Day 324 The End of Hawaii

Shave ice. Mmmmmm. It may look like a snow cone but don’t dismiss it so rashly. And it is “shave ice” not “shaved ice.” It is that Hawaii pidgin English that can be impossible to understand sometimes. They use a blade to shave fluffy handfuls of ice off a big block and then pack it into the cone shape. This makes for the most delightful texture and flavor, since the fluffy ice absorbs the flavoring instead of letting run through like pedestrian crushed ice. And if you go all the way, and you know we did, you can get a scoop of ice cream in the bottom and sweetened condensed milk poured over the top (called a snow cap). If you are going to do that you have to get the big one too, which is as big as Eric’s head, look at the picture, I am not exaggerating. All of the sizes were huge, even the small one was the size of a large grapefruit. I am happy to say that as weird as it sounded to put ice cream and condensed milk on a snow cone, it was fantastic. And only about 5 bucks.

Afterward we walked along the seawall as a graceful sea turtle glided/flew through the water along with us. Incredible.

We had to go to a luau while we where here. I got tickets to the Royal Kona Resort luau, supposedly the best tourist show on the islands. First we both got the traditional lei greeting and then I got the traditional mai tai (weak) at the open bar. Then we watched them dig up the pig from the earth oven, which by the way, may be a tasty way to cook the pig, but not an attractive way. He came out as an unappetizing looking pile of meat, skin, bones, and God knows what else. I did not hold it against him when I piled him on my plate shortly after that. The food was good. I love lau lau, a mixture of pork, fish, and the taro leaves. Eric was not crazy about it or especially not the poi. The emcee kept joking about how tourists hate it. Poi is merely pounded taro root without anything else. It is purple, almost tasteless, goo. Hawaiians love the stuff and I could see how if you grow up with it. If you don’t grow up with it….

They did a show highlighting the seven different Polynesian cultures. The women did lots of dancing with their hands and hips of course. The Maori warrior was fun to watch as he yelled and stuck out his tongue and swung his wooden stick in a very menacing way. The best part was the fire knife dancer. He was actually the best in the world , had the trophy to prove it, and was amazing. With the things he did, he must have burned all the nerves out of his body already. After the show I had to go get a real mai tai at Don the Beachcomber’s Bar at the hotel. Don invented the mai tai in 1933 and it is much more complicated than the Trader Vic version created in 1944. This is one of those things that you just can’t pass up. It was indeed good. Too good. I was wishing we were staying at the hotel.

Our explorations around the Big Island took us all around the island putting 1400 miles (2250km) on the rental car. I am glad I got the unlimited mileage option. It was worth it to have our own car there. There is not really a functioning bus system outside of Oahu. I wasn’t thrilled about the $35/day insurance on top of the rental fee though. Ouch.

Hawaii, like some other places I have been, is very expensive. It is also however, unlike any other place on earth. For all of my travel, when I look back at the pictures of the places I have been and I remember the experiences, both good and bad, I don’t miss the money.

Day 323 Earthquake!!

We were shaken awake this morning as someone tried to push over our cabin with a big truck. Well, that is what I first thought in my sleepy incoherence. In reality it was a 4.0 magnitude earth quake with the epicenter about two kilometers away. I have not been in one that loud or jarring before so it was cool to experience. I looked online and saw that we are sitting in the most dangerous rift zone in the event of an eruption. Interesting. I am hoping for some more activity to make it a memorable experience—not too memorable though.

I once saw on the Travel Channel a guy talking about how good white pineapple is, and that you have to come to Hawaii to get it, so when I saw it at a farmer’s market, I quickly forked over the nine bucks for one big specimen. I have not been able to find it in stores and was eager to try it. I am happy to say that it lived up to its reputation as low acidic, sweet, and all around delicious, yet I do not think I would want to part with nine dollars a pop for one all the time, especially after getting some which were almost as good for 45 cents each in Brazil.

