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Marbella- Pacific Coast

Marbella is known for its year round sunny weather. Once a sleepy fishing town but now a growing popular spot for surfing. Marbella is the location for exotic beaches spread out along the Pacific Coast. It is know as the “The Gold Coast”. Less crowded than Australia, Hawaii and California.

This was one of our favourite drives in the camper van, with the coast in full view. We found a deserted beach with literally not one person in sight. We chose a shady spot under the palm trees to park and have lunch. Stumbling upon lots of coconuts which had naturally fallen from the palms. We went on the hunt for the coconuts we could get water from. Some had been there a while, we could tell by the taste of the coconut water it had a warm but bitter sour taste (not pleasant). We found several which were still fresh, using our knife to cut the tops off,  the water was refreshing in the midday heat. The heat of the Pacific coast is very hot and dry, you definitely appreciate the shade by lunch time. 

A stray half breed boxer dog strolled towards our van, it reminded us of Fudge back home. We gave our new pal half a loaf of bread, he looked hungry. Me and Tom always attract the strays because we are generous with our food. 

We drove to Playa Guiones beach located in Nosara. Nosara is Costa Rica’s chic surf town. The 7km stretch of white sand makes it an idyllic surf spot. The tourism here was minimal, and more locals which is what we liked about it. It felt raw and untouched. We found a self made wooden hut- shaded under the trees, where we set up our hammocks for the day, this was a perfect spot we could chill in between surfing. The waves were not massive making it a spot for everyone to get out and try. After a day of surfing, it was obligatory to splurge out and buy a large pizza each, after living on rice and beans most days. 

It was a great stop off, before we headed back to San Jose to swap our campervan for an upgrade. The fan and lights within the camper decided to stop working. The fan was absolutely essential, sleeping in the camper van, was sweltering at night so we didn’t mind about the detour. The camper van we got to swap with, was much bigger and more modern at no extra cost so it was worth it, an important stop before we headed to the Caribbean Coast.

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Maps me to the rescue or not!

To navigate our way round Costa Rica, we downloaded a free maps app- Maps Me. We figured most of the time we would not have internet whilst travelling around in the camper. This app allows you to download the map for the country/ particular area. Allowing the maps to be used off GPS rather than data. It worked pretty well most of the time. However maps me does not always distinguish whether particular roads are suitable for certain vehicles. As mentioned previously the roads in Costa Rica are not great condition, made up of gravel and potholes close to mountain edges. 

One particular day, we tapped in our destination, however the usual route/ road to the destination was closed due to torrential flooding. Maps me created an alternative route. 1 hour into the journey it took us through a local village, the roads began to get narrower. The camper van was slow up hills at the best of times. It took us to a steep narrow hill, due to the gravel the van could not grip and climb the hill, we ended up having to reverse back and ended up backing into a stream/ ditch, then the tyres got buried in the mud. This road was definitely just for 4x4′s or motorbikes. Several locals drove past, an elderly guy on his moped stopped. This is when it would have been beneficial to speak fluent Spanish, the guy spoke no English, so it was a case of pointing and using our broken Spanish, hoping he could figure it out. He realised what had happened, and signaled that he would be back. We thought that was that and he wouldn’t return, he did but this time with a shovel.

He began to dig holes round the tyres allowing us to drive out of the manhole we had created. After much digging and revving we was only making the problem worse. We decided to call our camper van hire company as they told us at the start of our trip, if in an emergency they could send out a 4x4 breakdown company to come and help. Florian told us it would be at least 3 hrs to get from San Jose to us, it was our only option to wait.

The helpful guy was still trying to help he flagged a jeep down with a family inside. The lady passenger was able to speak some English and with the help of google translate on her phone, she convinced her husband who wasn’t keen to tow us out. It worked, he pulled us out. everyone was cheering. The poor old guy had spent 1 hour of his time trying to help us, what a legend. He then just got on his bike and went without saying anything, didn’t even give us chance to thank him. We called Florian to tell him to call off the rescue as we was out!

We decided to not follow maps me’s “alternative routes” in the future, as we would probably end up somewhere totally off grid. This disaster gave us faith in humanity.

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Tamarindo

Tamarindo is the district of Santa Cruz Canton, Guanacaste province of Costa Rica, located on the Nicoya Peninsula. It is the largest developed beach town within Guanacaste. Covering an area of 125.86 KM and an elevation of 27 meters. The main attractions sought within Tamarindo is surfing and eco tourism. 

