and another couple with their two young kids.  The father of the last couple bears a striking resemblance to Evan Handler, the guy from Sex and the City and Californication, right down to the bald head and the stocky frame.  I almost thought it was him until his wife called him Brian.

We headed out and before we even got half-way there, we spotted our first big green turtle in the water.  Our destination was Molokini, a crescent shaped crater about half an hour away from Kihei.  We wouldn’t be landing on the crater since actually a bird sanctuary and off limits to humans.  Instead we set anchor just off the shore along with a bunch of other boats full of divers and snorkelers. 

Already we could see some dark blue fish near the surface as we started to gear up.  let everyone else take their turn to get off the boat, still nervous about getting into deep water.  I was the kid in swim class who wasn’t lining up to dive into the deep end of the pool after the lesson was over.  But I want to face the fear, hence the snorkeling.  The tour guides turned out to be more than accommodating for the squeamish like myself.  There were boogie boards to hold unto with a hole in the center for seeing the bottom for anyone who wanted them.  There were also floatation devices in the form of bright yellow belts in different sizes.  I slipped one of those on but, not wanting to look like a total wussy, I left the boogie boards to the others. 

Also, something I didn’t know, you don’t have to spit on the masks to keep them from fogging like you see in the movies.  Tia showed us the technique of using a spray bottle full of heavily-diluted baby shampoo onto the lenses.  Rinse them off in a bucket of water and you’re left with a thin sheen of soap that doesn’t sting your eyes and keeps the lenses from fogging.  You learn something new every day.

Okay.  Flippers on, floaty in place, face mask prepared and properly fitted, dive shirt on to protect from sunburn, and here we go.

Oy.  I thought Tia said the water was warm.  Maybe to her but on my sun-warmed skin, not so much.  It took a few minutes but just like my earlier trips into the ocean, I eventually got used to the water.  The floaty around my waist refuses to let me drown – I could literally just stop moving and still be afloat.  Cool.  Deep water not so scary anymore.  Now all I had to do is navigate the bit in my mouth and try to do some snorkeling.

You know, once I figured out that I should actually breathe into the odd apparatus in my mouth instead of holding my breath, the whole idea of being face-down in the water didn’t sound nearly so suicidal.  And oooh …. fishies!

Tia was sitting on a surfboard nearby and once I let her know that I was okay, I was off and snorkeling. There was an amazing amount of visibility.  I could see all the way to the bottom of the reef several feet away.  The mask wasn’t nearly as strong as my prescription but still allowed me a good view.  No pictures unfortunately.  I was worried about getting my camera wet so I didn’t bring it and I neglected to buy an underwater camera.  This postcard might help you get a visual. This is not Molokini but the reef looked a lot like this with schools of fish everywhere.  Some of the others even saw a shark though I missed that one.  Too busy trying to calm my breathing which is very loud to my ear while having to adjust the rubber piece over my nose to be more comfortable.  Still kept getting water in it which required me to do some very unladylike snorting to get it out.

About five minutes after we got there, Tia warned us that another boat was coming in so stay out of the way.  This one was much bigger than the one we were on and carried a whole lot more people.  Dozens of them with bright floaty sticks that promptly scared most of the fish away.  Man, I was just getting into that.  Oh well.  Our half hour at Molokini was soon up and we were back on the boat.

Have I mentioned that I love being on the water?  I really love it.  Even last year when I was on the ferry in Italy, when everyone else was barfing I was still good.  And boating here?  In Maui on another gorgeous day with the sun and the waves and the sea air … awesome.  Even Tia remarked that she’d love to just stay on the boat and enjoy the day.  All we needed was a grill and some beer and we’d be set.  Believe me, nobody gave her any argument.

The next spot was a place called White Rock that was near Wailea Beach.  This would be ‘Turtle Town’ for this trip though the location of Turtle Town changes with the tour.  Not so scared this time but man did that water feel just as cold as it did earlier in the day.  The water wasn’t as clear here and there weren’t nearly as many fish.  I never did see a turtle while in the water but, wouldn’t you know, the second I got out we spotted two of them.   At least I got to see them. 

We headed back to the pier after a brief three hours, stopping just short of docking so John could tell us a few things.  He stopped in the middle of ocean because some other boats were launching from the pier and making too much noise for him to be heard.  He encouraged us to finish off the snacks because as soon as we docked, those little brown birds would be all over it.  I already knew about those birds from the breakfast at Caffe Kihei.  Little brown vultures.  He then none-too-subtly hinted that if we wanted to tip, Tia would be more than happy to hold the money.  Oh shoot.  I didn’t bring any cash, no credit card, nothing.  Didn’t want to risk losing anything and completely forgot about a tip. 

