Honeymoon Diary #4

Wednesday 29th July

The alarm went off at 1.30am. Yup, 1.30am. One of the most amazing sights on Maui is supposed to be the sunrise over Haleakala Crater, so we wanted to up early enough to take the drive up to the top. It's not that far but it's a slow drive up the dormant volcano. It's also one of the steepest roads in the world, ascending 10,000 ft above sea-level in just 38 miles. It was certainly fun in the dark (fortunately I left that drive to Darren!) It didn't take as long as expected though – we arrived at about 3.45am, one of only three cars in the car park. It was worth being that early though as there is virtual no ambient light and the view of the stars is magnificent. It was also good to have the time to reflect before the hordes of cars and tourbuses arrived. It was incredibly cold though!

Darren took a quick nap before the main show but I couldn't sleep and had a nice chat with a couple of American kids. We saw the sky gradually lighten and by the time Darren joined me there were about a thousand people who had joined us. The stars went out, one by one and it got colder just before dawn. At around 5.50am the clouds started to glow and then the sun shone out. It is impossible to put into words what the experience was like.

After the main event we drove up to the highest point on the volcano to get more of a view of the crater. It's difficult to have any perspective on how big it is – it's 8 miles across and would comfortably hold Manhatten island. As we drove down we stopped at he various lookout points to get some different views and stopped again at the bottom at a cafe or breakfast. Then it was off to lunch!

Darren had spotted O'o farm in one of the manny magazines we had picked up. The organic farm was created to provide for two restaurants in Lahaina, a town near the resort we are staying at, and the Feast At Lele, a meal / show that we had booked to attend before leaving. The lunch tours seemed right up our street. The farm is on the lower slopes of Haleakala. There were around 20 people on the tour and we were shown around the farm, the various crops and techniques they had for growing as organically and naturally as possible. We had some very interesting conversations about how organic food rarely means local food when it comes to supermarkets – I think they were quite shocked by how far food gets shipped to the UK! We then helped to pick some salad leaves for our lunch.

As well as the salad the chef had prepared the local Mahi-Mahi fish and some tofu (which even Darren thought was tasty!). There was also some lovely chocolate fondants to finish. The atmosphere was very communal and everyone seemed quite interested in our WWOOFing experiences. Wine was drunk (not so much by me as I was designated driver) and we left around 2.30pm.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at Tom Barefoot's Tours, a well-respected activities vendor on the islands. Jake (who is Tom's son, yes Barefoot is his real name) was really helpful – we didn't feel as if we were being sold anything that we didn't want, only the tours that were right for us. We booked a Volcano Air Tour for Saturday morning and a complete island tour in a helicopter before our departure on Monday afternoon.

Another of Darren's spies in a magazine was The Melting Pot, our destination for dinner. It's a chain of restaurants but not one that you get in the UK so we allowed ourselves a visit. It's basically a fondue restaurant. We went for the four-course set menu (I say, “set,” there was still a lot of choice!). First up, cheese fondue – once they fired up the hot plate they came to our table with the raw ingredients and mixed the fondue in front of us, leaving us with a lovely gooey cheese mixture and various breads, raw vegetables and apple chunks to dip. Next was a salad of mozzarella and tomatoes. Then the meat and fish course – a bowl of stock was heated on the table and we were given a plate of all sorts of meat and seafood, along with a few veggies and lots of different sauces. You simply dropped the food in, waited a few minutes, then fished it out and ate. We gradually made it through the whole lot (except the potatoes – we put two in at the beginning and they still weren't cooked when we'd finished everything else!)

Last but not least was the inevitable chocolate fondue. There were all sorts of options, we went for dark chocolate with Disaronno. Again there were lots of different goodies to dip (my favourite was the marshmallow coated in Oreo crumbs). It was a really fun experience – I'm amazed there's nothing similar in the UK!

Thursday 30th July

Today we were to drive the legendary Road To Hana. Despite only being 52 miles long the journey was estimated to take about three hours and, with part of the road due to close at 11.30am for roadworks, we had to leave by 8am to be sure of making it all the way. There are around 620 turns and 46 one-lane bridges along the road which nestles between the coast and the rainforest. There was some nice scenary and waterfalls along the way but it wasn't as breath-taking as I expected. Some recommend taking a guided tour rather than driving it yourself but I found the driving much more fun than the viewing!

We stopped just inside Hana at a tiny museum which had a lot of personal accounts of the tsunamis that have hit the east coast of Maui over the last century, as well as an example of a traditional Hawai'ian village. We then went back on ourselves to grab some BBQ chicken from a roadside stall (there are loads of them) and took it to Hana Bay itself. Most say that the destination is a disappointment after the journey. It is small, never having really recovered from the last tidal wave in 1946. The bay itself is a black sand beach and, despite the number of people who travel towards it, was very quiet.

After our lunch we continued a little further along the road. Inspired by the band Gomez we wanted to see Hamoa Beach. It's a lovely little beach, shaded by lots of trees but with quite a strong current. We stopped to lie on the grey sand or a while and I couldn't resist a play in the high waves. I didn't last long though – after five minutes I was exhausted and returned to our spot to dry off!

We were thinking of continuing to the waterfalls of Oheo Gulch but it was already past 3pm and we were still quite tired from the previous day so we decided to head back once the road re-opened at 3.30pm. Darren clipped the car on a side-barrier (good thing it was there otherwise we'd have been down the cliff!) but the journey back was otherwise fairly uneventful. Once back at the hotel we ate at the Tiki Terrace, the hotel restaurant and made for an early night.