On our late arrival to Tamarindo, we chose to stay on the outskirts, we found a locals home, were they allowed campers to camp on their drive way. They were so friendly, they had a big old dog and spoke some English, we even had a beer with them outside. It was cheap and cheerful. The next day we bumped into a couple of Europeans, who had bought a big camper van that they were getting around in. They had to bump us off the following morning, with a dead battery from leaving the air con on all night.

Tamarindo has many cool spots to stay, we found a small camp known as Camp Tamarindo, a lazy chilled spot, with beach huts, tents and hammocks. We paid to park the camper van in their small car park. The camp had a great vibe about it, the chill out area was made up with bean bags, pool table, slack lines and hammocks, perfect spot to chill in the shade away from the midday heat. The heat was much more intense nearer to the coast with less rain compared to inland.

 We had showers and toilet facilities to use, when showering you were never alone. You would be joined with giant grasshoppers native to Centro and South America. With their razor sharp legs. At any time they could attack, It made showering a task. No joke i have never seen insects so big. They are known to be mistaken for a bird in flight. 

It seemed this camp site was home to many wild animals, at night when cooking our evening meals. We would be greeted by one of the local raccoons, searching for food scraps. These nocturnal creatures, although cute are very annoying rustling around when your trying to sleep. Their big eyes glowing in the dark. 

We met a couple of people at the camp, a South American guy doing some travel. One morning we see him in the chill out area, smoking herb from a papaya plant pipe he had self made, it was a cool little invention and everyone in the chill out area had a blaze. 

Tamarindo’s main beach is known as Playa Tamarindo, a long rocky beach with great waves. There were several areas for different intensity of surfing, one particular area the waves are known to reach 12ft, in the months of June, July and August. The area we choose to surf was ideal for both of us, clean medium sized waves, making a great place for even me to get up on the board and ride a wave or two. 

Our main activity in Tamarindo was deep sea fishing, Tom had prebooked this trip, in the hope he would catch a Mahi Mahi. An Iredescent blue coloured fish, yellow in places. These fish are known to change colours, several different hues, when they are close to death they turn a yellowy/ grey colour. They are known to live a life of up to 5 years. They are common dolphin fish, surface dwellers, ray finned fish, they can be found in tropical waters and excellent tasting. The day started with me trying to tell the locals my name, its always a task to tell even English people, so to tell someone with broken English, it never ends up the correct pronunciation. Anyway I was Maggie for the rest of the day, as telling them several times was too much, so I just went with Maggie. We was on an open plan boat, with nowhere to hide in the shade. It was a full day planned, I already had sunburn to so I had to hide under a towel most the day. For the first couple of hours of the trip, we had caught nothing it was not looking hopeful. When we did start catching it was mainly Tom catching, Snapper and Tuna. On the way back, with a bit of woman's luck, the lines started spinning out, we were on, to a big sized fish, Tom was thrilled but also pissed that it was me and not him. Its a bit of a running pattern for me to get the biggest catch of the day. When it got closer to the boat with a fight and a very achey arm later. We could see clearly it was a Mahi Mahi, making it a successful trip. We got to take some of the fish back with us, to cook for tea at the van, with rice and black refried beans. It was succulent, one of the better fishes we have tried. 

After several days in Tamarindo, we decided to start heading towards the Caribbean Coast, after a pit stop in Marbella and back to San Jose before hand.

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Jungle Slide...

Based in the rain forest of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, lies an adventure park Buena Vista Lodge, full of adrenaline activies. The park covers a large area, with different areas designated for each activity. We decided to ride the jungle water slide. The water slide is 425 metres long, taking you on a journey through the rainforest. The world famous tobogan water slide, is rated top three in the world. The water slide sits at 1,365 feet. The slide is made of volcanic mud and concrete. You take the slide down on an inflatable tube, me and Tom love a good water slide but this one was the best one we have been on, due to its luscious green jungle surroundings. It picks up some speed due to the elevation. People have been known to leave reviews, saying it is dangerous and they are surprised people have not died from injuries. You do pick up air from the speed but its not meant to be slow, its an adrenaline activity. You get a helmet, the ladies get a protective nappy style clothing to protect you from concrete burns. 