John docks the boat and I kind of slunk off and said my goodbyes.  I sincerely hope that the other passengers tipped well.  That was a great outing and John and Tia really deserve any tips they get.  I’ll just have to tip them double on my next trip to Maui.

I have a sudden craving.   I want a burger.  I had some time before I had to return the equipment so I figured I’d stop by the room for a shower and a change of clothes then head out again.  My first thought was to go back to Lahaina to Cool Cat which is supposed to have the best burgers on the island but I managed to restrain myself.  I’d already been to Lahaina three times – enough already!  Instead I chose to go back to the Wailea shops to a restaurant I remembered seeing.

When I’m seated at Cheeseburger Island Style, one of the first things the waitress asks me is if I want a Mai Tai.  I hadn’t even thought of booze as I’m not a drinker but … sure!  Where better to have my first one ever than in Maui surrounded by pictures of hula dancers and palm trees?  And it was tasty too!  The Italian style burger was interesting but also not bad. 

After the meal I returned the snorkeling gear then drove to Kahului to visit a scrapbooking shop I’d seen earlier.  With all the pictures I’d taken, I wanted to have some island themed supplies for documenting everything once I got home.

When I got back to the hotel that familiar fatigue was hitting me.  I wanted to go out and get some ice cream but it didn’t happen.  Settled down to watch Eureka before hitting the sack.

Maui -- Day 5 6/10/12

Up at 5:50, I knew I wanted to make one more trip to Lahaina.  I tried to head to Caffe Kihei first for breakfast but it was way too crowded.  Hit Starbucks instead for  yet another yummy latte and a breakfast sandwich then it was back on the road for me.

Living in Atlanta, it’s easy to forget how much I like to drive.  It’s actually an enjoyable experience where you don’t have anywhere you need to be.  And being able to see water most of the trip – bonus.

The tiny town of Ma’alaea is my first stop.  The aquarium is here as well as a dive school, a pier, and several small shops.  Only the shops were open so of course I managed to be divested of even more of my dwindling cash.  Purchases in hand I got back into the car.

When I got the car from Alamo they gave me a map of the island.  On it are several places that are marked as forbidden territory as in if you take the car over these roads you void your leasing agreement.  That made me curious.  Were these roads unpaved? Plagued by daily avalanches?  What made these parts of the road so impassible to anything but a 4WD?  Let’s find out, shall we?!

So I droved past Lahaina and Ka’anapali, past anywhere I’d been on this road before until the busy four lane highway narrowed into two lanes.  Then it started to get twisted and dark because of over-hanging tree limbs.  Turns out this part of the road is forbidden because the narrow road hangs off the side of a cliff at various points and there are only sporadic guard rails.  Oh.  That explains it.  I pulled into the last overlook before the road got really interesting, took some pictures, and headed back down.

There are several towns along this road, most of them I just drove through.  But I did stop at one; Oneloa beach.  To get to Oneloa you go through a very high end community, past the golf course, the country club, and the community store before you can find parking.  There are signs for a trail that partially winds around the beach so as soon as I park I decide to follow the trail.

Even though all of the beaches on Maui have public access, Oneloa feels more like a private beach.  With houses fronting the water instead of hotels and resorts, most of them with very easy access to the beach through their backyards, there is more a secluded feel to the place. 

The trail signs are a little confusing.  I initially went along the wooden path that borders the beach but stopped when the wood gave way to dirt.  I went back to the parking lot where this part of the trail began and ended up walking along the street for what seemed like forever.  I wound up in the parking lot of the Ritz Carlton before I realized that I needed to turn around. Retraced my steps to the wood trail and then went further.  This part of the trail is very hilly and rocky with the ‘trail’ being almost impossible to pick out in certain areas.  It eventually leads to the edge of the rock cliff overlooking the water.  There are a bunch of little tide pools and caves on this end that were really pretty.

Making my way through the rocks and back to the wooden path, I found a couple who were trying to navigate the path as well.  They asked me to take their picture while I told them how to get to the rocks. The guy was kind enough to return the favor.

On the way out, I stopped by the community store.  It’s a nice place with groceries, souvenirs, and a café in the back.  I scored some buy one get one free Kona coffee and some chilled pineapple (both must-buys while in Hawaii).  I gobbled up the fruit in the parking lot then got back on the road.