Honeymoon Diary #3

Friday 24th July

We had a really early start today. Our tour to the Big Island was picking us up at 5am (although the bus didn't turn up until 5.30am). Once at Honolulu Airport we were shown to our check-in desk where we got our boarding passes. I lost my sunscreen for good this time – I hadn't thought about airport security and the bottle was too big. Fortunately we didn't really need it as most of our day was to be spent at the misty top of a volcano.

After we landed we came through the tiny airport at Hilo to be greeted by our driver and guide for the day. He added a very personal angle to the tour, telling us about his childhood in the town and about the tsunami that struck the town in 1960. I half expected him to start telling us where his aunts and uncles lived! Once out of the town our first stop was Rainbow Falls. Probably not the most exciting waterfall in Hawai'i but probably the easiest one for tourbuses to stop at. We had 15 minutes to take a few snaps and then headed off to the Mauna Loa Macademia Nut Factory.
Macademia nuts are everywhere in Hawai'i. I don't think we've seen a restaurant menu yet that doesn't mention them somewhere. When the driver told us that there we free samples in the gift shop that was where everyone headed first! The samples certainly worked - we bought four packs in various flavours and got a free cool bag. We then had a quick walk around the outside of the factory. You can walk down the entire production line and view what's going on through large windows. There wasn't much to see in the early stages but seeing how they encase the nuts in chocolate (and it's very good chocolate) was interesting.

Finally we were off up the volcano! The Big Island of Hawai'i is constantly growing and has the most active volcano on earth, Kilauea, which is spewing lava into the sea and creating new land. It has two bigger volcanoe, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea – indeed Mauna Loa is the most massive mountain on earth and if you counted the height from the sea floor it is bigger than Mount Everest. We stopped at the Visitor Centre for our first view of the steaming caldera of Kilauea. This was also our lunch stop – a bit early at 11am but I suppose we had been up a long time.

After lunch we drove round Crater Rim Drive past many steam vents (which I thought we were meant to stop at but the driver didn't seem too enthusiastic about them. Definitely a problem with going on a large guided tour). We stopped at the Jaggar Museum. The road is currently closed from this point due to dangerously high quantities of sulphur in the air, so this is the closest overlook of Halema'uma'u Crater. We could smell the sulphur and it was quite awe-inspiring to see the size and scale of both the crater and the caldera. The museum was also interesting, showing how the island chain was formed, the different types of lava and the damage caused by the most recent eruptions.

Back on Crater Rim Drive and past the visitor centre is Thurston Lava Tube. Created 500 years ago, it's a cold, dark, wet walk through quite an amazing feat of nature. Next on the tour was a visit to an orchid nursery. Orchids are another thing you see everywhere in Hawai'i – the leis, the flowers in the hair, decorating food, cocktails, everywhere! The nursery had a plant said to be worth $20,000 – it was perfectly symmetrical apparently. We also thought it was pretty ugly!

Our final stop was advertised as a, “journey to the End of the Road where the lava has most recently flowed into the sea.” It turns out that coaches are not actually allowed down to the end of the road so we actually went to the end of the next road along. Here we walked along a quarter of a mile trail to a black sand beach. You could see the steam from where the lava was meeting the water but it was too far away and there was no chance of seeing any red lava flow. The landscape was kind of eerie though and a surprisingly large number of coconut trees had started to grow on the lava field.

Back at tiny Hilo airport (half of it outside!) we checked-in and passed security without any problems. As we waited to board our plane we were treated to a live musical and hula performance. The hula dance is really expressive and the song was in English which meant I could easily interpret the dance. It was a wonderfully relaxed end to a busy day.

When we returned to our hotel we stopped in Duke's for dinner – I had some really good fish encrusted in macademia nuts and Darren had tuna. Then it was off to bed for some much needed sleep.

Saturday 25th July

We wanted to take a leisurely look around Honolulu. After spending an hour in an internet cafe trying to fix my laptop we took a bus to the Aloha Tower. We browsed around the shops in the mall and stopped for a beer at Gordon Biersch, a brew-pub chain in Hawai'i. We thought we'd have a bite to eat as well, choosing a pork sandwich each. As ever the American portions were huge though!

It's hard to believe in high-rise Waikiki that the 184-ft Aloha Tower was the tallest building in Honolulu when it was open in 1926. We took the free lift up to the top - not an amazing view but it was fun to watch the planes taking off from the airport.

Time seemed to run away from us. It was already 3pm and we hadn't actually got to the historic buildings that I wanted to see. So we walked up to 'Iolani Palace – you can only enter it on a guided tour anyway. This is where Queen Lili'uokalani, the last monarch of Hawai'i ruled from and was then imprisoned under house arrest when the monarchy was overthrown in 1893. The building I really wanted to get to was the State Art Museum. It closes at 4pm so we had just half and hour to have a quick look around. I'm glad we did as we had the gallery to ourselves and saw some really evocative pieces by Hawai'ian and Hawai'i-based artists.

We took the bus back to Waikiki and jumped out on the way to hire a car for the following day. We also went to Hard Rock Cafe for a quick drink and to collect our Honolulu shot glass. Our hotel had an art gallery / shop that we had viewed a couple of times since we arrived and we nipped in again. We've wanted to own an original piece of art for some time and this seemed like the ideal opportunity. We were particularly taken by the work of Steve Barton who uses wavy canvases for his Hawai'ian land and sea-scapes. We sat with Pink Sunset (I think that's what it was called) for a long time in their viewing room before agreeing to take the plunge. I'm not telling how much it cost, but as we had received some money from Darren's parents we agreed that it would be paid for by them (so thank you both!). Breathless but excited, we went to bed.

Sunday 26th July

Inspired by our Lost tour earlier in the week (and still a little annoyed that we couldn't take the full day tour) we hired a car and decided to investigate the North Shore by ourselves. At such short notice we had to go for a more expensive option, so for just one day we were the proud “owners” of a red Mini convertible.