Along the walk through the park to the jungle slide, there are many animals that can be seen, the Howler monkeys were our fave. Howler monkeys are among the largest of the new world monkeys, male howler monkeys are black in colour and the females are gold/ blonde. They are famous for their loud howls, which can be heard from up to 5 kms away, in a dense rainforest. They are native to Centro and South America. The walk back was a slow walk back to our camper van. Tom was literally howling out to the monkeys, sat in the tree tops, trying to get them to howl back for about an hour. Unfortunately they only howl on their own terms. As we started to walk away though, they decided it was time. They really are loud, its fascinating to listen too and they are proper cheeky little monkeys. The same type of monkeys peppered our van the next night in their own shit, a early morning wake up call.

The drive from the park was along gravel roads, well most of Costa Rica is to be fair. Along one of the roadsides, near a small rural village, we could hear music. It was a drive by Mariachi. It is a genre of Mexican music that dates back to the 18th century, evolving from the countryside regions of Mexico. The roads of Centro America are always eventful with lots to look at, beats the boring straight high ways. 

In just over a 2 hour drive, our next destination was Tamarindo, one of our favourite places in Costa Rica. 

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Lake Arenal

With night drawing in, we set up camp close to an embankment of Lake Arenal. Tom had just started getting into fishing, so he wanted to try and catch us some fish for tea (wishful thinking). Lake Arenal is the largest lake in Costa Rica it is 85 square kilometers, and 30-60 meters deep. The location we chose to camp was quite secluded.

Later that night, some locals joined us, there were 4 of them all squashed into a car, sleeping for the night. Also hoping to catch some fish. Neither of us were lucky enough. 

When we awoke in the morning, Tom made conversation with the locals. Who spoke very good English. They told us about a spot they go to, to have their morning wash. It was a natural hot spring. With no entrance fee, as it was a hidden back street spot, only the locals would know about. They told us they would show us how to get there and we could all soak together. 

I was a bit apprehensive, as these locals although friendly, appeared to be homeless and maybe wanting some money from us. Toms always keen and trusting! You never know peoples true intentions. Anyway we decided to go along. To get there we had to climb down a muddy hill, beneath some bushes. Along a tunnel. Then there it was a large hot pool for us to enjoy, with no other tourists getting in the way, and most importantly it was free!

The geothermal activity under the grounds meant that the ground waters of the Arenal National Park were geothermally heated by the Earths crust. This created many hot pools dotted within the national park. Most you had to pay an entrance fee for. The hot pools are generally safe to soak in, but it is advised to keep your head above the water. Within the pool was a mini waterfall which was keeping the pool topped up.

The moral of this story is do not judge a book by its cover, as sometimes the poorest of people, want to welcome you to their country and show you the best spots. They didn’t even request anything from us in return. They seemed to enjoy our company, wanting to hear about our home country and life!

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La Fortuna Waterfall

68 miles from San Jose, hidden within the luscious green rainforest of the Arenal National Park is the La Fortuna waterfall. 520 meter’s above sea level and 70 meters high. With a ferocious down pour. The waterfall is by far one of the best waterfalls we have had the privilege of visiting. The gorgeous hue of blue, makes it a fantastic place to cool off and enjoy a swim. Although low season when we visited, it was still packed with tourists. Big enough for everyone to enjoy though, it was 18 dollars per person to enter, the entrance fee helps towards park maintenance. 

To reach the waterfall you take a scenic hike through the jungle, along the way, if observant, you can even see toucans, monkeys and other tropical animals. The density of the jungle, allows the sounds of the birds to echo through. There were many tropical plants surrounding the walk way. After a sweaty hike from the humidity, it is well deserved when you take a soak in the waterfall. November is the final month of the rainy season, so the weather is pretty unpredictable. In land Costa Rica rains all year round, that's why it stays so green and gorgeous. However closer to the coast, temperatures are much hotter and drier. November was still a great month to visit as prices were much lower and there were significantly less tourists around. 

