Travel – Page 11 – Todd and Cindy's Travel Blog

The Big Island Hawaii Post 2

Week 2

We returned to Kona Brewing Sunday evening because they have live music. Colin John and his brother played a mix of Hawaiian, country, and classic rock – Johnny Cash songs with a Uke and Sitar. Good music, good food, lots of fun.

Can’t get enough of sitting on the lanai – whale watching….

People watching….

Beautiful sunsets….

Amazing moonsets….

Friday, we were up bright and early because we booked a tour with Volcano Van to see the sites south of Kona and head over to Volcano National Park. Our first stop (not really a stop, more of a drive-by because some local said no commercial vehicles were allowed to park) was Kealakekua.

This is the area was the inspiration for Don Ho’s song “Little Grass Shack”.

Our next stop was a lookout point amidst A’a lava.

A’a lava is rocky and sharp on the top and extremely dense underneath – producing some of the most difficult rock to cut through. A’a lava tumbles in the form of small rocks with very jagged sharp edges.

As we continued our drive, the harshness of the landscape gave way to lush forest. Apparently the island has 10+ climate zones.

Next we drove to Black Sands Beach (aka Punalu’u Beach).

What an exciting day to show up! Research biologists and volunteer students from University of Hawaii’s Marine Option Program were there to study the green sea turtles.

The green sea turtles (actually all sea turtles in Hawaii) are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The turtles were temporarily captured.

Thorough examinations were conducted to check for injuries or disease. They were measured and weighed.

Then they were tagged before being released. Tagging allows insight into how fast they grow, where they travel to, and (for adults) how often they breed.

Well, that was about it for the tour – the van broke down. The poor independent tour operator was beside himself. We assured him we were “okay”; it was just something that happened, nothing he could do about it. His wife came and picked us up with her vehicle (after 1 ½ hr. wait…). We are rebooked for next week… Upon return, we strolled on over to Bongo Ben’s for Happy Hour and to meet up with a couple from BC whom we met who are here for a month long vacation.

Most nights we have eaten at the condo, on the lanai – watching the sunset. Saturday night, we decided to dine out and chose Lava Java. Live music + sunset + good food.

Kalua Pork Pizza

Hard to believe 2 weeks have gone by !!

The Big Island Hawaii Post 1

Week 1

We started our trip with a couple of short delays. The first was in Toronto – snow started falling before take-off, so we needed to de-ice (a 50 minute delay). The delay was easy to take though, because we were flying first class (got a great deal when I booked).

In Los Angeles we had another delay – the plane was overbooked and overweight, so they were seeking volunteers to take the next flight out to Honolulu and fly to Kona the next morning – accommodations, food voucher, and a travel voucher included (the travel voucher started at $500 and was up to $1500 as time ticked and they still needed people to give up their seats). We thought about it, but they couldn’t guarantee we would get first class seats together. Finally after another 50 minute delay, we were on our way to Paradise.

The accommodations aren’t bad – cottage-like, but comfortable. (Besides who spends time indoors while in Hawaii?) The views from the lanai (balcony) are absolutely amazing! We are directly on the water where waves roll into the rocky shore.

The walk to the heart of the town is a short 5 minutes. And the walk for groceries is about 35 minutes (uphill, so the walk back feels great). We have found a great place for Happy Hour – Bongo Ben’s serves local drafts pints for $3 from 3PM to 6PM (cheaper than buying beer at the ABC store).

From the lanai, throughout the day, we can see whales blowing and jumping – very exciting! Yes look close that is a person on a paddle board next to the splash

The one night we watched an eel slink around in the water right below us. The camera didn’t take very good pics because of the darkness, but that was okay, because we were treated to a return visit the following morning.

Wednesday morning we woke up to view a cruise ship anchored offshore. It was there for the day, transporting passengers to and from the mainland.

The waves were pretty rough through the night, and I guess, one guy didn’t have his boat secured.

The sunset here is gorgeous! Every night we sit and marvel at the view….

We have visitors each day on the lanai….

Thursday, we headed up to Kona Brewing for a tour and some tastings. Rachel, originally from Canada, took us threw the brewery and explained the history.

Kona only brews beers on the Island that are kegged and distributed locally. All bottling is done on the Mainland (part of the partnerships with Red Hook Brewery….Oh yah maybe you remember our visit to Redhook from our travels West in 2012 !). Afterwards pizza at the brewery restaurant was very good, they use some of the spent grains in the crust recipe.

On Friday, we checked out the lagoon next to our condo unit to do some snorkeling, but it was closed for a wedding – beautiful backdrop, but loud with the waves rolling in.

It is hard to believe a week has passed since our arrival….

Galapagos Islands Ecuador Final Post

Day 10

This morning we anchored in Puerto Ayora, Santa Cruz.

Our first stop was the Charles Darwin Center – the Giant Tortoise Breeding Center.

Many scientists work in the center, preserving Galapagos endemic species of plants, tortoises, and iguanas.

Tortoises breed and are raised here before being released back onto the island they are endemic to. Tortoises are not cross-bred. They are only released to their island of origin, and are kept at the reserve if that is unknown.

This was the home of Lonesome George before his passing in 2012. He was the last of his kind. He has been preserved and a structure (tomb) is being built on the property to house his remains and tell his story.

Back in the town, it was time for some shopping and hanging out at the fish market (guess who did what??).

One Frigate even swooped down, nabbed a piece of fish, was swatted away by the fish seller, and then, to his disappointment, he dropped his catch.

In the afternoon, we cruised a short distance to Plaza Sur (a little island close to the eastern coast of Santa Cruz) for a trail walk.

The rocks shine like marble in the sunlight (really a beautiful sight) – but, then we learned that it is actually excrement from a huge sea lion population in the past that has worn into the lava rock (after the last big El Nino the population greatly decreased).

We once again were graced with numerous sea lions – lots of young ones (seriously, you cannot take enough pics of these cuties).

One sea lion was ready to give birth (we waited a bit, but the guide said it could take up to a few hours, so we carried on).

Numerous Swallow-tailed Gulls allowed an up close view of their courtship ritual and young.

The red ring around their eyes is beautiful.

The island has many Great Prickly Pear Cacti.

The cacti are a favourite of Land Iguanas.

Marine Iguanas also call the island home.

It is one of the few islands where Land Iguanas and Marine Iguanas are such close neighbours.

Finches also inhabit this island

We did see a lot of dead animals on the island which was sad, but then this is “raw” nature. Other animals make use of their unfortunate situations, such as the Lava Lizards on this carcass eating the flies that land on it.

Birds in Flight

Our last night included a fabulous dinner (once again) with friends.

Day 11

We can’t believe our time experiencing the Galapagos has come to an end. Of the 68 people on board, 14 remained for a cruise to the Western Galapagos Islands. We ate our final breakfast in the restaurant with its island décor including seashell lights.

We met some great people on this trip who we now share that special bond with because we have experienced the true, raw nature of the Galapagos Islands.

Even as we were being transported from the ship to Baltra Island to await our flight to the mainland, we witnessed sea lions making most of their habitat.

We finalized our vacation with a 3 night stopover in Miami Beach, extending the time until our return to the Canadian cold.

And, now we await our next “Adventure”…..