Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku (bez spóźnienia)

Życzymy wszystkim fantastycznego Nowego Roku, w którym spełni się przynajmniej część Waszych marzeń i który będzie pełen przyjemnych niespodzianek!

A na zdjęciu nasze noworoczne celebracje w przeuroczym miasteczku Mildura,zamieszkanym przez zbieraczy owoców i winiarzy. Temperatura o północy: 35 stopni!!!

Sydney to Melbourne Wrap-up

The Great: Meeting with our friends from the Berlin days

Meeting with Marty and Tessa was the highlight of our Sydney to Melbourne trip. Unfortunately we could not stay longer In Melbourne, as our tight schedule meant that we only had a limited number of days in Melbourne. What a shame.

The Hidden: Free camping

Not only are free campgrounds well groomed, but most are situated close to or inside pristine national parks. We made some great encounters, both human (Gregg and Jade) and non-human (how about eucalyptus trees full of koalas? One tree next to our tent had a mother koala and a cub). Camping is very popular in Oz. We sure know why.

The overrated: After the Tears (polish restaurant) on Christmas Eve

We lamented the fact that Christmas Down Under is a very different event than the Christmas we are used to in the Northern Hemisphere (see other post). We wanted a Christmas Eve to feel special, so we booked for two at After the Tears, a very popular polish restaurant in a Melbourne suburb.

If there was one place in Melbourne that was going to celebrate Christmas, it surely was going to be After the Tears. We expected Christmas decorations, Christmas songs, and koledy.

We got none of it. There was not a single reference to Christmas in the restaurant. No songs or koledy either. The food was alright, but the menu had nothing to do with what is served on Christmas Eve in Poland.

We can’t blame those who recommended the restaurant to us. I guess After the Tears is a good choice in general (a bit pricey I think).

It was however a poor choice for Christmas Eve.

The Ugly: The weather

It felt like we had landed somewhere in North Carolina in winter: you know, not really cold but not warm either. We spent four days between Sydney and Melbourne and most of the time cold rain was pouring down. Some days the temperature never exceeded 15 degrees. Ugh.

Joyeux Noël - (en retard)

Meilleurs voeux pour un Noël plein de joies et une nouvelle année remplie de bonheur.

De Melbourne en Australie – JOYEUX NOËL!

Reuniting with old friends

Meet Marty and Tessa.

Marty, Tessa, Ania and I spent much time together in Berlin (2003) partying and, when time allowed it between Berlin’s legendary student parties, studying as well. Being in Australia, we had to stop in Melbourne to meet our Australian friends.

Marty was kind enough to read us passages from his diary from the Berlin days, which confirmed that our Berlin days were really more about partying than studying.

Marty introduced us to his lovely Zoe. Ania and I enjoyed every second we spent with Marty and Zoe. Seven years may have gone by since we had last seen Marty, but we can confirm that his love for alcohol, cigarettes, and intelligent discussions is alive and kicking. Marty also introduced us to his best mates, a bunch of fine gents and ladies.

As in the old days, a night of partying with Marty often took a strange twist. This time was no exception, as Marty and his friend Nick insisted that I needed a “Mohawk” haircut and quickly proceeded to cut my hair. Three drunk, armed with clippers and frantic Ozzies, Marty, Nick, and Zoe joined forces and my hair was quickly on the floor.

What a fabulous night. Ania and I met with our Australian mates and I got a haircut even though I didn’t need one. We’ll have a chance to meet Marty and Zoe in March in Sydney. Hopefully we’ll have some excellent “goon” and a carton of beer – oh, entschuldiMEgung, I meant a “slab” of beer :)

The next morning Ania realized that my Mohawk haircut was...not up to her standards and decided to cut my hair shorter. She also picked a new color for my hair – rosewood purple.

Why not.

Australia - First encounters (Ania's post)

Encounter I

It`s our first day in Australia. We landed in Sydney, took the car, managed to get out of Sydney and tried to find a place to stay for the night. We know that there should be a free camping at Carrington Falls, near the town of Robertson. Somehow we can’t locate it, so we decide to ask for directions at a local gas station. I am sure that I can easily master the Australian accent after managing English in New Zealand.

I was wrong.