The drive to get to the waterfall was beautiful, yet dangerous. Most the roads are made up of gravel stones and pot holes. The elevation of the roads, and the bends make it easy to skid out and off the cliff edge. There were a few near death experiences in the camper van. You definitely need to be a confident driver on the Costa Rican roads. Along the road sides, little wooden huts are set up by locals, selling fruits and veggies. We stopped off at the strawberry market stall, whilst we were parked at the road verge. A badger type of animal appeared, begging for food. We later discovered, they are known as Coati’s native to Centro and South America, they are mammals that come out in the day. They use their long noses, to probe between gaps and underneath rocks, in the hunt for food. Once you have seen one you can’t stop seeing them. This particular one was blind in one eye, we kind of felt sorry for it, so we did give it some food to tuck into.

The Arenal National Park has many attractions, the center of the national park is the Arenal Volcano, at 1,633m high and 140 m diameter, it is a perfect cone shape, on a clear day is a land mark for miles. When we visited the national park, it was very cloudy. We waited and waited to see the tip of the volcano unveil from the clouds. It was worth the wait when it did finally uncover. We waited in the steak house ranch nearby to pass the time, and the steak was worth going out of budget for. You have to have a treat from time to time when your backpacking.

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Sloths- Best Day Ever!

Just outside of San Jose, there was an animal sanctuary, known as the Toucan Rescue Centre. When visiting Costa Rica it is obligatory to go and visit the Sloths. We had planned this for so long. The rescue centre was set up by an American lady, the role of the sanctuary was to rescue, rehabilitate and release. It is a non profitable organisation, donations were purely used to run the sanctuary and care for the animals. 

The sanctuary was home to many different species, such as, toucans, monkeys, big cats, porcupines and sloths. Due to the nature of the centre we was allowed to look but not touch. As maintaining a wild environment meant that human contact should be limited, as this is something the animals would avoid out in the wild. 

There were two different breeds of sloths at the centre. The two toed sloth and the three toed sloth. The sluggish tree dwellers of Centro and South America spend their lives within the tropical rainforests. They move at a rate of only 40 yards per day. Eating leafs, twigs and buds. They spend around 15-20 hours a day sleeping due to their low metabolic rate (ideal life). Due to their long arms they are great swimmers!

The chilled energy sloths give off makes them one of my spirit animals. They always look like they have a smile on their furry faces. Seeing them in person was like seeing part of the family. This was something scratched off the bucket list and we will remember this moment forever!

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San José

After our second flight with Spirit Airlines we arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica. San Jose is the largest city and the Capital of Costa Rica. With a population of around 339,581. The cities elevation is at 1,172m. A short drive out of the city you can end up within the green hills, sat within the clouds. The currency used within Costa Rica is the Colon and the mother tongue is Costa Rican Spanish although in the tourist areas English is widely spoken. 

We took the airport shuttle bus to the neighborhood where our hotel was situated. It took 30- 45 mins. Then we had a ten minute walk from the bus stop. Getting Hangry due to jet lag, lack of food and getting to grips with unfamiliar surroundings. We found a restaurant enroute which had a self serve buffet. It was all centro american style food, we opted for Pollo- chicken, Arroz- rice and Frijoles Negros- Black refried beans. It filled our tummies and helped us with the ten minute hike to the hotel with 2 heavy backpacks. The weather was hot but bearable enough for us to walk in. 

When we arrived at the hotel, there was a big hairy spider greeting us in the door way outside, we later found out the spider was poisonous, known as the Golden Silk Orb Weaver or Banana Spider. They give off toxic venom but not harmful to humans but still might give you a nasty bite similar to Black Widow spiders back home. Shown to our rooms, we were situated in the back terrace, with cardboard cutouts as windows, and a self made awful bed, we made ourselves at home, we never unpacked because it was just the one night before we collected our rented camper van. Although basic it met our needs, we even managed to connect to their trusty slow wifi to inform the family we had made it there safely. 

We spent the night catching up on zzz’s, before we headed back to the airport. Where we would meet Flores the French guy we had rented a camper van from for 3 weeks. Renting the camper van meant we saved money on hotels and had the freedom to travel around the country on our own time schedule. After a quick demonstration and tour of the van we hit the road. The roads in San Jose are terrible a bit similar to India, gridlock traffic coming in all directions. We went to the supermarket to stock up on food ideal for van life. Its always challenging to figure out meals you can prepare when all the food in the super market is unfamiliar to what you would buy back home. So we mainly purchased cheese balls, bread, butter, pasta and cereal.