Right in nearby Hilo, there is a place called the Boiling Pots. Basically they are a series of deep volcanic holes that are in a line and there is a river that pours from one to the next. It is a wild natural formation and is perfect for rock jumping. We had our choice of any number of low jumps all the way up to a 30 plus footer (10m+) which I loved. Even though the holes are only between 20-40 ft across, they are very very deep. I never saw the bottom in any of them. It is a popular local spot so we had plenty of company and got to watch them doing crazy flips and other stupid things. We were warned about one hole that would be good for jumping except the river flowed in the top and out a hole in the bottom. The guy said that that was where the tourists usually died when they got trapped in the underwater current. Good warning. Thanks.

Day 321 Is It Too Much to Ask for a Little Boiling Magma?

We have made a few trips to the Volcano State Park. and have been roasted at the steam vents, smelled toxic gas (wasn’t me), explored the lava tubes, walked across lakes of lava, stood at the rim of an active volcano, and yet, in the one place where we sure to see flowing lava, it has stopped. Dang it! It flows for 26 years straight until just before we come. Oh well, we would not have been able to get that close to it anyway.

We went through the lava tube (600ft, 100m) and then saw that there is a whole other section that you can go through if you bring your own lights. We couldn’t pass that up. The light from my phone didn’t get us far so we came back another time with lights. I already had a headlamp and bought one for Eric. The tube is much smaller, deeper, and scarier than the main tube which is fairly level and well lit. This tube goes down and down and requires a little effort to get around the big pieces of ceiling that have fallen in your way. Yes, a number of giant pieces of ceiling had fallen, way down deep in that soundless black void where no one would ever hear your screams for help as you were crushed by the merciless rock. Every step seemed to take you miles further away from the safety of the surface, the ceiling got lower, the darkness blacker, and the silence more deathly, until, after a 1100 ft (336m) of claustrophobic nightmare, the ceiling crashed into the floor and it was the end. And time for a snack! Cool.

There is no better way to get an appreciation for how big a volcano is than to walk across its lake of lava (cooled of course). We hiked some trails and found our way to the caldera of Little Kilauea after seeing it from above. It didn’t look that big. It is. Really big.
We climbed all over the hardened broken surface of the lake, inside petrified bubbles, through enormous crevices, and over smooth flowing ripples. The whole time we worked hard not to scratch the heck out of ourselves because that stuff is really rough. I ended up with a few bleeding spots, nothing much, just enough to look manly.

Day 318 Tarzan and Monkey Boy

We found a few really cool places right near our place. First was the volcano heated tide pool (pictured)which was delightfully warm. Then there was the deserted black sand beach with very black sand (past a huge field of lava). It is strange to make black sand castles. Very cool though.
This picture is of a different black sand beach on the other side of the Volcano Park. Then there was the road to the black sand beach; twelve miles of roller coaster road along the beautiful coast. If you go twice the speed limit, it gets really fun because you get that flying and then sinking feeling in your stomach. And zooming through the occasional dark tunnels of jungle canopy is cool too. It is like going into another world briefly. We drove down the road a few times just for the fun of it. And then there are the Kapoho Tide pools. They are fantastic for snorkeling since they are shallow and filled with all kinds of colorful coral and impossibly interesting fish.

We borrowed a couple body boards from the hostel and have been swimming every day. We both got a little burned in the first few days so we are working hard to remember sun block every time now.

I am trying to find a green coconut for Eric to try. They are all over in the trees and look easy to get—Wrong! They are high up and are attached extremely well. We spent a considerable amount of time trying to get one down: climbing, throwing things, poking them with long branches, etc…. I hooked one with a rope and had to pull with all of my strength to get it loose. Unfortunately it was too young and not yet sweet. He will have to wait for Brazil to get a proper one. We did get some mangoes that had fallen by the road side. In the same place we swung off 50-60 foot vines like Tarzan. Cool! The vines really are strong and long enough like the movies.

Day 314 Grand Tour of Oahu

Yesterday, we took the public bus all the way up the north shore, swam, played, got sun burned, flew a kite, missed seeing the Dole Plantation because they were closing, and came back late but in time for a barbecue at the hostel where we watched Tom Cruise go crazy in the Minority Report.