My conversation with a very friendly clerk seemed to me as if I was trying to understand Dutch based on my knowledge of German and he was trying to figure out what language I was trying to speak….This is how it looked like from my perspective:

Ania: Hi, I`m looking for a camping near Carrington Falls?
Helpful Man: ??? Never heard of such place!
Ania: Hmmm…And do you know about any free camping around here?
Helpful Man: Sure, you can camp at Carrington Falls!
A: And how do I get there?
HM: You continue for 5 kilometers and then turn right at pas……..(followed by something I completely didn’t understand)
A: So I turn right at a pasture (looking doubtfully at him, since I’m not sure at all if this is what he said)
HM: Not pasture, you turn right past a bike shop.
A: Past bike shop? (I decided to repeat everything the man says, just to make sure I understood him right)
HM: A place where they sell bikes.

Feeling semi-confident that I know where to go and only a little nervous because I didn’t see any bike shop on the way, I directed Marc according to the instructions. And everything worked out just fine, except for the fact that the bike shop turned out to be a pie shop.

Close enough.

Encounter II

Immediately after we arrived at the camping we met Greg and his 11-years-old daughter Jade. This great duo gave Marc and I a crash course on proper Australian bush camping.

First of all, Greg took Marc to gather the wood for the fire. Greg warned Marc that he was a bit nervous walking in his flip-flops, since there were two of the most dangerous snakes (king brown and taipan) known to inhabit that place. But since Greg was not nervous enough to go back, Marc decided to keep up.

Greg loaded half of the forest on Marc’s arms, and Marc, a descendant of Canadian woodcutters, was too proud to admit that he was breaking in half. His grand-grand-fathers would be proud of him, as he delivered all the wood for the whole night in one turn.

We spent the whole evening together and it was fantastic. My Australian comprehension was improving every minute, and my vocabulary was greatly enriched with the names all animal species I didn’t even know existed the day before.
At the end of the evening Greg, Jade and Marc went fishing for yabbies (creatures that look like a cross-over between a lobster and a crayfish). I decided to stay as a fire-keeper, partly of altruism and partly because I didn’t quite feel like walking through a bush full of snakes only to get into the creek full of huge eels on my first night in Australia…

Everybody survived the nightly escapade, well, except for a few yabbies, and the great night was completed by a good-bye breakfast: yabbies with coffee.

Let it snow let it snow let it snow

We tried really hard. You know, singing Christmas carols along the way. The problem is, it is hard to feel the Christmas spirit in the lands down under (no offense to our readers from the southern hemisphere :)). Over here Christmas seems to be more about parties on the beach than anything else.

And truth has to be told: Christmas is much more enjoyable when there is snow on the ground. Otherwise why would Dean Martin’s song “Let it snow” be so popular?

I know a lot of our readers in cold, snowy Canada will hate us for this: you guys are lucky. That’s one time in our trip where we wish we could have taken a little piece of that frozen ground with us.

New Zealand Wrap-up

The Great: Driving in general in South Island

In South Island there are often two ways to get to any destination: the standard route or the longer scenic route. We’ll break the suspense for you: there is no need to take the scenic route. Almost all roads, scenic or not, offer the visitor an amazing visual experience, specifically in Fiordland and Southland where we drove against a backdrop of mountains.

The roads are also in excellent condition, which makes it a true paradise for campervan lovers. So go ahead and rent that Lamborghini if you visit South Island :).


The Hidden: Bealy Glacier and Arthurs Pass

Bealy Glacier may not win a boxing match against heavyweights such as Fox Glacier and Franz Joseph Glacier, but it is surely the champion of the lightweight division.

Most tourists would surely not know of the existence of Bealy Glacier. At a respectable but small 900 meters, Bealy sits hidden from the view, an hour walk away from the road.

The real gem is that you can have a walk on the glacier for free! (an activity that will set you back 80 $ for an hour on Fox Glacier). You can also take all the pictures you want without having 50 tourists in your picture.

Other highlights in the area surrounding this Glacier makes it a perfect half-day stop: the cute village at Arthurs Pass, the other trails, and the great camping spots.


The Overrated: Franz Josef on a cloudy day

One cannot but feel a bit cheated. We wanted so much to see the glacier all the way to Mount Cook. After all, isn’t it what we are showed on tourist brochures?

Unfortunately, chances are you are not going to see Franz Josef Glacier, or Fox Glacier for that matter, under a sunny sky (see our post).

Both glaciers may draw thousands of tourists every year, but without help from Mother Nature, you’ll be slightly disappointed.


The Ugly: Prices of tours

If you choose to travel to New Zealand, you’ll be careful to avoid most of the outrageously priced tours and create your own itinerary if possible.


Other observations:


• Milford Sound (South Island) receives a staggering 6088 mm of rain every year. We were extremely lucky to arrive there on a sunny day.
• The native people of New Zealand are Maori. Strangely, we did not see a single Maori on South Island.