San Jose for us was the place we used to stock up and get ready for our road trip, there was nothing striking for us to see or stick around for. San Jose neighbourhoods are all made up of similar looking houses, all with metal gates and fencing around the houses, bit like prison. It was either unsafe at night or they were very paranoid. There were some homeless locals and drug addicts around the city but it felt safe enough for us to walk around.

We found somewhere to stay just outside the city up into the hills. It had got dark quickly and we didn’t fancy driving around looking for somewhere. We was basically in the clouds. We ended up parking on someone’s grass which was part of their drive way. We didn’t realise until the next day when we was stuck in the boggy mud. After some wheel spinning and mud splashing we made it out unseen, leaving behind skid marks in the grass oh and Toms morning poo!

The camper van was small but big enough for us to manage. It was made up of a sofa bed which could be folded down to make seats and a table. The fridge and cooker was at the back where the boot door opened. We had a small fan, and obviously air con which run off the battery. Along the travels we made the mistake of leaving it on most nights and falling to sleep. Which meant flat battery in the morning. School boy error, but the humid sticky nights in the van were unbearable and sometimes because of the sketchiness of the areas we were sleeping in, we was a bit jubius to open windows and doors. 

Tom enjoying the outdoor jungle shower...

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Second world trip!

Before we even made it home we was already planning our next world trip. There was still much to see, we came home to catch up with family and friends. Work and save, spending the summer at home before we ventured away before the next winter arrived. When it was possible we applied for our working holiday visa’s. Seen as though Australia had messed us around so much we decided to apply for New Zealand. We applied for a 1 year working holiday visa giving us the option to extend for a second year. Well an extra 11 months as the visa could only be extended up to 23 months, staying for the 24th month, you would have more citizen benefits like public health care and half price GP appointments and obviously they would rather the foreigners paid full price. 

We managed to stick around for 8 and half months, before we had saved enough money for us to make it to NZ and a few countries before hand. Then we would have to seek work in NZ. 

We departed Cleethorpe’s on October 28th 2017 taking the train to London. Goodbyes never get easy no matter how many times you leave. A few tears shed from me, Toms clearly to masculine to cry. Once we made it to Barnetby, the tears had stopped and I was excited and apprehensive for our future travel plans. Luckily we had relatives that lived in Islington. Staying with Toms aunty for the night. The following morning we took a tube to Heathrow airport, flying with Norweigan Air (budget airline) to Fort Lauderdale, then 14 hour sleepover in the airport waiting for our next flight to Costa Rica.

We had the option to book a hotel in the airport or nearby or just hang out in the airport, saving money and using the bench as a bed. Obviously we had to start budgeting again so bench it was. Baby wipe wash in the morning, we were ready to get the final flight over with so we could make it to Costa Rica- San Jose.

We left on the 28th October 2017 and arrived on the 30th, well 31st by English time, but we had gone back a day as we was in Central American continent. Our itinerary was Costa Rica to Panama through the border to South America, Ecuador to Peru, to Brazil then flying from Argentina to New Zealand. Then after that was a mystery. 

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Returning Home

It was a long journey home, from Honolulu to Vancouver then Vancouver to London. Flying with Westjet airlines. We had awful turbulence most the way home. Fortunately we was both exhausted so slept most the way through.

We arrived in London on january 17th 2017, we headed for the train station, because our deposit from the rented car had not gone back in, we literally had not even thought about the cost of train tickets. We had spent everything on our 6 months world trip, i would not have changed it either.

When we arrived at the train station, we thought about jumping the gates but there was too many people watching. We ended up borrowing the money until our deposit money was reimbursed.

The excitement of getting home wore off quickly, it was grey, freezing and we was jobless and skint. We hopped on the train back to sunny Cleethorpes, it was even grimmer there.

I surprised my mum by coming home, she had an idea i was due home but not which day. She was ecstatic to see me, Fudge even more so. It was great reuniting with everyone. However we knew we couldn’t stick around!

We managed to get the jobs we had left 7 months ago, we was lucky really. It felt like nothing had changed.

We soon began planning our next big trip...

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1st January 2017- 16th January 2017

Our travels in Hawaii ↙️

#Youtube

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North Shore

The laid back north shore is a stretch of coast known for its big waves and popular for professional surfers.

We decided we wanted to explore the north side of the island, in order to do so, we needed to rent a car, as taking a bus would have taken too long. Renting a car meant we had to put down a 1000 usd deposit, obviously we would get it back if no damage, we needed the deposit to go back in the bank for our last week on the island. The guy at the car rental place assured us it would be. It never did, we waited about a month for it to return. This left us out of budget!