After a few arguments on how to get out of Honolulu (the map wasn't very useful and the roadsigns even less so) we found Highway 2 and were on our way. We headed straight for the west end of the shore. We had a quick drive around Dillinger Airfield where the main part of the Lost plane fuselage used to be stored but we couldn't see anything. Next stop, Camp Erdman, the YMCA camp used as the Dharma village where we took a few snaps, then to Mokule'ia Beach. This was used for a lot of the beach scenes in the first series and it did have a sense of familiarity about it! We spent an hour soaking up a little sun (a little too much as we later found out - the new spray on suncream I bought was pretty hard to apply in the wind and we both ended up with rather unattractive red patches...)

We then headed east to Waimea Falls, another Lost location. We had a bite to eat in the cafe and then set of through the botanic gardens to the 60-ft waterfall. We both had a dip in the pool which was very cold and pretty uncomfortable underfoot – really difficult to get in and out! We had planned to continue east to Sunset Beach and Turtle Bay but we wanted to get the car back before 5.30pm so we decided to head back to Honolulu.

As we approached Honolulu we had an hour left with the car so we took a detour to the Punchbowl Crater. Yet another of Hawai'i's volcanic craters, this one has become a memorial site for those who have been lost in combat but whose bodies have never been found. As well the large monuments to the dead from the Pearl Harbour attack are thousands of marble stones representing many others missing in action, presumed dead. Despite being so close to the city it is incredibly peaceful and we left in reflective mood.

Back into the Honolulu / Waikiki traffic, the mood became frantic, especially when we hurriedly had to work out the procedure of a US gas station. We just got the car back on time and wandered back to the hotel to shower and change for our last meal in Oahu.

This one was on Mum! We originally planned to eat at Benares, a Michelin-starred Indian restaurant, when we stayed in London on the night after the wedding, but decided that spicy food+alcohol+an early start+a long flight was probably not a good combination. As my mum gave us some money towards that we decided to spend it on the closest thing possible in Waikiki. Nobu Matsuhisa has a Michelin-starred restaurant in London which is on our wishlist, and also has an outlets around the world including Waikiki (no stars yet, I'm not sure the judges get out this far!) We went for the Omakase tasting menu – I think it was partly created on the spot so I don't have it written down and I'm struggling to remember what we had! The meal consisted of two cold dishes, two hot dishes, a sushi plate and dessert. First course was crab in a miso wasabi soup – far too hot for me. I also remember an excellent Japanese snapper dish, some Caliornian lamb (which is quite exclusive apparently) and the nigiri sushi was really good. There wasn't really the same “wow” factor that I had at Sansei though until dessert, a gorgeous chocolate and orange creation. Maybe too much of it was just a bit too spicy for me. The cocktails were superb though (which may explain why I can't remember all the courses...)

Monday 27th July

Today was our last day on Oahu and the first on Maui. But not as tremendously exciting as that might sound! After our last buffet breakfast in Duke's, Darren nipped over to an Internet cafe to get the last files together to fix my laptop and I did a spot of souvenir shopping. We packed and then got the taxi to the airport for our 1.30pm flight. The terminal was tiny and we went through security in double quick time! There was just a cocktail bar in the terminal so we had a cheeky drink before walking towards the gate.

The flight got delayed until 2.30pm. Then 3.30pm. We saw our luggage being loaded onto a plane but were then told that it wasn't OUR plane and we had to wait! They must have had a few spaces though because we then got called onto it, a shuttle that stopped at Moloka'i before jumping on to Kahului airport on Maui. I had a lovely chat with a lady who had just moved to Moloka'i as we sat at the back of the tiny plane (I think it held around 30-40 people). It was quite a bumpy experience! We got to see the massive cliffs of Moloka'i as we skirted around the island along with a view of the longest white sand beach in the USA where part of Pirates of the Caribbean 3 were filmed.

Three hours later than planned we landed at Kahalui and our luggage made it as well! We ventured to the car hire desks and miraculously managed to not be persuaded ino hiring the Mustang or the Jeep, instead going for a mid-size, very ugly Chevrolet. The drive to our hotel took about 45 minutes taking in some lovely scenery. Ka'anipali Beach Hotel is not as plush as the Outrigger in Waikiki but it is very charming and incredibly friendly. It has been named as Hawai'i's Most Hawai'ian Hotel and strives to provide it's visitors with the most authentic experience possible. The low-rise property is in a horseshoe shape around the pool and bar area and our room is towards the back which gives us a bit of a view of the ocean through the palm trees. It's very relaxing and peaceful, especially compared to the hustle of Waikiki. After a quick glass of our complementary champagne we headed to the bar for a pizza (an Hawai'ian, naturally) and a cocktail. The bar also has musicians and a hula show every night (which we can see and hear from our balcony!)

We returned to our room to find a couple of problems – the remote control didn't work and the air conditioning was leaking. I went to reception to report them and they promptly sent someone up for us. The air-con wasn't too dfficult a job but the TV is more complicated than replacing the batteries – we're waiting for someone else to come and reset the box for us! Once again I couldn't keep my eyes open past 9.30pm – besides, the bed is just too comfy...

Tuesday 28th July

We joined our hosts for our Welcoming Breakfast at 8am. The Ka'anipali Beach Hotel definitely has more of a feel of a European beach hotel. They explained more about the ethos of the hotel and then told us about some of the trips and shows we could do. We booked a snorkel boat trip to the Molokini crater on Friday and the Ulalena show on Saturday night. We also wanted to book a helicopter flight and a small plane flight over the Big Island lava flows, but decided not to go through the hotel for these.