Post updated

The post New Zealand - it's going to cost you! has been updated.

First Impressions (my tribute to Jane Austen :) )

Somehow I thought that New Zealand would be a lot like North America – another country from the old British empire. I was wrong.

Some cities (Auckland, Hamilton) resemble many of the North American cities I’ve seen so far – quite nice but not very distinctive. However, there are a lot of smaller towns and townships, where houses seem to be taken from Scandinavian architecture catalogues. Passing through villages on the east shore of the Southern Island was a pure delight – little houses surrounded by all kinds of flowers, neatly painted and nestled in stunning landscapes.

Some Canadians we met on the way to New Zealand told us that the landscapes would be nice but not as impressive as the Rockies in Alberta. This may be true. Never having been to Alberta, we cannot verify that. What we found special about the Southern Island, though, was the diversity of landscapes within relatively short distances. Driving for only a couple of hours, we would pass from dry brownish landscape to lavishing rainforest (and believe me, it’s not called a RAIN forest for nothing!). And driving away from peaks of Southern Alps covered in snow, we would suddenly find ourselves among gentle hills and thousands of sheep.

And a definitely European flavour to New Zealand is its coffee culture. Practically every coffee shop has a respectable espresso machine. Even more surprising: practically every McDonald has a coffee corner with a big espresso machine! Imagine my delight when I ask for coffee and I get by default a nice strong cup of espresso! However, Marc is less upbeat about it, as he prefers a solid cup of filter coffee to a tiny espresso, as delicious as it might be .

Franz Josef Glacier

This is one picture of New Zealand you’ve probably seen already : Franz Joseph, the bluish glacier under a blazing sun.

The problem is, the sun rarely shines in the part of the country. In fact, even the lady at the information kiosk says “it rains everyday here”. “That’s why we have a great glacier”.

Hidden in the clouds and seen on a rainy day, Franz Joseph is not the archduke I expected to see. Like an emperor looking down the valley, but an emperor without a crown. Franz Joseph, like Mount Cook which remained under a thick layer of clouds, may live up to its reputation - weather permitting.

A great encounter with our first glacier, I expect our second one to be more impressive – Perino Moreno in Argentina will give us our second chance to see a glacier in all its glory.

Don't feed the Kea

Kea are a unique and endangered parrot species endemic to the Southern Alps of New Zealand. Kea are highly adaptive and are considered by scientists to be one of the most intelligent bird species in the world.

New Zealand authorities are rightfully concerned about humans feeding kea. Indeed, some of them have lost all fear of us humans. Check the picture. I tried to scare the bird out of the car. It didn’t work. It was still chewing on our camera bag and trying to find food in the various plastic bags in our car.

I wanted to see a Kea – this one got to close and personal for my comfort.

New Zealand - it's going to cost you!

In our discussions with other travelers we met in Hawaii and Fiji, we heard more than once that New Zealand was an expensive destination. That sort of surprised me, because New Zealand is the poorer cousin of Australia in two important respects – weaker currency and weaker economy.

When we landed in New Zealand, we soon found out why – tours and activities are prohibitively expensive.

New Zealanders love the word “booking”. It seems that one must “book” tours to see most landmarks around here.

You want to see the Royal Albatross? It’s going to cost you – $45 for a 45 min tour. It basically costs $45 to get a tour guide to bring you up to the observation deck where you get 45 minutes to watch nestling Royal Albatross. Of course the “independent tour” is not offered – the authorities have fenced off the whole mount to make sure tourists pay for the hefty tours.

You want to see fur seals, sea lions, and penguins? You can if you are willing to spend $75 for a 90 minutes tour that makes a point to mention that there is no guarantee you’ll see any. They just take you to the area where penguins and seals occasionally come to shore. Thanks but no thanks, I saw all the seals and sea lions I wanted in San Francisco and Hawaii for free.

You want to see the Moeraki Boulders (ball-shaped rocks in the ocean)? Sure, provided you find a way down to the beach. The only close access is a stairway behind a restaurant – cost $2.

Want to visit the Information Centre at Milford Sound? For a meager $27, you get a 20 minutes documentary and a few explanations about the local rock formations. This is no joke!

On our last day in New Zealand, we were tempted to visit the famous village “Hobbiton” from the movie The Lord of the Rings.

After learning that a 2-hour tour in the Shire will cost us $52 each, we elected not to approach the Middle-earth, as our wallets would look awfully light after our little escapade. This is an absurd price for an activity that incurs little operating cost to the owner.