Tom already had an idea in mind, we ended up driving out a bright yellow chevrolet convertible, it had America written all over it. We was like big kids playing around with the roof buttons. Tom had his hawaiian shirt on, and I had my flower leis on.

We headed to the north shore which took around 40-50 minutes, the wind in our hair, with views of the coastline. We headed to the Banzai pipeline. The surf reef break is in Pupkea off Ehukai beach. The waves are usually about 9ft but can reach as high as 20ft. Some of the well known surf competitions take place here. Watching the professionals surfing the waves was fab.

We headed to Kailua Beach to rent a kayak, we wanted to kayak across to the nearby island Moku Nui. Most people went in tour guided groups to the island, due to the swell surrounding it. We chose to go alone, the kayak to the island was beautiful, it was treacherous at times. Before we arrived at the island, we stopped awaiting for an interval in the waves, then literally paddled as fast as we could, so we didn’t get taken out by the following wave. Although we was guilty of laughing at other people that did! Parked on the island were many seals and at the back of the island was a small rock pool, deep enough to jump into. It was a perfect sunny day!

We spent the day burning fuel and exploring the northern parts of the island, we made the most of the chevvy before returning.

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Hawaii

Hawaii is a state of the United States of America. Located in the Pacific ocean. It is the only state outside of North America and the only island state in the tropics. The two main languages spoken are English or Hawaiian. Some pidgin is spoken, which is like island slang combining island life and culture to language. Hawaii is a tropical climate with moderate temperatures. Making it a year round holiday destination. The currency used is USD. Hawaii is made up of 137 islands. 

Hawaii was not one of our chosen destinations but due to changes in plans, it fit in with the itinerary. It meant we had done one loop round the world. Eating into the last parts of our budget, we probably should have flown straight home but that would have been boring. We booked a hotel staying in Honolulu. 

Honolulu is on island of Oahu, on the south shore, it is the capital of Hawaii. The Waikiki neighborhood is the center for dining and nightlife. Our hotel was situated in this area. Its famous for its high rise hotels and views of the diamond head crater in the distance. 

Due to the time differences, we went back a day and ended up reliving new years day. We arrived 01/01/2017, flying from Tokyo to Seoul South Korea which took around 2.5 hours. Then onwards journey to Honolulu was 9.5 hours. We flew with Jin Air. Due to the time difference, we felt jet lagged on arrival, we hopped straight on a bus to our hotel. In the hope we could go straight to bed. Due to check in times, we had to wait 4 hours around the pool before we could get our room key. Luckily there were chairs we could nap on. 

Our hotel was like an American style motel, with self catering facilities. It had a huge home alone bed, with free movie rentals. We managed to find salt and vinegar crisps in one of the local shops. After craving some UK flavored crisp for some time. It felt like Christmas had come round again. 

First impressions of Hawaii, were good, the locals seemed friendly, the climate was lovely. Everyone in floral Hawaiian shirts, it was a great first day of 2017. 

Dotted around Waikiki beach front are many homeless people, they literally have set up the best beach dens. They take their morning showers in the free open public showers along the beach front. Apparently these people come with one way tickets from New York and never return. I think this is the reason, that on arrival we were asked lots of questions about why we had backpacks, how long we was staying etc. We must have looked like hobos by this point, after 6 months of backpacking round Asia. After several days in Honolulu we became familiarized with the local homeless, they ended up knowing us on first name terms. The homeless people were ace. 

Waikiki beach is one of the most popular, it is packed out with surfers, sup boarders and tourists. A lot of people living in Hawaii are quite fit and athletic, many people running up and down the beach front, part of their daily workout. The Duke statue is situated on the beach front, the iconic statue is “the father of modern day surfing”. The duke was a Hawaiian hero, and one of he worlds best waterman, master of swimming, surfing and canoe paddling. 

Due to Hawaii been part of the USA, you definitely see the American influences, the super markets, the restaurants. They had a Walmart in Honolulu, I have never been to America before but Tom has, so he was telling me all about how amazing Walmart is. We got our supplies for our apartment, Walmart literally has barely any fruit in sight. Everything comes in supersize, the drinks are full of food colorings and sugars. Our trolley was full of fruit loop cereals, cheese balls and other crap. You could even purchase a gun here, if you had a license to do so. 