Today we saw the Arizona Memorial and Dole plantation in the morning and then went back to the North Shore to go rock jumping. The Dole Plantation is home to the world's largest labyrinth hedge maze. We tried finding all of the secret locations in the maze to win a prize, but no luck. We would have had to do it in less than eleven minutes to win. After going through the maze, I think that would only be possible if you knew where they were and you ran the whole way. So we bought lots of stuff instead. That is where we discovered li hing powder. At a pineapple cutting demonstration, the lady sprinkled a rust colored powder all over the pineapple slices before serving. The taste is hard to describe. It is sweet/salty pulverized dried plum and is a very popular topping for many things in Hawaii, including shaved ice. We liked it too.

One beach at the North Shore has a huge rock sticking out into the sea and is perfect for jumping. It was a beautiful spot and the locals were cool. At about 20 plus feet, Eric was hesitant to jump at first. I think the cute local girls jumping near us helped motivate him to finally make the leap.

This photo is of Eric. We did some snorkeling and Eric accidentally left his non-water proof camera in his pocket. Oops. It was really a fun time and beyond beautiful.

Day 312 Oahu, Hawaii

I first came to Oahu about 15 years ago, (jeez that makes me feel old) so it had that wonderful familiar feel from the moment I stepped off the plane. It hasn't changed that much. Last time I was here was to take a week long ride on an aircraft carrier to San Diego with my friend in the navy. It was a special trip for friends and family to experience life at sea. I was young and poor then and didn't have much time to see the island. Now with Eric, I finally get see the place properly.

We are staying at a decent hostel about 3 blocks from Waikiki beach. It is a basic private room with a shared bathroom. I made sure there was a kitchen we can use to help offset the cost of island living. Hawaii is not a cheap place to visit. It is comparable to Paris or Rome, only with cheaper airfare.

We have been to the beach a couple times a day so far, only taking breaks to eat (Hawaiian barbecue, YUM!) and buy huge quantities of souvenirs at the ubiquitous ABC Stores. T-shirts here are very cheap at 6/$20 or less sometimes. The trick is finding ones with good designs in the right size. Of course we bought a tiki idol, key chains, stickers, nuts, candy, a calendar, cups, hula skirts for gifts, and more too. I had to keep warning Eric that we have only been here a few days and to pace himself in buying things. We brought an extra suitcase for Eric that is mostly full already and we haven't even gotten out of Waikiki.

There is nothing like the sunsets in Hawaii. I am amazed every single time. We floated in the water watching the sun set in gloriously vivid color on Waikiki and Diamond Head. The city lights came up as the sun sank and for a few minutes it was the perfect blend of nighttime city and island sunset. Lovely. I was in the water, sorry, no pictures.

Day 307 Travel Marathon- Luxor to Vancouver

My stay in Luxor was brief. I arrived at noon and had to catch a flight to Cairo that night at midnight. I wouldn’t have time to see the Valley of the Kings, which was disappointing, but managed to see the Luxor Temple just outside of town. It has the largest ancient columned hall in the world, or so I was told. With 85 foot tall (26m) columns it was impressive. About a dozen different kings remodeled/added on to the temple making it both massive and diverse in styles. If it had not been oppressively hot and I had more time I would have enjoyed it more.

I bought a couple Anubis statues, t-shirts, and some food and then headed to the airport to start my long trip back to Vancouver, Washington. When I was in the middle of the line at the check-in counter, a woman with a cart full of odd shaped boxes pulled up close along side of me. I was suspicious. Just as I suspected, as I moved forward she kept edging it further in front of me trying to nonchalantly cut into line. No way this has happening lady. Just try it. I held my ground as best I could without actually pushing her cart. She wouldn't look at me and pretended to merely be standing there, but her game was not too subtle. She made her move just as I was to be the next person helped, she surged forward shoving her cart up to the counter to block me but her rash move came with an unexpected cost. Several of her boxes tumbled onto the floor and as she reached to save them I stretched my long arm over her and her pitiful cart to hand my passport to the clerk. Ha! I felt her angry glare bounce fruitlessly of my back as I walked away with my boarding pass in hand and a smug smile on my face. Of course, my plane was delayed, luckily only half an hour. As I killed time looking at displays in the terminal, I noticed that pushy cart-lady was having trouble checking in her boxes and it took her about 10 minutes to convince Alitalia to take them. I was really glad that I didn’t wait for her. Ha ha! Sweet victory.