Even “free WIFI” is often “free” only for 30 minutes…after you make a purchase from the owner.

I couldn’t help but compare with all free or $5 activities that abound in Hawaii (remember the Astronomy Centre).

I can now fully understand why travelers moan about New Zealand being expensive – because it is.

P.S. McDonald, the American heavyweight, is changing the local culture – it has introduced real free WIFI. This is the first time in my life that I find myself asking “Is there a McDonald in the area?”. Thank you Uncle Sam 

Viewing our pictures on Picasa

We’ve received a few emails inquiring about our pictures on Picasa. Some of our readers are computer neophytes and we respect that.

We thought we should give you a few pointers to make sure everybody is on the same page.

When you click on any of the pictures displayed on our blog, you’ll access a specific album on my public album on Picasa. You can access our other albums by clicking on “Marc” at the top left of the album page. You’ll be taken to a page that lists all our albums. This link will take you directly to the list of albums: http://picasaweb.google.com/marc.delisle

Please feel free to write to us again if you have questions regarding our blog or pictures.

Monthly Trip Summary (1)

Nov; 8 2010 – Dec.8 2010

Summary of the first month of our trip

Number of countries visited: 3

Number of flights taken: 8 (the average of 2 flights a week!)

Number of posts added to our blog: 16

Number of major marital conflicts: 0

Number of potential conflicts: 1. On Big Island, Hawaii: when lava rock was getting warmer and warmer under my feet and Marc was pushing me to go further and further :)

Best overnight stay: Hookena Beach camping on Big Island, Hawaii. A close second position goes to Waikiki Backpackers Penthouse in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Worst overnight stay: Parking lot somewhere between Christchurch and Dunadin, New Zealand. We slept in our car, as it was too cold to set up our tent. And still – we were freezing all night! Marc really needed a Driver Reviver the next day (see pictures for that)

Best Call we made: Going to Walu Beach Resort on Malolo Island, Fiji. After reading several horrible reviews about backpacker’s resorts on Fiji islands, we were prepared for the worst. What a great surprise – the resort was great, people were fantastic (both staff and guests) and we were upgraded to a wonderful bure (a traditional Fiji house).

Worst Call we made: Deciding to camp in New Zealand with the lightest summer equipment you can get! (see Worst overnight stay :) ).

Fiji Wrap-up

The Great: Snorkeling in Malolo island.

Fiji is not renowned for its great surf. In fact, most of the islands (there are 330 islands in Fiji) are surrounded by coral reef, which acts as a barrier against waves. When we stayed at Walu Beach Resort on Malolo Island, we were stunned to discover that the reef extends in all directions in the water. Walk 20 meters in the water and enjoy the show. All for free! We saw Nemo, all sorts of colorful fish, and stingrays! Snorkeling is a great feature of Fiji islands. We still have the Great Barrier Reef ahead of us but so far, this is the best snorkeling we’ve done in our lives.


The Hidden : Mainland Fiji (Viti Levu)

Most tourists land in Nadi (mainland) and go directly to the outer islands (the small paradise islands the surround the mainland). We can’t blame them. Nadi is a small town that you will never see on the postcards from Fiji. It looks run down and shifty in many places.

That being said, those who go directly to the outer islands will miss out on the real Fiji: the public bus without windows that churns more smoke inside the bus than outside; the great encounters on the street with the locals; the fresh fruit and vegetable market; the best curry Ania and I had in years; the beautiful landscape of mainland.

Fiji will always be about the stunning turquoise water and white powder beaches. No doubt about it. But mainland Fiji is a definite stop for those who really want to indulge in the local culture.

The Overrated:

There was nothing in Fiji that disappointed us.

The Ugly:

Wild dogs everywhere. Ania loves those. And worst of all, wild dogs are often allowed on the premises of hostels. Walking down our street with all these dogs made Ania very nervous. Fortunately for us there were no dogs on Malolo Island.

Other observations :

• Fijians and Indians two distinct groups according to the law. Although Indians make up over a third of Fiji population, they are discriminated against in several ways:
o Customs card – Are you Fijian, Indian or European (I didn’t know I was European :))
o Indians for the most part cannot possess land; they can lease it, but are not allowed to own it. Most Indians are running the businesses while Fijeans are working the land.
• Fijians are very curious and will approach us just to chit chat. The greatest part is that they will not try to sell us anything. They just want to talk. Like Ania said in an earlier post, Fijeans have a very severe face. Some of them look permanently angry. They look at us as if they want to eat us (“hmm, should I start with his arm? Oh, but his left thigh looks delicious too!” :)), but they crack the nicest smile I’ve seen. Very friendly people.
• Indians will approach us to talk as well, but most of the time, it is to sell us something. Not too pushy though.