After breakfast we took a wander down the beach to Whalers Shopping Village. As it was lunchtime (already!) we stopped at Leilani's – I had a chicken cashew stir-fry and Darren had the local version of fish and chips (no mushy peas though!). After a good nosey around the shops we returned to our room to relax and unpack. At 8.30pm we realised we ought to get something to eat but we wanted to be in bed early – we had a VERY early start the next morning. Unfortunately the Tiki Grill at the hotel stopped serving at 8pm so we ended up walking back down to Whalers and conceding defeat to the American might of McDonalds (yes, it tastes the same over here). At 9.30pm, much later than we planned, we got to bed.

Honeymoon Diary #2

Wednesday 22nd July

4.30am was my waking up time. When we decided it was a reasonable time for breakfast we decided to try Duke's Canoe Club for the buffet. It was fantastic - no soggy buffet here, everything was nice and fresh and the crispy bacon was to die for. Our plan was to visit Pearl Harbour today. We eventually found a bus stop and when the bus eventually turned up found we needed change for our tickets. Luckily he said there was another bus following ("and you'll get a seat on that one") so we grabbed some water to change down a big note and climbed aboard the next bus. The journey was about an hour long. When we got to the site, the first thing I had to do was check-in my bag for security reasons (should I sue them for getting sunburnt because they took my suncream away?). We queued for our allotted time to visit the USS Arizona Memorial site (which is free) and then bought tickets for the USS Bowfin and USS Missouri.

We had three hours before we could visit the Arizona so we took the shuttle to the Missouri first. We chose a guided tour which was excellent. Our guide served in the American Air Force and added a real personal air to the majesty of the huge ship. The USS Missouri was the last battleship in active service and could still be turned around for duty within 3 months if needed. There were lots of big statistics. I think the one that impressed me the most was the accuracy of her weapons - the 16" shells have a range of 23 miles and are still accurate to within about 6 foot. It's technology pre-dates modern computers. Indeed when the ship was refitted in the 1980's they tried installing digital computers but took them out again as they weren't as accurate or as reliable as the analogue computers (you really don't want to be facing the "blue screen of death" in a war!)

He showed us the place where a Japanese kamikaze plane hit the ship during World War II. Miraculously the only person killed was the Japanese pilot. Despite the bitterness between the two nations, despite the fact that this man had tried to destroy the ship and despite the fact that the captain's brother had been killed in battle two months earlier, the captain insisted on giving the pilot a proper burial at sea and set his men to work at sewing a Japanese flag to cover his coffin.

The final stop on our tour was the spot where WWII ended, where the Japanese signed their surrender. After the tour ended we were free to look around the open areas of the ship, especially the living quarters and communal areas which was really interesting. There was a real sense of the camaraderie that must exist when you live in such situations and the respect shown for all those who have served on both this ship and throughout the armed forces is contagious.

We took the shuttle bus back to the main site in time for our 2.30pm visit to the memorial. First we were shown a video of that fateful day in 1941 where the harbour, along with various other aircraft bases on the island were the target of the attack that brought the US into World War II. Many ships were sunk that day but the Arizona is one of the few that remains in the harbour and also where the highest loss of life occurred, 1177 died as they slept that night. After the film we were shown to a boat to take us to the memorial site. A white arch covers the site where the Arizona lies and parts of the boat still show above the water line and oil seeps from it's hull. It's strange to imagine that you are standing over a burial site. We spent a few moments looking at the names and took the next ferry back 15 minutes later.

Our last point of call for the day was the USS Bowfin, a submarine that you can walk around with a free audio tour (well I don't think you could get many tour groups down there!) As it was getting late it was nice and quiet, but it still felt claustrophobic as you walked through. The audio tour included input from men who had served on the Bowfin which made it a very interesting insight into life in such a confined space.

We had a quick look around the huge missiles that were on show before we took the bus back to our hotel. Our choice of restaurant for the evening was Ciao Mein, an intriguing mix of Chinese and Italian food. There were only a few dishes which mixed the two cuisines and we tried the Salmon alla Siciliana in a hot bean sauce as well as the more Italian scallops in a creamy sauce with pasta. Again we struggled to keep awake after our meal and went straight to bed!

Thursday 23rd July

Today we were taking our first tour - the Lost tour. We really wanted to do the full 9-10 hour tour but we found we should of booked it before we left and had to be content with the half-day one instead. We were joined in our Hummer by two young Canadians and our driver (whose name escapes me!). As we made our way out of town and into the forest it started to rain. Unfortunately it meant that there was no point in getting out at the Pali Lookout as we would have got drenched and not seen a thing! On our way to the next stop we caught a few glimpses from a few other Lost scenes - the fuselage of the plane covered in blue tarpaulin behind a fence, there was the tree that Eko got thrown against, the bamboo where Jack landed in the first episode and the banyan tree that Kate hid in.

The rain cleared before our next proper stop and we saw some real pieces of Lost history - the pier where the submarine was stationed and the school that Sayid was helping to build after he returned from the island (which still has all the artwork painted on from filming). We then went off-road into Kuhio Ranch and saw the old war bunker that was used as the outside of the Tempest station, the frame that held the atomic bomb "Jughead" (it's still there, maybe they plan to re-use it...) and visited Hurley's golf course. Also around this area were the log that Sam Neill hid behind in Jurassic Park to escape the T-Rex and Godzilla's footprints. Our driver had snapshots and video clips so we could put everything into perspective and took some great photos of us in poses from the series and the films. Apart from stepping in the footsteps of the stars it is breath-taking scenery in it's own right and it was a great opportunity to get out of the city and see it.