A couple hours later I was in the Cairo airport parking negotiating a price for a taxi to my hostel. I was told there was a bus, but at 3am it wasn’t running. The guy at my hostel had arranged for a taxi to the airport so I knew what it should cost. The problem was that I was a tourist at the airport in the middle of the night and the taxi drivers knew that I was at a disadvantage. Fortunately, another passenger came to my aid to help convince a taxi driver to grudgingly take me for the local’s price. He was not thrilled about it. I was not thrilled about the ancient death trap he called a taxi, yet relieved to be going to get some sleep.

I was only at the hostel for 5 hours though, because I had to go back to the airport to wait for 2 hours to catch a flight to Rome. So back in a cab and back to the airport I went to wait some more. The flight to Rome was 4 hours with a 4 hour layover until my connection to Madrid where I had a 5.5 hour layover (attempting to sleeping in an uncomfortable chair) for a 2.5 hour flight to London with a 7 hour layover for a 9.5 hour flight to Seattle where I waited 6 hours for a 4 hour bus to Portland where I waited 2 hours to be picked up at 2am.

Doing the math from Luxor, I took five planes and 53.5 hours to get to my Mom’s house. This was the worst trip so far. In my sleep deprived and physically abused state, my bond with reality was wavering dangerously at that point. Thank God that I had a week to rest before taking Eric to Hawaii.

Day 304 Slow Boat to Luxor

The dreamy slowness of my cruise ship up the Nile gave a me a tangible sense of the word "languid." It seemed as if it drifted more than navigated, with only a quiet vibration giving evidence of mechanized propulsion. Additionally, the ship, built for 150 passengers was only carrying nine, many fewer than the crew, lending a stillness of motion and sound to the decks. There was no hurry for anything. It would take a day and a half to make our way to Luxor.

As I stared out from my luxurious wood paneled cabin at the water lilies and Nile birds drifting by or as I sat on the upper deck in the shade of a canopy, marveling at the beauty of Nile cutting a verdant green swath through the desert, I felt the hassles of travel blur into hazy distant memory. I chatted with some other Americans over afternoon tea, enjoyed sumptuous meals, and soaked up the tranquility.

We stopped at a two places, the better being the town of Edfu. I haggled with a cigarette smoking 14-year-old for a carriage ride to the temple, eventually settling on the equivalent of $3 USD for the 20 minute round trip including an hour of waiting time. I had the upper hand because he was desperate for a fare but I ended up giving him $5 because I felt bad for him. The tourism business is slow in Egypt.

The Edfu temple was spectacular at night. It was my favorite by far of all the temples. It was deserted too. The most interesting part was when I was leaving, a plain clothes guard called me over to show me a hieroglyphic of a god giving birth. He pointed out the fine details with the barrel of his snub-nosed machine gun. And then he asked for a little something. In the dark. In a deserted temple. With his machine gun pointed at my crotch. I found that I felt suddenly generous, and gave a few more coins to this man than I would normally give.

I didn't really feel threatened. It was business as usual in Egypt. The fact of the time, place, and presence of an automatic weapon were not relevant to his providing a service and expecting compensation. Still, it was interesting.

Another couple had a more exciting time as they were returning in their carriage. A 3-year-old wandering the street was nick-of-time saved by a passer-by from being crushed under their horse, causing them to swerve and almost crash. They were shaken by both the near death and the ensuing shouting match that erupted on the street. The police ended up hurrying them out of the situation because they were worried that something might happen to the tourists.

Back on the ship, it was time for a fine dinner, a peaceful slumber, and then awaking to the glory of sunrise on the Nile. I was almost reluctant to leave the ship when we reached Luxor.

Day 303 Be Careful What You Joke About

I had intended to have more time to travel across North Africa before going to take Eric to Hawaii. With the shortened time frame I opted for a quick tour flying/Nile cruise tour to the south. It was much cheaper than I had expected. I started by flying to Abu Simbel which is very close to the Sudan border and the site of a major relocation project for a whole set of tombs and giant stone sculptures that had been carved out of a solid rock mountain. Because of the rising waters of the Aswan dam endangering the ancient site, countries from around the world pitched in to miraculously cut up the stone mountain and move it uphill a few hundred feet. The size and fragility of the tombs and sculptures made it a daunting project. I was impressed.