No tornado watching for Ania. Cyclone watching? Oh yeah!

So much for Ania not wanting to watch tornadoes with me. Instead, we land in Fiji right when a cyclone is about to hit the islands! Fortunately (or unfortunately for me – I’d love to be in the middle of the action) the cyclone passed just south of Vita Levu, the main island. We were still treated with gale force winds and lots of rain.

Of course this is cyclone season here in Fiji. We still got lots of sun, fabulous beaches and calm water. But who said that Fiji was only about stunning beaches and calm water?

Cyclones are a typical Fiji experience. And we got it.

Bula!

We just arrived in Fiji. After a very bumpy and, consequently, sleepless night flight, there we are at the airport waiting in the line for the customs. The Fijian lady calls in a low strong voice “next!” That’s us. The lady turns out to be much less scary than her voice. We have a little nice conversation. When she sees that I come from Poland, she says that it is great; a lot of Fijians are catholic because there were Polish and French missionaries who converted Fijians to Christianity..
“Because you know” she adds, as she leans towards me and looks me deep in the eyes “we were cannibals. We used to eat people here…”
And I’m half expecting her to add “And I haven’t had my breakfast yet…”

But whatever Fijians may or may not have eaten in the past, one can’t help but like them. When we walk on the streets of Fijian towns, everybody greets us with “Bula!” which means hello, welcome, cheers and goodbye, as far as I discovered so far. A lot of times they will stop to chat, or just to make sure that we are fine and not in the need of anything.

And just for the record – the only meat served at a traditional Fijian dinner we had was definitely chicken!

Maui and Oahu wrap-up

The Great : Haleakala National Park on Maui. There is no other place like Haleakala National Park. There are a number of trails inside the crater. Visitors can choose to walk for two hours or hike for several days. It is even possible to rent wilderness cabins and camp out inside the crater.

This would have been a great option for us. Unfortunately, our 5-15 degrees celcius sleeping bags simply do not provide adequate warmth for the freezing night temperatures. A sleepless night in Volcano Park on Big Island was enough to convince us that we are not equipped to camp out at high altitude.

Hawaii is not unique because of its beaches; we will surely see other stunning beaches in Fiji and Australia.

Hawaii is unique because a visitor can walk inside a huge crater in the morning and catch a great wave in the afternoon.

That's why Haleakala is so special.


The Hidden: Waikiki Backpackers Penthouse. The owner of the hostel runs his hostel the way it should be: cheap and clean accomodation. But the owner goes an extra step: he cooks diner twice a week for all his guests! He even buys all the wine and beer for us thirsty backpackers!

This level of service is rare. Waikiki Backpackers Penthouse is a hidden gem in the huge world of hotel businesses in Honolulu.


The Overrated: Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. This world-class beach has only its name going for it. The beach is overcrowded, long but not wide and, worst of all, useless for swimmers. Sand dunes disappear about 20 meters inside the water. Beyond that, it is rocks and reefs everywhere. A quick dip in the water made it clear why most people in the water are surfers. Waikiki may be paradise for surfers, not for swimmers.


The Ugly: The airport to hotel experience. Honolulu runs a milk-the-tourist business where taxis charge 35 $ to get a visitor to Waikiki (a short distance from the airport). Shuttles cost less, but the level of service can be abysmal. Tourists cannot get on public buses that run from the airport to Waikiki. Apparently, our bags our too big (read – we want to protect our precious milk-the-tourist business).

We got into a shuttle with a couple of Germans and their kids. The father had crutches so he couldn’t load his luggage inside the shuttle. The operator just sat there smoking his cigarette while the wife was struggling to get all the bags inside. We waited for about 15 minutes in the shuttle so the operator could get more customers.

At some point the German decided to call a cab. As the cab pulled over, I took the opportunity to ask the cab driver about his price to get us to Waikiki. The operator of the shuttle did not tolerate my discussion with the competition: he took our bags and dumped them on the street!

Honolulu is not the capital of a banana republic. Airport officials should know that this kind of service reflects poorly on the city.