On our way back we saw where Locke fell out of the window and broke his back, the Hawaiian Convention Center which has posed as Sydney Airport and the church that was used as the Lampost station and we were back at the hotel. After a snack in Duke's we decided to tackle Diamond Head.

Diamond Head is a massive crater that overlooks Waikiki. It was a very hot and exhausting hike up to the top in the afternoon sun which took about an hour. I was glad I brought my hiking boots - it's not overly rough but it's no pavement either and I don't know how people manage it in flip-flops! The view from the top is stunning. We drank it in and recovered our energy before heading back down (much easier!) At the bottom we rewarded ourselves with a Shave Ice - an Hawaiian speciality that's a bit like a compacted Slush Puppy that you eat with a spoon and a straw.

After we got the bus back to the hotel we both took much needed showers and went to Chuck's Steak House in the hotel for dinner. We both opted for a surf and turf, mine with breadcrumbed prawns and a jacket potato and Darren's with scallops in a garlic and cream sauce and fries. The steak was cooked to absolute perfection - a classic American meal to finish a day of classic American sights.

Honeymoon Diary #1

Monday 20th July

I couldn’t sleep. I’d been awake since 4am. I’d been running our fantastic wedding through my head and was starting to dwell on the little niggly bits that weren’t quite so perfect so I picked up a magazine. Eventually the 6am alarm went and we could get up and get on with things. Breakfast in our Paddington hotel was good and we made it on to Heathrow without any drama. After a little bit of shopping (8-hour cream for her, stupidly expensive sunglasses for him). We walked to our gate. We sat and waited and then the announcement came: “We are looking for three people who are prepared to divert to Los Angeles in return for an upgrade to Business Class.” It took no more than a nod from me and Darren was already at the service desk. As long as there was a connection to Honolulu, we would take it. After 15 nervy minutes all the paperwork was sorted and we were being led to the gate for the L.A. flight.

Business Class was an emotional experience! The first thing we were offered was champagne (it would be rude not to). The seats adjusted to almost flat and we were also furnished with blankets, pillows and toiletries. And the food! Tablecloths, real cutlery, china plates. Starter was asparagus and salad, scarily similar to our wedding starter. Main course was a filet mignon that you couldn’t complain about if you’d had it in a top restaurant. Desert was a passion fruit mousse cake that tasted exactly like a Solero! And the wine simply kept coming. After dinner we were left to rest, watch movies on our personal screens and we both tried to get as much sleep as possible. An hour before landing was afternoon tea - a selection of sandwiches followed by scone, jam and clotted cream. Travelling back in Economy is going to be VERY hard after that experience!!!

Indeed flying on to Honolulu in economy wasn’t easy! Our luggage made it as well despite the detour and we actually landed an hour earlier than we were originally scheduled to at 7.20pm. We got a taxi to our hotel, the Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach and checked in. We were offered a room upgrade for $200 a night but that was far to much – I think we’d rather save our money for a flight upgrade! We didn’t need to anyway – our Ocean View room is as close to the beach as possible and on the 10th floor so we have a pretty amazing view already.

After a little unpacking, a freshen up and change out of the clothes we had been wearing for the last 24 hours we went to Duke’s Bar in the hotel for a bite to eat. I had to return to my room for ID – they don’t serve anyone who looks under 30 here (so at 31 I guess I should feel flattered!). On the recommendation of Scott, our wedding photographer, Darren had the Mahi Mahi burger, a fish burger that he said was superb, and I went for the mango BBQ and bacon cheeseburger which was also excellent. When we returned to or room we found the hotel had left us a celebratory bottle of Champagne. After one glass we allowed ourselves to go to bed at 10pm, 36 hours after our day had started!


Tuesday 21st July

Darren was up and out on the balcony at 5.30am hoping to see a sunrise, but despite our window being almost east-facing there are far too many other tall buildings to see anything.. Still it was nice to enjoy another glass of champagne on the balcony while it got progressively lighter and Darren opened his birthday cards. At about 7am we chose the Hula Grilll for breakfast. Two courses no less! To start I had some amazing fresh pineapple and Darren had a very warm nutty muffin. Then Darren had and omelette and I had chocolate chip pancakes. Darren’s omelette with fried potatoes was impressive enough. However my pancakes – well I expected a few of those little discs you get at home. The Americans really don’t do food by halves – they were the size of dinner plates, three of them, covered in melting choc chips and foamed milk. Suffice to say I couldn’t finish it!!!

Our plan for the day was to do some investigation. After finishing our unpacking we took a stroll all the way along Waikiki beach. We made it just past the Natatorium and decided to head back along the main strip, Kalakaua Avenue. Firstly we stopped in the park and enjoyed the breeze as we admired the Diamond Head, a huge mass of volcanic rock that we plan to climb at some point! On the way back to the hotel we grabbed some leaflets for trips, then at the hotel started to make plans. We’re not really a “laze on the beach” couple. Besides, there’s far too much to do and see and who knows if we’ll ever make it back here!

We booked two trips over the phone from our room and also reserved our table for Darren’s birthday meal at Sansei, a highly recommended Japanese restaurant in the Marriott hotel. Then it was time to hit the beach. Well we had to do it at some point! It was very crowded – it’s not very big and is very popular – but we found a small spot right in front of our hotel (our’s is one of the few that actually sits on the beach). After smearing on sun cream (and sand!) I lay for a few minutes reading and then decided to cool off in the water. It’s not Jacuzzi hot but it was perfect for cooling down. And the current, even in these relatively safe waters is surprisingly strong – you have to keep aware of where you are. It was nice to dry off in the sun and it was Darren’s turn for a dip.