There is nothing to see in Abu Simbel other than the one site and the airline provides free direct transportation (5 minutes) to and from the site, allowing me to be back on the plane within two hours of arriving. I lucked out with the weather while I was there; it was only stifling hot—a few days before, it was depths-of-hell hot. As part of my package, I flew to Aswan to stay for a day before heading up the Nile to Luxor on a cruise ship.

The hotel I picked, with the roof top pool, internet, and river view turned out to be different than it was depicted in the pictures. When my airport transfer guy led me walking down a filth ridden dirt street toward my chosen hotel, I almost made a joke about my hotel being in the rundown building we were passing. I am glad I didn’t because it looked better than my hotel. I wasn't too surprised considering the $8 USD/night rate. Nor was the lack of internet surprising. The room was not overly clean, but better than I had expected with a great 5th floor Nile view. The roof top pool was tiny and chilly.

I was only at the hotel for an hour before heading out to see the very huge yet particularly unimpressive looking Aswan dam. The hydroelectric power from the dam provides electricity for all of Egypt and if it burst, it would drown about 90 % of the country’s population on the way to the Mediterranean. Accordingly, they are very protective of it and have a fair sized military presence there.

After the dam, I was taken for a boat ride to the Phila Temple on an island on the Nile. It was also moved to higher ground to save it from the dam’s higher waters. The temple was cool (not in temperature) and almost deserted. Wandering alone in the ancient silence and shadows of hieroglyph covered columns is an enchanting experience. The occasional vividness of some of the hieroglyphs stopped me in my tracks a few times. It is almost impossible to imagine the number of days that have passed since they were carved and painted.

The guide told the group of five in our boat to dip their hands in the Nile for good luck. I abstained since I had just read that morning about the bacteria in the river that would give tourists painful stomach cramping diarrhea for weeks. I work hard to stay healthy while traveling and if I have to pass up a little good luck, so be it. I was too slow to warn my eager boat mates who plunged their hands in the dark murky water and splashed their sunburned faces. Oops.

Back on my wretched little street I found a couple good places to eat: a shwarma place, of course, and a place that only sold a vegetarian dish that was made with rice, pasta, tomatoes, onions, and spicy sauce. Both were good and cheap. I wandered for a long while and found the average people to be quite friendly, calling out hello to me as I passed. The shop people on the other hand were desperate. Tourism has been down since 9/11, and unlike Greece, they see every tourist as valuable. I had to work to avoid being dragged into shops.

Day 301 Time Travel and the Blood Thirsty Dead

The Egyptian Museum is as good for its building and displays as it is for its collection; walking through the doors is like stepping back in time 100 years, because I do not think it has changed much at all in that time. Almost everything is unprotected, cluttered, up close, and personal. The museum itself is an antique. I liked the museum as much as the contents, because rather than feeling anachronistic it could not have been a better match to what I had imagined.

Even though I have studied some Egyptology, I was truly astounded at the sheer numbers of sarcophagi both wood and stone in the collection. Of course the best part was the collection of grave goods from King Tut. It is spectacular for the quantity, size of items, and quality. In general Egyptian antiquities out class most other civilizations as far as interesting items go (IMHO), but King Tut’s things are in a class by themselves. It is obvious that they actually believed he was a god. Wow. That was really something to see.

The most modern areas of the museum are the mummy rooms, and even so, the mummies merely rest in carefully lit, simple glass cases. All climate control equipment or other electronics are hidden. The mummies vary from peaceful and pleasant looking to pure twisted agony frozen in dehydrated time. Spooky! I have seen enough horror movies that I can easily imagine them coming alive and trying to eat my organs! AAAHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh………

FYI: The mummy in this picture was not from the Cairo museum.