The sound of silence – a quick update

I thought that no Hawaiian accommodation could beat up our ***** lodgings on the beach on Big Island. But there you go – our hostel in Honolulu makes me reconsider the negative impact of computers on human interactions. Or I could rather say: it made me realize that the positive impact of alcohol overweighs the negative impact of computers .
The Waikiki Backpackers Penthouse made me actually feel like I was living the Auberge Espagnole dream again – people from everywhere getting together, actually getting to know each other.
And the biggest part of the success of this place is its manager Charles. His family lives right next to the hostel and he seems to treat the backpackers as his extended family. He prepares wonderful meals for EVERYBODY twice a week. These evenings usually end up as parties. And for the American Thanksgiving, Charles actually prepared 3 turkeys and a real thanksgiving dinner for all his guests. So a lot of our fellow backpackers (Japanese, German, British, Swiss, French, Polish  …) had their first taste of American Thanksgiving in Hawaii!

Oahu in the winter - Swim at your own risk!

I came to Oahu thinking that I was going to enjoy the warm waters of the island.

I was very disappointed.

Oahu in winter is a surfing Mecca. The North Shore hosts some of the most prestigious surf competitions in the world. The north northwest winter swell can generate monstrous waves.

Surf is fun to watch. But I did not come to the North Shore only to watch a surf competition. I wanted to catch a great wave myself.

The problem was that signs “No-Swimming Advisory” were everywhere on the North Shore. What a bummer!

I am doing fairly well at bodysurfing large waves. I thought these no swimming advisories were for the faint of heart. There's nothing I can't handle.

I put on my rash guard and jumped right in the water.

As soon as I entered the water, enormous waves started to pound me relentlessly. I mean these weren’t waves, they were mini tsunamis. But that’s not the worst part.

The worst part was the massive rip current which pulled me away from the shore. I panicked quite a bit, as I had absolutely no control in the water, on top of being pounded by the waves.

Fortunately I remembered a precious lesson I learned in Australia ten years ago: when caught in a rip current, don’t ever swim against it. In fact, people who attempt to swim against rip currents drown. The only way to survive is to swim parallel to the shore until you are out of the current.

All in all I stayed 10 minutes in the water. I spent 9 minutes just trying to get back to shore.

So now I’ve added rule number 3: respect no-swim advisories.

Haleakala - House of the Sun

Maui has fabulous beaches. In fact the most beautiful beaches in Hawaii are found on Maui.

But for us Hawaii is best enjoyed at 2000 meters above sea level. Our playground this time is Haleakala National Park. “Haleakala” is Hawaiian for “House of the sun”. According to a local legend, the demigod Maui imprisoned the sun here in order to lengthen the day.

Haleakala is a dormant volcano. Visitors can walk inside the huge crater. The landscape in the crater is littered with cinder cones. There are enough trails to walk for at least three days.

Have a look at the pictures on Picasa.

Why are we so restless?

One day we walk 20 kilometers. The next day we bike almost 70 kilometers (with garbage bikes on top of that). And today we walked 19 kilometers in the middle of a huge crater on top of Mount Haleakala. Elevation dropped more than 800 meters at some point. Then we had to get back up of course. The Hawaiian sun is merciless at that height: UV damage on unprotected skin occurs after only 12 minutes of sun exposure.

We had promised ourselves rest after the crazy marathon on Big Island. We had a military schedule from 7 am to 7 pm every day for a week.

Maui was supposed to be more restful.

Why can’t we just stay on the beach and enjoy a drink? Life would so much simpler.

Yet Ania and I want none of it.

Big Island

The Great:

• It is a tie between U.S. State and National Park facilities on Big Island (Hawaii) and the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Centre run by the Hawaii University.
o United States park facilities: our camping sites where very clean, run by competent and friendly employees, and very cheap. At 5 $ a night, you can’t beat that price to camp right on the beach in Hawaii.
o The Hawaii University Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Centre gives outstanding presentations. As a visitor, I could use 10 to 15 different telescopes for my own stargazing experience. Astronomers helped us understand all the different constellations and planets. Seeing the satellites of Jupiter and all the craters on the moon is quite a sight! The presentation lasted a solid 2 hour. Price of entry to the site, cost of presentation, and fee paid to use the telescopes: zero. Unbelievable.

The Hidden:

• Definitely the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Centre. There are not that many tourists. Most of them just go to the top of Mauna Kea, watch the sunset, stargaze a bit, then head back the hotel. They are missing out on the incredible presentation delivered by the astronomers at the Education Centre.

