Tuesday, May 15th: Arrival and checking out the resort.
Tuesday morning we took the WES and the Red Line (commuter trains) to the airport. Our flight left at 10 am, and we didn't want to risk getting stuck in rush hour. The WES is great (Jan takes it every morning when he bikes to work); I wish there was something like that heading down to Salem!
We took Alaska Air to Kona (Big Island), which was a very pleasant flight. Surprisingly, and much appreciated (!), the regular economy class had more leg room than the upgraded economy in the Condor flight we took to Germany last year. For once, neither of us felt crammed into their seats like sardines in a can.
Our arrival went super smooth: From our baggage (that arrived early and complete) to picking up the rental car (in and out!), to heading to the hotel. A nice relaxed start!
The hotel itself, the Fairmont Orchid at the Kohala coast in Puako, is gorgeous. The overall layout looks earily similar to the Hilton Waikaloa Village where we stayed the last time we were on the Big Island in 2011. Our room is located in a corner right next to the stairs. Which is great, because we're on the fourth floor, and who in their right state of mind would take the stairs when they're on vacation! In other words: It's nice and quiet. The room is also quite spacious. I think we can feel at home here!
After settling in, we headed out to explore the hotel, had some lunch/dinner kinda meal in one of the restaurants (very tasty!), hung out at the beach for a bit, and finally ordered a light snack while waiting for the sun to set. Not a bad start at all!
Wednesday, May 16th: Beach day and massage.
Today was a relaxed day. We started it off with a swim/snorkeling in the lagoon (Jan saw some fish... kinda what you'd expect!), early breakfast (nice selection of gluten free options!), and hanging out near the pool in the shade while finishing up a book on the Kindle.
At 11, we headed to the spa for our couple's massage. Even though this is clearly a very different place than the Allison, the overall layout of the spa looked very familiar. The massage itself was also very similar to the way massages are done at the Allison. Which I guess makes sense; someone thought about the best way to do this, and spas implement that method. It was just curious to experience it. The location, though, is much more pleasant than the Allison. It's hard to beat a view of the ocean with waves crashing ashore while someone kneads your shoulders!
All relaxed we headed for a light lunch (Jan had some gluten free banana bread and a yogurt parfait while I went for a tropical fruit plate that turned out to be ginormous (left-overs are still in our fridge!)), followed by relaxing near the lagoon since the Sun was hiding behind clouds, and so the risk of getting sun-burnt early on was low. We also saw several green turtles just chillin' near the restaurants.
After dinner, we chilled in a hammock for a little bit:
Thursday, May 17th: Jan's scuba diving day.
Today Jan went scuba diving, so I'll let him fill in the details. Off the hook :).
Scuba diving - as always - was a lot of fun: Kona Honu divers' team led us to 'the golden arches', so named for the underwater arches you can swim through, and 'Kaloko' - just off the coast of Kaloko state park. Both dives were 60 minutes at 60 feet depth; fairly shallow, so no big sharks or other large fish were to be expected. But the water was warm (~24 degree celsius) and the visibility great (~30 meters), what's not to like? Also, given that I just had a little camera with no flashlight, going any deeper would have probably precluded me from taking any pictures. But even at just 60 feet a lamp would have greatly helped to improve the contrast on the pictures...maybe next time!
On the way back we were escorted by a school of dolphins - very cool!
While Jan was diving, I checked out the local stores. Nothing totally unexpected, of course - the usual mix of lotions and souvenirs. I found some nice coconut lotion and shower gel, and - of course! - some soap. I also bought some chocolate that sounded like it could be quite tasty, but turned out to be rather bland. Which is something I never thought I'd say. We're talking chocolate after all! Bummer...
Later in the day I walked to The Shops at Mauna Lani (about 20 minutes along the street) to check them out. I didn't really find anything, but it felt good to walk for an extended period of time again! That's the one thing I miss: The long morning walks with our pooch.
Today I also saw how the palm trees are kept in such good shape. The wonders of modern technology :):
Later, after dinner, Jan and I walked through the Petroglyph Park, a 0.7 mile in-and-out "hike" to a large area containing petroglyphs.
To this day, nobody knows for sure why the ancient Hawaiians hiked large distances through rough terrain with probably limited amounts of water easily available to scratch figures of humans and animals into the rock. Given the kinds of tools they had available, this must have been a rather painstaking and slow process, too. Maybe some coming of age ritual?
To this day, nobody knows for sure why the ancient Hawaiians hiked large distances through rough terrain with probably limited amounts of water easily available to scratch figures of humans and animals into the rock. Given the kinds of tools they had available, this must have been a rather painstaking and slow process, too. Maybe some coming of age ritual?
Here are some photos of the hike. The first half was through a dense "forest" with Banyan-like trees.
The second haf reminded me more of a savannah.
At the end of the 0.7 miles we saw a big field with a good 100 or so petroglyphs written into the stone. Most of them were depictions of humans (with just a few animals), and most of them were looking toward the mountain.
Friday, May 18th: Chilling and snorkeling with the manta ray.