Back in Lahaina, I stopped at the Cannery Mall, a place I missed the last time I was there.  The mall is small with a few nice shops in it.  There was also a stage set up where they’d have hula shows on the weekends.  I caught part of one before returning to Kihei.

I grabbed a salad and my beach gear and walked to Kama’ole to eat.  As always, it was nice to just sit on the beach but it wasn’t long before I was getting sand blasted by the wind (I even found sand caked behind my ear later on!).  Really need to hit this beach in the morning.  It’s just way too windy in the afternoon. 

I walked along the beach to Kama’ole I and Kama’ole Bay.  Each was smaller than Kama’ole II and rockier but still very nice beaches.  The rocks also seemed to block the wind a bit more.  This allowed me to sit out for a little bit longer before finally heading back to the hotel for the night.

Maui -- Day 4 6/9/12

Hey.  Why’s it so dark?  I woke up Saturday morning thinking that it might be about to rain.  Then I looked at my watch.  5:10 a.m.  Oh.

This reminded me that when I was in Oahu, it rained every day even if it was just for a few minutes.  So far every day in Maui has been gorgeous.  Maybe April is the rainy season and the skies clear up by June. 

I went to the Cinnamon Roll, a shop in walking distance from the hotel.  They make these ginormous rolls fresh every morning and load them with whatever you want (pecans, frosting, sprinkles, etc).  Again, not diet food but it was certainly tasty though I could only eat half of it.

Today’s beach stop:  the gorgeous Wailea.  Wailea is the next neighborhood to the south of Kihei, too far to walk but a short car trip.  I passed by a bunch of very fancy schmancy homes until I got to the nice open air mall that houses the Wailea shops. 

Walked around there for a minute before finding a cherry spot in the narrow beach access parking lot. 

This beach, like Ka'anapali, has a bunch of hotels fronting it except way more fancy.  The Four Seasons and the Grand Wailea are here as well as some condos.  I can understand how the higher end hotels are here; Wailea is a really nice stretch of beach.

The trail that leads past the hotels has some really pretty manicured lawns and trees.  There are signs that point out some of the flowers that grow there as well as signs warning against venturing off the trail into protected areas.  At various points the trail winds around rocky areas that have steep dropoffs.

Some of the same ammenities from Ka'anapali are here as well; restaurants, pools, and sea activities.  One of the restaurants is named after the impossible to pronounce state fish: the Humuhumunukunukuapua'a.  Yeah.  That's not a typo.  They just call it Humu for short.  It's an expensive seafood restaurant in case you wanted to know.

I saw the staff cleaning up the meeting area for the luau they hold 3-4 nights a week.  I considered going since this is a much safer option than trying to navigate from Lahaina back to the hotel at night.  Still hesistant to make any solid plans though since I'm usually comatose by around 7:00.  Not sure if I could last through the evening.

Just walking along, I spotted this amazing church behind The Grand Wailea.  Surrounded on three sides by a koi-filled pond, it looked like the perfect place to get married or renew vows for a religious couple.

Personally I'd rather get married outside on the beach but it's still a nice option for someone else.

After gettting a good look around, I sat on the beach for a while before making my way back to the mall.  It's finally dawned on me that I'm running out of time.  I wanted to get in some water activity before leaving.  I'd spoken to the hotel concierge about biking Haleakala but decided against it.  He mentioned ziplining and snorkeling as alternatives which both sounded interesting.  Never done either of those things so I decided to get some info on snorkeling at the dive shop in the mall.  The lady there was very helpful in signing me up to board the Kai Anela on Monday to snorkel off of Molokini.

From Wailea I headed to Kahului to do some more shopping, which included a trip to freaking Old Navy.  I call it that because I have a serious grudge with the place.  I had avoided it for years because I knew that any store that sold size 0 and extra small was not the store for me.  Then I made the mistake of trying  something on one day and realizing that it actually fit.  That store has taken quite a bit of my money since then, as it has spectactularly enabled my tank top habit for years. No tank tops this trip though.  I went in specifically to find a dress for the luau since I hadn't brought anything dressy with me.  Once I found a nice black one, I went on about my business.  Now, if I could just quit that store altogether ...

A quick stop to Kmart for some supplies and a slice of pizza and I was back to the hotel for the night. 