The Overrated:

• Big Island is trying to position itself as the “historical island” of Hawaii. However, we found that explanations about historical sites left us with more questions than answers. For example, we saw some great looking glyphs in the Petroglyphs field in Volcano Park. However, we could not find any written explanations about the glyphs. Why are they there? When were they left there? How did the natives manage to engrave lava rocks? Without proper explanations, most historical sites were underwhelming.


The Ugly:

• Driving in general on Big Island. Roads are often too narrow. Elevation can change quickly and without any warning. We felt like we were on roller coasters. The brakes on our rental car were busted for obvious reasons.

But worst of all were road signs on Big Island. They were either non-existent or placed in the worst possible locations, for example right when it is time to turn. Hawaiian tourist guides warn us tourists that it is dangerous to stop at crossings to get directions. Well, dear Big Island tourist officials, if tourists abruptly stop at crossings, it is because you did such a poor job at managing our expectations of what is ahead. Get a grip!

Other observations:
• We reached the Southern Point on Big Island at 18’54’39 parallel north. This is no ordinary place. The United States of America does not extend south of parallel 18’54’39 parallel north.
• Wine prices : 4.99 $ for a yellow tail shiraz. 6.49 $for a Turning Leaf, one of Ania’s favorite. I felt like a child exploring the alley full of cheap wines! Taxes on the precious liquid are too high in Canada!

But then as we exited the grocery store, a lady from a charity organization asked us if we would like to donate food or money. She mentioned that 1 in 5 Big islander food assistance. 1 in 5? I was shocked.

No taxes on wine, but no safety net for the poor folks. I guess there is no perfect world. Both sides have good argument. For now we chose to drink our Turning Leaf right on the beach :)

• “Kona Joe Coffee” was a great stop. We met a couple who were from the Ukraine. Both of them had managed to find an internship on Big Island. Life is so hard when your internship is in Hawaii. :)

Is Big Island affordable?

It is. But one needs to wander off the beaten track.

Lodging on Big Island can be two things – dull and expensive (any hotel) or exciting and cheap (Hookena Beach Park).

What comes to mind when I say “Hawaii”?

White sand beaches? Great surf? Expensive hotels? A good friend of mine grew up in Hawaii. He told me he has fond memories of camping on the beach; the sound of waves crashing gently on shore; the fresh wind after a very hot day; stunning sunsets.

Well Ania and I had the chance to do what no other tourist staying at the most expensive resort can do: get up from bed and put our feet right in the sand!

That’s right, Hookena Beach Park allows camping directly on the beach. The sound of waves, the palm trees, the birds singing Hawaiian songs in the morning. All of that, dear Lord, cost us 5 $ each every night. Unbelievable. Expensive resorts can never match that offer!

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Free snorkeling - We discover the beautiful reef around Pu’ohonua by chance – we had stopped a few hundreds meters away at an historical site called (Pu’uhonua O Honaunau - these names are impossible to remember). As we were touring the historical site, we noticed lots of snorkelers. We decided to jump in the water.

The snorkeling was stunning. The reef was huge, fishes of all colors, the coral beautiful and plentiful. And the best part was that the reef was literally a meter away from the rocky beach. This is a very rare occurrence. Reefs tend to be far from the beaches and require transportation. However, lava outflows on the island created rocky formations in the ocean that is ideal for the creation of coral.

I saw 5-6 boats unloading snorkelers about 150 meters from the beach. I snorkeled my way to their boat and asked the operator if the boats were part of an organized tour. The response was yes.

See, these poor chaps paid 60 $ to come to a reef that is definitely inferior to the reef that is just next to the beach. I know for sure because I snorkeled close to the boats to see what was out there. A lesson here: snorkeling is always great. Free snorkeling is even better.

Walking on fire

One of the biggest tourist attractions on Big Island is the most active volcano on earth. As a visitor you can see old lava from former eruptions, assess the damage on the rainforest caused by eruptions, and… watch hot lava flow into the ocean.

An active volcano is not an easily controlled tourist attraction. When Volcano Park was created, you could watch lava in there. However, lava did not respect national park boundaries and for a few years now, it has moved several kilometers outside the park, cutting a local road in half and creating an unexpected and new booming tourist center in the middle of a moon-like landscape created by old lava from past eruptions.

There are many possibilities for lava-watchers: you can go over the lava in a helicopter, approach it on a ship from the water, or, if you are more adventurous, just walk over there and see it right in front of you.

We opted for the last possibility. I don’t know exactly what I expected, but when I started walking, I understood that the fumes quite far away. We hoped to be able to see the lava at sunset before watching it in the dark. So we immediately set off at a quick pace.

