It is pouring in Kyoto today which provides the perfect opportunity to finally update! I feel so bad that I haven't written anything yet, but I trust you'll forgive me when I say that the Internet has ben ridiculously expensive wherever we go. Our first hotel in Hawaii charged $1.50 per minute. No thank you. My hope is that our friends and family back home haven't given up on us. Yes we are still alive.
Being the type of person who keeps meticulous records of life events, I'd love to make a new post for each day of our trip. However, since we are almost a month into it and I am typing this on a Kindle, I think I will have to be content with summarizing.
Hawaii was awesome! We had such a blast, especially on the Big Island. On our first day there we kayaked with dolphins and snorkeled in a reef. It was super cool to see colorful fish, sea urchins,and even eels up close. Richard also managed to flip out of the kayak at one point which made me laugh so hard I almost inhaled salt water. All I know is I saw flippered feet go flying and then he was sputtering in the water.
We also did a ton of hiking on the Big Island. We hiked Waipio Valley which has a 25% grade. Try climbing back up in less than an hour and see how far you get. The views are phenomenal though, and the black sand beach at the bottom is well worth the effort. There are wild horses that roam here, but unfortunately we didn't see any. After hiking Waipio we ate the best barbecue I have ever tasted at a place called Huli Sue's. This place put Famous Dave's to shame (I know this is considered blasphemy to my coworkers, but it's true). We also hiked Arch City where you can see natural arches and blowholes carved by the sea. It was high tide on a stormy day when we were there, so we got to see lots of action with the blowholes which was sweet. On another day we hiked Pololu Valley which looked like somethig out of Jurassic Park. It was thick jungle on both sides of the valley with another black sand beach at the bottom. The view from the top was beautiful.
We hiked Kiholo Bay which is lava coastline that eventually leads you to the calmest, clearest, most beautiful lagoon you've ever seen, but only after scrambling over some serious lava boulders. We were rewarded with dozens of sea turtles, jumping fish, and sharks! This day was definitely one of my favorites in Hawaii. It was warm and sunny and the magnificence of the lagoon with its sea creatures and palm trees was breathtaking.
Up until this point we were staying in Hapuna Bay on the west shore, north of Kona. After eight days there we moved to Hilo on the east shore. We were planning on spending at least two days exploring Mauna Kea, the active volcano on the island. Unfortunately, we learned that earlier in March the crater had collapsed several hundred feet, terminating all flowing lava. As disappointed as we were, we still spent a day hiking Volcano National Park. The trail we followed took us across an old crater's floor were we could see and feel steam escaping from the earth. Very cool. This was a great hike not only for exercise but because it went from lush rainforest to stark lava in a matter of seconds.
The rest of the time we spent on the east shore was spent exploring naturally heated pools and pretty waterfalls. There is definitely not as much to do or see on that side of the island. We decided we liked the west shore much better. Plus, the west side is much sunnier and doesn't receive nearly as much rain.
From the Big Island we flew to Molokai, which is the most underdeveloped island in Hawaii. While beautiful, there isn't a lot you can do on your own. Most of the island is privately owned, which automatically cuts hiking out of the picture, unless you want to pay a couple hundred per person for a guided tour. Nope! So instead we spent our time there exploring the coast on all sides with our Jeep. We found the most pristine beach I have ever seen. The sand was sparkling white and the water was so clear I could see through the waves. The beach was at least two miles long and nearly deserted in the middle of the day, which made it quite the hidden gem. We also took the Jeep off-roading, which we have video of. That was pretty fun!
From Molokai we flew to the island of Kauai. I saw two whales from the plane! When we landed in Lihue Rchard surprised me with a covertible as our rental instead of the Jeeps we drove on the previous islands. Boy did we have fun in that Mustang! The town of Kapaa where we stayed was a very ecclectic little town, but it was really fun. We hiked twelve miles in one day through Waimea Canyon on the southwest corner of the island. That was definitely a challenge. At one point we were clinging to roots with our boots trying not to fall down the mountain. At other points the trail would barely skirt a cliff edge. We are both avid hikers and we work out regularly at home, but that trail kicked our butts. I am so glad we did it though!
The day after that hike was another in the Top 5 of Hawaii. In the morning we went power hangliding over the Na Pali coast. It was absolutely breathtaking, first because it was beautiful and second because it was so much fun! Waimea Canyon is part of the Na Pali coast and we flew over part of the trail we had hiked the day before. I must confess here that I totally gloated over that trail that I conquered, and yes, I did boast about it my pilot. That afternoon we went horseback riding on a ranch on the north side of the island. Richard had never ridden before and he had a blast. We ended up at a small pool where we cooled off by climbing into the waterfall behind it. It was wicked hot that day but the water was freezing!
Our flight to Tokyo left at 6:30pm on Friday and arrived at 10:45pm on Saturday. Our first day there we spent walking around an artsy part of town called Shibuya. We also went to a park where bands supposedly play on Sundays, but we didn't see any. What we did see, however, was a dog fair. There were vendors selling everthing doggy related, from homemade treats to outfits. Apparently the Japanese treat their dogs like children because every dog there was made up in some way or another. Most were wearing clothes including doggy jeans and cheerleading outfits. A couple were wearing sunglasses and almost all had ribbons tied around their ears. It was hysterical!
Our second day in Tokyo we visited the Tsukiji Market. This open-air warehouse specializes in two things: fresh produce and fish. It was facinating! We went early in the morning to see the butchers hard at work on the day's fresh catch. Chainsaws and table saws were constantly grinding. We saw everything from squid to octopus to tuna to eels to shrimp to snails. Some of the slabs of fish, not to mention the ones yet to be butchered, were bigger than me!
We also spent one night at a Buddhist temple, high in the mountains. That was quite the experience. As guests of the temple we were required to attend services in the morning. The altar was beautiful, decorated in deep red and gold. Two monks chanted the entire service. It was interesting, but it made me sad that they were worshipping a god that doesn't exist. After the services, we walked through a cemetery that was centuries old. Moss grew thickly over the tombstones and the trees were huge. It was so quiet and peaceful.
From the temple we took the train to Kyoto, arriving late in the afternoon. We simply hung out at the hotel that evening, taking time to rest and relax after travelling all day. Yesterday morning we found a bakery across the street that sold the most delectable pastries I have ever tasted. It seriously made me want to learn how to bake like that. We spent the day biking around Kyoto. In the morning we went to a monkey park to see these monkeys that have made that particular mountain their natural habitat. They roamed around us freely while we watched them. There was a mother monkey with a very young baby. He was absolutely adorable! Couldn't have been more than a couple weeks old. I watched him nurse and he totally hiccupped. It was so cute. In the afternoon we biked across town to the oldest part of Kyoto. It reminded me a lot of Old Town Alexandria but Japanese style. We stayed there until it grew dark. We even saw several geishas! They were truly lovely.
This morning we biked to a shrine close to the old part of Kyoto where orange gates line the mountain. We hiked the entire loop of the mountain, which consisted mostly of stairs. It was pretty cool to see the different parts of the shine. By the time we started hiking down it was sprinkling,and by the time we reached our bikes it was gently raining. We had a long ride ahead of us though, and by the time we reached our hotel we were soaked completely through. Now I am curled up in a comfy chair in our room, warm and dry. It's still raining so I'm not sure what we will do tonight. It is our last day in Japan. Tomorrow we have a four-hour train ride plus two flights.
So far we have had an amazing trip. A very special thank you goes out to those of you who attended our wedding. Our day wouldn't have been complete without you. To our families: we love you and can't wait to see you again. I will try to be better about posting on a more regular basis.
Until next time!