After another hour’s sun-worshipping we returned to the room to shower and change for the evening. We went down to Duke’s for a drink and in hope of seeing Hawaii’s view of the solar eclipse, but the sun was still too high and too strong to look at and see the small chunk cut out of it. At the table even Darren needed ID for a drink! Now that IS a great 39th birthday present! Almost as good was the free drink they gave him . Darren had two drinks but I was already feeling quite tired so I opted for water as my second drink. Then it was on to Sansei.

We had heard about Sansei’s Omakase Tasting Menu and it sounded like just our kind of thing. We also chose a sampler or “flight” of three white wines to accompany the meal. First dish was a very good bowl of miso soup. The next three dishes were served together. Edamame beans – Japanese peas served in their pods. A spicy crab sushi roll served with sweet chili sauce. And a Japanese salad with octopus and salmon and tuna sashimi. The sashimi was very good but the rest was simply OK – we certainly weren’t blown away by the food at this point. This all changed with the next three courses though. Shrimp fish cakes in crispy noodles in a ginger, lime and chilli butter sauce and coriander pesto. The most amazing and soft calamari fried with a sweet and spicy sauce, served in a giant wonton. And most breath-taking of all, tuna sashimi wrapped in spinach leaves and panko crumbs, then flash fried and served in a subtle soy wasabi butter sauce. So crunchy on the outside but so soft on the inside.

There were two more courses to follow: Japanese butterfish (I’m guessing so called because it simply melts in the mouth) in sake and sweet miso and lobster, crab and shrimp ravioli in a truffle butter sauce that was divine. I felt full but these two courses managed to be both rich and light enough to finish. At this point I think jetlag kicked in. I had to prop my eyes open with matchsticks to stay awake long enough for the bill to arrive. When we got to our room we both crashed out completely!

Back To Life

After a couple of weeks at home over Christmas, going back out on the road just wasn't the same. Trying to find routes from the Canary Islands and on through Africa was hard and it all felt like more trouble than it was worth. We started to realise that we're just not cut out for the "working things out as we go along" style of travel. WWOOFing and trying to keep to a budget meant that we weren't able to see a lot of the sights we wanted to see. Our taste of home gave us a taste of the things we missed. We simply weren't enjoying it any more. And if we weren't enjoying it any more what was the point of doing it?

We rounded our "gap year" (okay, it was only 8 months) with our big trip around Morocco and came home. We didn't do as much as we planned or wanted to do. Indeed, if we had planned to only go away for 8 months I know we'd have gone further. But we saw a lot of places we wouldn't have otherwise seen and that we'd have never thought of going to. And we met some wonderful people along the way.Instead of being a small part of a long trip our WWOOF hosts became huge parts of a short trip. So before I go any further I must thank Ben and Penny in Cornholme, Francoise and Bernard in the Alps, Brendan and Mandy in Haut-Vienne, Ursula and Victor in Elne, Lluisa in l'Ametlla del Valles, Christina in Monda, Peter and Anna on La Gomera and also to Nabil at Riad Jomana in Marrakech - not a WWOOF host but someone who we'll never forget for the way he put himself out for us. You've all given us memories that we will treasure for the rest of our lives.

My personal favourite excursion was probably at Villefranche du Conflent. The tiny little walled village really found a place in my heart, the scenery was breath-taking and it was the first time I felt I was starting to get somewhere with my French - although I think all my hard work has since been undone! Similarly, Ronda is a small place with a huge amount of endearing character. These are places that I would never have picked out to visit no matter how many times I journeyed to France and Spain. Darren's favourite trip was to see Mont Blanc close up. Re-reading that blog I can see that I didn't do the day justice - I'm sure for those with proper mountains in their countries it isn't that amazing for for a girl from flat ol' Essex it was special!

We certainly haven't lost the travel-bug, but we realised that the planning should be half the fun. When you've got a week to try to find a way off an island and some cheap accommodation it just isn't so much fun. So we hope to tick off all those other places on our list of "things to see" on holidays and short breaks. In the mean time it's back to some semblance of normality. More than anything I'm hoping that a year out of "real life" will give me a bit more focus. I'm the worst person for having ideas of things I'd like to do but ending up watching rubbish on the TV instead. I still feel I have many things I want to do in this life, maybe the last year can give me an extra push into doing them.

Seeing the world is a wonderful thing, but not really having a proper home to come back to can make things quite lonely. I've enjoyed keeping the blog to inform my friends and family of my whereabouts and shenanigans, but I think I'd rather see them in person to talk about it. Whether I keep this blog for my future trips I haven't decided. I'll certainly keep a diary for myself as, no matter how wonderful the experience, I WILL forget things!

Finally, apologies for turning this into an Oscar style speech, but I have to thank my parents for always being there for me no matter what, and my sister and her family for providing a much needed home while I look for a new one. And to Darren, without whom I would never even think of doing such ridiculous things in the first place!!!