The buses in Hawaii, were really accessible and easy to use. We used the bus most days to do some site seeing. The locals love to chat on the bus and as soon as they hear the English accent, they don’t stop. One of our mornings, we ventured to the Diamond Head Crater. The Diamond head is a volcanic tuff cone, the Hawaiian name is Le’ahi, but got its English name from British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook calcite crystals on the opposite beach for diamonds. The elevation of the crater is 232m. Making it an easy hike for most. The lookout from the top is a amazing, you get a clear lookout over Waikiki beach and surrounding areas. 

A 20 minute bus ride from Waikiki, you can reach a small cove called Halona Cove. It is a small pocket of sand, it is popular, as the film Here to Eternity, the love scene was filmed in this location. The cove was beautiful, perfect white beach and blue ocean. Up the stairs from the cove, there is a viewing area for Halona blowhole. A rock formation, when the tide is in, the strong currents and large waves, pull surges of water into the rocks and creates a blow hole effect. At the time we visited, the tide was on its way out, we managed to see some blow hole effect but not as mighty as it maybe at high tide. 

A bit further along the road is a beach known as “Sandy Beach”. This beach has a reputation for body boarders and body surfing. The barrel waves breaks off very close to the shore making it perfect conditions for body boarders. The shore break however is very strong, mainly for the locals who know the area. Tom had to get in on the action, he ended up been churned up in the wave and spat back out, he ended up falling onto his knee. It meant for the rest of the trip he had to wear a support bandage due to the injury it had caused. 

Pearl Harbor the USA Navy base is located in Honolulu, it is accessible for tourists to come and look round the museum, with viewpoints of the navy base. It is interesting to hear all about the Japanese attack which lead the USA into world war 11. 

Hanauma bay is a marine bay, it is a popular destination to swim and snorkel, however due to the suffering to the area and coral. It was made a protected area during our time of visit. Meaning, you couldn’t touch or take anything from the area, you was only allowed to go and snorkel at certain tide times to prevent any damage to the coral. Each person pays an entry fee of 7.50 dollars, this money contributes towards to protection of the area. It was a great little spot and lots of fish species can be seen when snorkeling. 

Similar to the iconic Diamond Head Crater, a bit further down the road. There is a trail to the Koko head, the headland forms part of the Eastern side of Maunalua Bay. Its 368 metres tall, making it a short hike up, with many steps it does feel a lot higher. At the top are bunkers used as lookouts during the war. The hike worked as great morning cardio and set us up for the day ahead. 

Dog the Bounty Hunter Duane Chapman, part of an American reality tv series, has an office set up in Honolulu where he lived. This was something me and Tom had watched as kids. We had to take a mooch to the office to see if he was in. He wasn’t there but we did get to speak to one of his receptionists and she seemed more than interested to chat to us about him. She did try to sell us some souvenirs though. 

Manoa Falls is a 130 ft waterfall, parts of the Jurassic park were filmed in this area, the waterfall in its self was nothing spectacular, but the hike through the forest was lush green and scenic. 

Visiting Hawaii, it was important that we learnt some of the native history of the island, you hear so much about the USA influences, the native Polynesian culture is usually pushed aside. We got tickets for the Polynesian night  at the Polynesia center, situated at the end of the Waikiki beach strip. The night was about story telling through traditional music and dance, spending the first hour participating in Polynesian crafts and activities. Midway through the night a Polynesian buffet is laid for people to tuck in. 

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20th December 2016- 1st January 2017

Our travel movie from Japan ↙️

#Youtube

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New Years Eve In Japan

Celebrating 2017 in Japan we had to keep it traditional. Japanese love nothing more than a karaoke night. In Tokyo you can rent karaoke booths by the hour with your friends. Karaoke was actually invented in Japan before other parts of the world latched on to the idea. 

You are given the key to a particular numbered room. Inside are slippers to get comfortable. Television screen with microphones and various musical instruments. The list of karaoke songs is endless and in various languages. There is even an option on the remote to order room service, beers, soft drinks and snacks. I just wish they had this idea back home it would be a great pre drink idea before hitting the town.

We celebrated with beers and screeching classics like Pete Burns you spin me right round. It was like no other new years celebrations but it was one we won’t forget for sure. 