Day 300 Meeting a Wonder of the World

The pyramids, center of Cairo’s tourism, were the place where I got the full experience of aggressive touts. In traffic a quarter mile away from the entrance, people would run into the busy street and along side my speeding taxi window senselessly yelling prices and waving merchandise as if I would tell the taxi to stop so I could buy stuff that is available everywhere. It did not bode well for when the taxi actually stopped. My taxi, arranged by my hostel, was mine for the whole day for $25. No bus hassles, no taxi bargaining, and I got valuable tips such as to ignore the guys asking for your ticket at the pyramids themselves; you only need to buy a ticket at the gate unless there is a special tour. These con men stand in the entrances to the tombs/temples and tell people that they have to buy another ticket to get in. They are very stern and demanding and completely convincing if you did not know better. I politely brushed them off only to have them “get upset” that I was going in without a ticket.

The taxi stopped at his choice of camel services, of course. What I did not expect was for him to tell me to take as much time as I wanted and not to listen to the pleas of my tour guide to hurry. They want to get it over as soon as possible to get another customer. I paid for the full tour of the Giza plateau and sure enough the guide tried to give me the short tour. I was insistent on seeing what I came to see.

There were some places that the camels could not go and the guide said I had five minutes to look and come back. Ha! Ha! One of those places was the Giza pyramid with the Royal Boat Museum beside it. When I got back to the camel and guide after an hour, he was annoyed, the guide that is, camels are always annoyed. I humorously insisted that I only took 10 minutes and did not know what he was talking about. He gave up on hurrying me further. By the time we got to the sphinx, I was getting tired of him telling me that I would have to tip him at the end of the ride so I told him that every time he asked, his tip was getting smaller. He stopped asking.

The Giza plateau is an amazing place that would have been really quite a sight before the pyramids were plundered for stone. The pictures do not do justice for the size of the pyramids. They are huge! To think of the work it was to drag those stones through the sand is unbelievable. I went into a couple of the tombs of the smaller queen’s pyramids, ignored the con men at the entrances, and was thankful that I am not claustrophobic because the tunnel to the tomb is about a meter square and about a 45 degree angle down. Those tombs are not spectacularly decorated and only have a few rooms with simple monochromatic hieroglyphics. The stone sarcophagi are huge and had to have been placed as the pyramid was built. The strange thing about Egyptian tombs is that they are hot even though they are far underground. The heat combined with the perspiration and breath of all the tourists makes for a stuffy tomb; not a place to hang out and relax out of the sun as I had hoped. In my three and a half hours there I easily drank three liters of water.

At the end of the day, the guide got a very small tip due to his irritating ways and lack of information about the site, and my taxi driver got a big tip for actually caring about saving me money and working hard to make sure I enjoyed myself. He even had an ice cold Coke for me (free) when I got back from the camel ride. It was a good day of seeing one of the wonders of the world, experiencing the good and bad of a culture, and sweating like a pig.

Day 299 Cairo, Egypt

I have always heard how Cairo is overrun with desperately poor people hounding tourists, living on highway medians, and making the city unbearable. What I found was a vibrant and fascinating downtown where I saw no poor and I wandered completely unmolested. I suspect that the government decided to clean out the center city to improve the tourist experience. Police with machine guns are posted in front of every bank, ATM, government building, and tourist site, and it would be easy to run out the poor with that kind of manpower. However sad it may be, it is a relief to be able to roam and explore with no hassles.

Taxis rule the downtown. Since so many people take them, the prices are dirt cheap. It only costs a dollar or two to go most places in the city. Egyptian drivers are daring and it can be quite a thrill for someone accustomed to the very foreign concept of road rules. Almost anything goes in Cairo. Stop lights and stop signs are not acknowledged in normal driving, only a policeman in the street or a car in the way gets the drivers to stop. Additionally, taxis frequently turn off their lights while driving at night, only turning them back on when there is substantial cross traffic. Maybe to save their light bulbs??

My hostel is a very cool, formerly grand building from 1941. The wood and glass elevator only goes up (figure that one out for yourself) and I have to walk down from the 7th floor, which is fine. I am just glad it goes up. I get fresh squeezed orange juice when I wake up and then a free breakfast of bread, eggs, and coffee. I can ask for free tea or coffee to be served to me at anytime. The guys running the place are great and it is wonderful to be in a place where they really understand the concept of hospitality.