Desert Rose

Day One
To round off our trip to Morocco we booked a three day excursion to the desert. Our guide Houssaine picked us up from the riad at 7am and we headed south from Marrakech. Our route took us through the High Atlas Mountains via the Tizi n Tichka pass, 2260m above sea level. We had a great view of the country's highest mountain, the snow-capped Toubkal and even saw some snow at our level. We stopped a few times to take in the amazing views but our first main stop was Ait Benhaddou. Like many Kasbahs in northern Africa, Ait Benhaddou has been used as a film set, appearing in Gladiator, Lawrence of Arabia and Jesus of Nazareth among others. After parking the car we had to get a donkey ride across a river – a scary prospect for someone like me who hasn't ridden any animal for probably 25 years! We then walked to the top of the Kasbah to see get a full view of the valley.
Leaving Ait Benhaddou we continued south-east to Ouarzazate, past two studios where films such as The Mummy and Kingdom of Heaven were shot. We stopped for an excellent lunch of kefta tagine and continued towards the Draa Valley. The land was getting more arid, turning into a barren landscape of red rocks and scrubby bushes. We turned a corner into the valley and everything on our right side changed to a greenish hue. Gradually more and more palm trees appeared and we entered the palm grove which stretches for 100km. We arrived in Tamnougalt and Chez Yacob, our resting place for the night at around 3pm.
We were now deep in Berber territory. The Berbers are the native people of Morocco, recognisable by their distinctive headwear and colourful outfits. After a short rest Houssaine introduced us to Abdul who was to show us around Tamnougalt. Here was another famous Kasbah – it has appeared in Babel and Abdul himself can be seen in the background in The Passion of the Christ. He was an excellent guide, showing us around the Kasbah, the village and the palm groves, and despite the fact that he knew little English and we knew little French he was incredibly friendly with a permanent smile on his face. He paid five young girls a few dirham for us to take their photo and they were very excited about seeing their image captured on the camera. After our evening meal we retired to bed – it had been a long day.
Day Two
When we woke the next morning we found it had been raining. After breakfast we headed east, leaving the Draa Valley. We stopped for a break and noticed for the first time a lot of old Renaults covered in racing decals. Houssaine explained to us that we were passing the Renault 4L rally, a race for students from Paris to Marrakech via the Sahara Desert. The rally has a humanitarian aim with participants delivering school equipment to children in south Morocco. We continued onto to Risani, the terrain changing from the lush palm groves back to the barren rocky landscapes we had seen before we reached the Draa Valley. However the land started to flatten out and after we passed through Risani the deep orange sand dunes of the Sahara came into view.
It was quite strange to see those famous sands for real. We arrived at an auberge had a late lunch and steeled ourselves for our camel ride. Houssaine left us in the hands of one of our hosts for the night who led our camels through the desert. It really did feel like being on a film set! An hour later we saw the first signs of civilisation – a small Berber camp. Our guide didn't speak any English so we thought we'd climb a sand dune to take in the view. Walking uphill on sand is very hard work, and as we reached the top it started to rain. We couldn't believe it – we'd come all the way to the desert and it rained! We watched a few sand boarders for a while and trudged back down, a little disheartened. We were sat in the living area, helpfully lit by solar powered lights, when Houssaine arrived. We were also joined by a French couple and their son, and after we all settled down our hosts brought a few drums into the tent. They showed off their skills and then invited us to join them – all manner of glassware and cutlery was involved!
We were served a chicken tagine for dinner then adjourned outside to sit around the fire. It then became clear that the drums we had earlier been given to play were for visitors – new drums were warmed and these were for the professionals. For the next two hours were watched and listened and occasionally joined in. It felt very natural and inclusive, not at all contrived or like they were "performing" for us. When the full moon shone out from the clearing cloud we all cheered. It was amazing how much light the moon creates in this wide expanse with no light pollution. We decided to turn in at 11pm, and were shown to our tent. Our bed was surprisingly comfortable and the huge quantity of blankets we were provided with meant there was no danger of feeling the night-time desert chill – indeed it was hard to move under the weight!
Day Three
Unfortunately the clear skies didn't last until morning. We woke ourselves at 6.30am hoping to see the sunrise over the dunes. It was difficult to tell whether the sky was cloudy or just dark, but as time ticked on and the skies lightened it became clear that we weren't going to see a show. We had breakfast at the camp before setting back off on our camels. After freshening up at the auberge we set off on our long drive back to Marrakech. This time we took a road further north to Ouarzazate stopping at the Gorges of Todra. Houssaine dropped us off at the entrance of the gorge to walk through and take in the majesty of the huge cliff-faces on foot. The road swayed to the left and right alongside a very clear and very pretty stream until it reached a few hotels built into the rock. Here there was a pool of water of the most incredibly bright blue, filled with fish. It was very beautiful, but we couldn't stay long as we still had a long journey ahead of us.
The sun still hadn't made an appearance when we stopped in Ourzazate for lunch. We were then back on the road that leads through the Atlas Mountains to Marrakech – along with hundreds of cars on the final leg of the 4L rally. A combination of the rain that started to fall, the lack of seatbelts and Houssaine's rather impatient overtaking manoeuvres made for quite an unsettling ride! Still we made it back in one piece at around 7.30pm – back in our home from home in Riad Jomana with a cup of mint tea.
I really fell in love with Marrakech. I was less taken with Fes, but I think that was because of the weather. Everyone is very friendly and hospitable, albeit normally because they want to sell you something! It has been amazing to see just how much you can find out about a different country and culture in just a few days or weeks. Houssaine was a brilliant guide, giving us an incredible insight into his Berber roots. We really felt welcomed into a lot of people's lives. And I can't finish my tale of Morocco without mentioning the staff at Riad Jomana and Nabil in particular. They were always friendly, polite and happy to see us. Nabil just couldn't do enough for us, sorting out accommodation, transfers and putting us in contact with Houssaine. Riad Jomana isn't just the most amazing place to stay in Marrakech. It's a reason to go to Marrakech.