Maui -- Day 3 6/8/12

With all the interruptions of the previous night, I actually slept in a little.  I didn’t get up until 6:30.  Couldn’t wait to get out of the room and headed straight for the car.

First stop, Caffe Kihei.  This is a little hole in the wall place that opens early to service the tourists.  I order a Loco Moco, a local breakfast specialty that I didn’t get a chance to try in Oahu.  It’s a big bucket-sized serving of fried rice topped with a saucer-sized hamburger patty topped with an egg topped with gravy.  Not exactly diet food especially with the jumbo serving.  This was taken after I just couldn’t eat any more.

Whenever I eat in Hawaii, it’s always nicest to eat outside and there are always plenty of places with patios and outdoor seating.  But in Maui there’s a problem.  There are these little brown birds that swarm around like locusts ready to pounce on any unattended food.  One landed on my table and I thought ‘oh how sweet, a breakfast companion’. I reached down for my camera and while I was distracted, the little vulture took a peck at my food.  Hey!  Good feelings gone now. Beat it!

No plan for the day, just decided to drive around.  The Hana trip still beckons.  I passed by the road to 

Hana 

on the way back through Kahului.  That’s an all day trip though that requires some planning.  Not ready to be on a schedule yet.  Just driving along and somehow I ended up back on the way to Lahaina.  Oh well.  I do still need to get my Hard Rock shirt.

This time up the hill, I passed by Lahaina and went on to

Ka’anapali.

  There's a road that leads directly to the Sheraton/Westin/Hyatt complex complete with restaurants and golf course.  I ended up following this jeep down a narrow service road to the parking for beach access.  Grabbed my beach gear and started to walk the path between the hotels and the beach.

Ka’anapali is an absolutely gorgeous stretch of sand and the hotels take full advantage of that.  There are plenty of chairs and even hammocks to lie out on, a tented off area for seaside massages (nice), and an info stand for water activities like surfing, scuba, and boating.  The pools are insane.  One has the natural look of a pond and is designed mostly for the kiddies while another has a cave-like formation with a waterfall and swim up bar.  A bridge passes over the water to the rest rooms and the rest of the hotel.

After getting the lay of the land, I settled on the beach for some sea-watching.  Once again I’m struck with the possibility of all the things that can be done, particularly on this beach.  I watched a surfing class bravely surf their way back to the shore (some of them – the rest just floated on their boats by the instructor), I saw a couple of novice divers go out in the water with their red dive flags, and a saw plenty of stand up paddlers (the locals call them janitors because it looks like they are sweeping the sea with their paddles). I still find it hard to balance my need to explore and try new things and my need to just lie on the beach and not do nuthin’.  Ka’anapali is a great beach for water activities but the lying flat on my back part is good too. 

In the end, I pass on the water sports and instead head back to Lahaina.  I’ve been collecting Hard Rock shirts for years now, starting with a Dallas one that I got as a present.  Now, everywhere I go, I make sure to pinpoint the restaurant and do some shopping – no eating most of the time, just shopping.  I somehow missed out on Paris and Myrtle Beach (I’d rather go back to Paris as Myrtle Beach pales in comparison to Hawaii).   Even though I already had one from Honolulu, I still got the Maui shirt.  Had to go with black again as I have such bad luck with white shirts (too easy to stain) and the orange shirt that I liked did not like my skin tone.  At all.

Walked around Lahaina again as there was much I missed from the day before.  Thought about eating at Bubba Gump since I hadn’t had any seafood yet as well as this place called Cool Cat which is supposed to have the best burgers on Maui but didn’t do either.  Vacation mode in full effect and I’m just not hungry.  I was just enjoying walking around and seeing the sights.  These ladies are part of some league that makes leis as a fundraiser.  They sell for a$1 apiece.

My two hours up (parking in Lahaina is interesting at best) I was ready for some more beach time.  Changed into my bathing suit, grabbed some Subway and had another nice little picnic on the beach.  I got in the water but the wind made it even choppier than the day before.  After almost losing my glasses twice in the waves (and I’m completely blind without them so it’s best to keep them intact), I got out and went back to the beach.

That too didn’t last long.  I was getting sandblasted on my right side (I later found sand embedded behind my ear!) so I reluctantly left the beach for the hotel.  The plan again was to shower and dress to go back out to eat … but not so much.  I made the mistake of turning the TV on for some background noise while I was in the shower.  The TV is in a cabinet and when the doors are open they block the view from anywhere but the bed.  It was way too easy to skip dinner and drift off to sleep.