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Nagano

Nagano is the highest capital city in Japan located at 371.4 meters. With a 240 KM distance from Tokyo it took around 3.5 hours on the train to reach our next hotel for several days. The time could have been halved if we took the bullet train but this was too pricey for a backpacker. 

The journey was so scenic and beautiful, venturing up into the mountainous landscape. Along the way, we could see Mount Fuji stood elegantly in the distance. Mt Fuji is an active volcano, 100 Km’s southwest of Tokyo. Its Japans tallest peak at 3,776 meters high. 

The sole purpose of this trip was to visit the snow monkeys, the Japanese macaques, which live in the Japanese alps. Close to Hells Valley the ski resort of Japan. The name of the park is Jigokudani monkey park. The snow covered mountains create extreme weathers for the snow monkeys. During winter months they spend most of their time within the natural hot pools keeping warm. This creates their red face complexions. They have lived in this area for many years and have evolved to survive in this particular climate. 

Usually most animals do not enjoy the water, but as the saying goes monkey see, monkey do. It is believed that the snow monkeys may have learnt the behaviors from humans. They have seen humans bathing in the hot pools and one monkey has copied, and then another monkey has followed and so on. Due to the amount of monkey faeces floating in the natural pools. It makes it prohibited for us to join them, to be honest I don’t think the monkeys would be happy either.

The park is reached via a coach which leaves Nagano train station, the Shigakogen express, which usually reaches the park in 45 mins. From the stop you then have to walk 1.2 miles through a  forested woodland footpath. Due to the ice and snow climates, the foot path is slippery in places. It is best to wear good footwear and warm clothing as it reaches minus temps in this region. 

There are no fences making it an open area for the monkeys to come and go. At the time we visited there were plenty of monkeys hanging around the hot pools and surrounding areas. There was a fire pit set up for one of the park workers, there was group of monkeys that had spotted this and they were gathered round keeping warm. They definitely had the right idea, it was freezing. 

The monkeys were magnificent to watch, the time passed by just watching them and you forgot that you was that cold you couldn’t feel your lower limbs. We got to witness two monkeys having a scrap which was entertaining, they was both chucking snowballs at each other and screeching at one another. 

This place is so unique and the snow monkeys can only be seen in this part of the world. Its definitely a bucket list adventure.

After a couple of days in Nagano we headed back to Tokyo for New Years Eve our final night before flights to Hawaii. 

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Hakone

The Yunnesum Spa resort, is a spa theme park, allowing guests to take a dip in the pools of coffee, wine and ramen broth. In Japan it is popular to attend bath houses and hot springs known as “onsen”, usually shared with the same sex and bathing naked. This one was mixed sex and not just for adults so it meant we had to wear bathing suits. This particular spa pushed the boat out and invented something different. The spa was located in the lush green mountains of Hakone. The Hakone spa was reached from Tokyo via train then bus. The journey took about 1.5 hours one way, we decided to make the trip there and back in one day. 

Each spa was made from different drinks, for example red wine, green tea, rice wine and ramen broth. The actual drinks were added to the hot pools and you could probably get drunk from drinking it, although its not advisable to drink it after everyone has bathed inside it. 

At certain intervals of the day, they have drink pouring ceremonies, where they pour the particular drink for that spa into the hot pools, chucking it onto the participants. The Japanese crowd went crazy for this. 

We was unaware of some of the rules of the spa. Me and Tom both have more than one tattoo and some too big to hide. In Japan, tattoos are not viewed as they are in other parts of the world. The Yakuza gangs of Japan usually cover themselves in tattooed ink. The Yakuza members are part of organized crime syndicates within Japan. Making it more of a symbol for been in a gang. The Japanese culture, they frown upon tattoos as they are usually only marked on those particular groups of people. After 1 hour in the spa resort, we was asked to leave or cover up our tattoos. They stated it was not a good image for the younger children in the spa, as it is not the body image they should be encouraged with. They told us we could go cover up or leave. Who wants to be fully clothed at a spa though!

We had managed to enjoy each of the facilities at the spa so it wasn’t so bad, we did however complain at the desk and they refunded us our money. We had purchased our tickets online, we also complained to them too  and they returned the cash. We ended up with double refund and got to spend one hour in the spa. We headed back to Tokyo is was a long winded journey for that short time at the spa, but it was still a great short lived experience.