As Time Goes By

I was quite sad to leave Marrakech, even though we are returning in a few days. Our next destination was Casablanca by train. Not somewhere I particularly felt the need to visit but Darren wanted to on a whim about the film, and then we heard that it has the world's third biggest mosque (after Mecca and Medina) – the only active mosque in Morocco that non-Muslims can enter.
After checking into our hotel (basic, but fine for one night) we went out for a wander. Not that there's anything to see. Casablanca is the biggest city in Morocco, the sixth biggest city in Africa and essentially nothing more than a business centre. We walked around the big expensive hotels and Darren got his very dusty shoes polished, but otherwise there was nothing of note. Hassan II Mosque is also the tallest religious building in the world, and we headed towards it to get a closer look. We then saw the other side of Casablanca – derelict and half-demolished houses, the very poor almost living in a shanty town under the shadow of a mosque which cost $750 million to build. We couldn't go in at that point as visitor can only enter on set guided tours so we'd wait for that until the following morning. But we got a wonderful view of it as the sun set and could hear the evening prayers take place from outside the open door.
Walking back to our hotel wondering where to eat, all of Darren's wishes came true. There it was – Rick's Cafe. I thought it would probably be a bit of a dingy, touristy dive, but we thought we'd bear it in mind and maybe pop in for a drink later. Making use of our hotel's free internet we found out it was actually quite a posh (but not too expensive) restaurant, a labour of love by an enterprising American woman who was amazed that no-one had done it before. I could protest no longer and it became our destination for dinner. And it was an excellent choice. The staff were friendly, the food delicious, the decor very tasteful and there was a pianist playing all the old standards, including of course As Time Goes By.
The next morning we arose early enough to catch the 9am tour of the mosque. It was completed in 1993 after 6 years of round the clock work. It holds 20,000 worshippers, has an openable roof, and as well as the prayer hall you can view the ablution chamber and the hassans (public baths). It is grand, elaborate, immense and quite an amazing feat of architecture. It is rare to see such a modern religious building and it's ingenious to see how modern technology has been fused with traditional crafts (especially when they show you how they've hidden the hundreds of speakers!). Although the mosque is used daily, it is essentially a showpiece – the public baths have never been used and are just for demonstration. And as beautiful as it all was, this gave me a sense of emotional detachment which was quite strange.
We then returned to our hotel to check out and catch the train to Fes, the next destination on our Moroccan adventure...

Rock The Casbah

Over four days in Marrakech I think we managed to take in more or less all of the sights. Our first venture into Place Jemaa el Fna was pretty scary stuff. It was quite late so all the entertainers were out in force. Everywhere you go is like trying to run the gauntlet, with people trying to persuade you to take their picture or eat their food. Our guidebook recommended Hassan's with "the best merguez sausages" but it was packed, largely with locals. We eventually planted ourselves at one stall and ate well for 90 dirham (DH) – about £6 for the two of us. However, I still hadn't managed to accumulate much change for the entertainers and we had become a bit weary of being hassled and returned to the riad.
On Wednesday we visited the Musee de Marrakech, the Madrassa Ben Youssef and Koubba el Baroudyn. The Koubba was part of the Ben Youssef mosque which was used for ablutions, but was buried for hundreds of years before being re-discovered in 1947. It was the first piece of Arab architecture that we had really looked at and a great starting point – although not elaborate it is the only surviving structure from the Almoravide period in Marrakech and it's design and decoration have been replicated ever since the 11^th century. From there we crossed the track to the Madrassa of the Ben Youssef mosque. Non-Muslims aren't allowed in all but one mosque in Morocco, but madrassas (where religious students live) are often opened up to allow tourists to view. It was beautifully decorated and I've been most stunned by the deep stucco work on many of the buildings. The open courtyard reminded me a little of the monastery at Montserrat, and you can explore the rooms to see the difference between the bad ones (little boxes with no windows) to the best (much bigger with views over the courtyard). The best thing about looking out of these windows was that it gave a closer look at that intricate stucco work.
Next on our ticket was the Musee de Marrakesh. More of an art gallery than a museum, the main piece on view is the building. Like most buildings in the city there is an open courtyard, although this one had a tented roof which gave the roof a strange, yellowish glow. There were quite a few chairs and benches around so apart from anything it was a lovely place to sit and relax and listen to the sound of the water trickling over the fountains. The art displayed was vibrant and wonderful, reminding me that I'd love to find a nice piece from a souk vendor to take home!
We decided to take a break from the Moroccan cuisine and visit an Italian restaurant recommended by the guidebook. It was early so when we arrived we were the only diners, but Casanova was a very nice restaurant with good food (it's great when you order something you've had before and are served with an excellent version of it). Our waiter was intriguing and determined to practice as much English as possible on us, regaling us with tales of how he hated his job, hated the Spanish and was really a very creative and sensitive soul. His accent was heavy and we often lost track of his musings - as sweet as he was we were pleased when more customers came in to take his attention!
For our final day in Marrakesh we ventured to the south of the city – the Kasbah and the Palaces. The first place we wanted to see was the Saadian Tombs. 66 members of the Saadian dynasty (16^th-17^th century) are buried here, and the most intriguing thing (for us Westerners at least) is that the graves are more or less unmarked. Rectangles of mosaic tiles differentiate one grave from another, and even those housed under ornate roofs are relatively plain. Slightly disappointed we walked to El Badi, a Saadian palace. After the Saadian dynasty fell, Sultan Moulay Ismail stole all the marble that decorated it for his palace in Meknes, so essentially it is nothing more than a ruin that is now owned by the many storks who build their nests on top of the walls. But it is huge! There are a few walls along with sunken gardens, ex-fountains and foundations with good signs explaining how the building may have looked, and you can envisage just how grand the parties there would have been. You can also walk around some of the unearthed outbuildings – the ground was very uneven and you would never be allowed so much freedom on a ruin in Rome!
On our way back we decided we had to eat where the locals at. It was relatively early but Hassan's stall at Jemma el Fna was already doing the business. There was no fussing about with menus, just sit down and eat what's put in front of you. The merguez were indeed very good, as was the slightly random (not sure I want to know what was in it) meat stew and with bread and tea it was no more than 40 DH for both of us! Just shows that the locals (and the guidebooks) do know what they're talking about sometimes!