Today was another beach day. We rented a cabana - basically two beach chairs with a movable cover to have shade all day - so that we could hang out without getting burned. They're a bit pricey, but it was totally worth it. Plus, it came with a small cooler with snacks. So how could we say no!
Today we went for another helicopter ride. We had already done that in 2011, but with the recent activity and corresponding lava flow, we thought it would be interesting to repeat it. Quick background: Kilauea erupted a few weeks ago following a magnitude 6 or so earthquake, and lava has been flowing ever since. In addition, several fissures have erupted, threatening houses in the southern and south-eastern region of the Big Island. Multiple houses were destroyed in the Leilani Estates. Our pilot took us to that area where one of the fissures was still quite active with lava spewing out. The whole area has been evacuated by now, but it was still scary to see the lava eruptions that close to houses. Currently, the most threatened area is the Puna region, with lots of quick flowing lava. In addition to the immediate danger of the lava, there is also laze: As lava flows into the ocean, it creates sulfur compounds that are quite toxic.
Jan went for one last snorkel in the afternoon and took some beautiful under-water photos of fish and turtles.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying the hotel and lagoon some more (it was quite windy!)
before our final dinner and sunset at around 7 pm.
Our flight left in the afternoon, so we still had some time in the morning to sit a little more on the balcony while reading, grab some coffee near the pool, and enjoy some light lunch before driving to the airport. What a great vacation! And what great timing, too: The moment we headed for our car it started raining. Here's the proof!
Jan went snorkeling quite a bit. He also took photos of the local fish with his new underwater camera. Here's a selection of the prettiest.
In the evening we drove to Keauhou Bay where we boarded a double hull canoe to paddle out into the bay to snorkel with manta rays. That location is famous for its manta, and it all started by pure accident when the local Sheraton decided to shine powerful lights at the ocean, purely for ambience. The light, though, attracted plankton, which is what manta rays eat. So soon after the installation of the lights, the hotel started offering manta rides (imagine that!) and petting of the mantas (not a good idea either since that affects the mucus on their skin). So nowadays, tourists come out here to watch the rays and enjoy their beauty.
Interestingly, not that much is known about manta rays yet. For example, it isn't clear yet how old they can get, but the general thought is that they can get anywhere between 50 and 100 years. Which is a lot older than I would have guessed. Even more impressively, mantas are actually quite heavy at about 100 pounds per foot of wing span. The mantas we saw were probably around 3 to 5 feet in diameter, but the largest one they've seen in that bay, Big Bertha, has a wing span of 16 feet! That's a whooping 1600 pounds or more!
While we did not see Big Bertha, we saw several of the smaller ones. One of them even did several barrel roles in front of us to take advantage of the free food. Show off :). A very amazing experience!
Saturday, May 19th: Helicopter ride and last day at the resort.
Today we went for another helicopter ride. We had already done that in 2011, but with the recent activity and corresponding lava flow, we thought it would be interesting to repeat it. Quick background: Kilauea erupted a few weeks ago following a magnitude 6 or so earthquake, and lava has been flowing ever since. In addition, several fissures have erupted, threatening houses in the southern and south-eastern region of the Big Island. Multiple houses were destroyed in the Leilani Estates. Our pilot took us to that area where one of the fissures was still quite active with lava spewing out. The whole area has been evacuated by now, but it was still scary to see the lava eruptions that close to houses. Currently, the most threatened area is the Puna region, with lots of quick flowing lava. In addition to the immediate danger of the lava, there is also laze: As lava flows into the ocean, it creates sulfur compounds that are quite toxic.
From the southern tip of the island, we proceed along the coast back to our launching spot close to the resort. We were lucky because we were flying counterclockwise, and Jan and I had the seats on the left side of the helicopter, which meant we saw a lot more than just water during our flight. Of course, the pilot would circle around the biggest sights, but overall we had the better seats. Yay us! Here are a few more impressions from the flight.
Jan went for one last snorkel in the afternoon and took some beautiful under-water photos of fish and turtles.
We spent the rest of the day enjoying the hotel and lagoon some more (it was quite windy!)
before our final dinner and sunset at around 7 pm.
Sunday, May 20th: Leaving the island.
Our flight left in the afternoon, so we still had some time in the morning to sit a little more on the balcony while reading, grab some coffee near the pool, and enjoy some light lunch before driving to the airport. What a great vacation! And what great timing, too: The moment we headed for our car it started raining. Here's the proof!
While waiting for our flight, which was almost 2 hours late, we tried to find some gum. But can you believe it - no regular gum anywhere! Leave it to my ingenious husband to find a candy "lei" that, yes, contained also some gum-like things. I say gum-like because Wrigley's Juicy Fruit is really, really bad. But it's gum, technically.
We finally made it to San Francisco and got to bed at around 2 am. We were pooped! But excited for our next adventure in Monterey and Yosemite.
We finally made it to San Francisco and got to bed at around 2 am. We were pooped! But excited for our next adventure in Monterey and Yosemite.
No comments:
Post a Comment