Walking on lava is not simple – the surface is uneven and easily cuts through cloths and skin if you happen to fall. And you have to watch for cracks that can be several meters deep. Walking through it in the dark required all out attention. So imagine my feelings when suddenly I realized that the lava under our feet was actually warm! Well, let me tell you, my first thought was: “let’s get out of here!” this was more easily said then done, as all we could see around us was lava and there was no saying which one would be colder than the rest…

And then, just when I was starting to regret ever coming on Big Island, a lady in flip-flops approached us and asked if we were lost. As it turns out, there is a village hidden in the middle of the lava rocks. The houses once had backyards and driveways – those luxuries were swept off by lava. But the houses are still there and the lady who found us does not dream about moving anywhere else. She likes the moon-like landscape and when she talked about lava she actually used the ….. “she”.

Our savior explained to us that the lava rocks we were walking on were 3 months old and still cooling off – but apparently they were no longer dangerous. She also walked with us for almost half an hour to show us the trail and on the way we passed old washing machines trapped in the lava since the eighties, a mango tree grove that was swept away three months ago and many other interesting artifacts.

The watching of the actual lava was as amazing as it was scary – as I said earlier, an active volcano is not an easily manageable tourist attraction and watching it from a distance of 50 meters and knowing that there was actually lava flowing under the rock I was walking on, certainly did not add to my comfort level.

The lessons I learnt from this experience are the following:
1. It is Ok to walk on a hot lava rock, as long as there is no steam coming from the cracks.
2. It is hard to decide if I felt more panic or exhilaration while watching the lava flowing. I am probably not a candidate for tornado watching. Marc, you will have to do it alone!
3. After seeing the volcano village I can appreciate more living in Ottawa, where only an occasional earthquake disturbs my daily peace 

It got very cold on Big Island (Hawaii)

We are at 3000 meters above sea level. Temperature is unknown, but certainly below zero. Ania and I both have our Gore-Tex and two layers. And we still feel cold.

Did we come all the way from Canada to experience freezing temperatures?

Absolutely.

Each minute spent at the Mauna Kea Astronomy Education Centre is a minute of pure bliss. We get to journey through the universe using the telescopes provided by the centre. The moon, Saturn, Jupiter, and the Orion constellation suddenly have no secrets for us. Astronomers help us understand the world that is above and beyond our planet earth.

At the top of the mountain are some of the most powerful telescopes on earth. Why Mauna Kea? Because Mauna Kea has almost perfect night skies. Big Island has passed strict laws to prevent any light pollution.

Mauna Kea is the highest peak on planet Earth. Most of us believe that the Everest is the highest mountain on earth. It isn’t. The bases of mountains start below sea level. Mauna Kea only reaches 4200 meters above sea level. But its base reaches a staggering 8000 meters below sea level. Mauna Kea is THE highest mountain on earth.

Mauna Kea, from sunset to stargazing, is a unique experience.

San Francisco

Time to wrap up our San Francisco tour.

Here are a few of my impressions:

The Great:

• Eating out is cheap, varied and generally excellent. We bought full meals (Chinese, Mexican, etc.) for 6.50 $ every night. An excellent Hefeweizen (wheat beer) will set you back 3 $.
• Pedestrians, rejoice! This is a city where drivers actually respect people who cross streets in front of them. Drivers do not attempt to squeeze an inch in on you when they turn right. What a difference from our get-out-you-are-standing-in-front-of-my-car culture in Ottawa.

The Hidden:

• The view from the coastal walk from the Golden Gate Park all the way up to the Golden Gate Bridge is stunning.

The Overrated:

• The painted sisters seen from the Alamo Square, a famous San Francisco landmark, is “bah!” at best.

The Ugly:

• Lots of homeless folks. Not dangerous, but pan handling gets on my nerves after a while.

***First pictures have been uploaded!

Silence is gold?

We are sitting in a hostel lounge, chilling out after a long day of sightseeing. Around us currently 5-6 people on big comfortable sofas – all with their laptops, or, the trendiest of them, with IPads. Marc and I are bringing down the statistics, as we only have 0.5 computer per capita. But since I have taken the computer from Marc, he keeps asking: “so what are you writing?” and “And what are you writing now?”, which makes me think that maybe we should have brought 2 laptops instead of one…

This morning we noticed that several people preferred to have their breakfasts in front of their computers, rather than with other guests of the hostel Marc observed that nowadays people often prefer to stay in touch with their friends from far away rather than with people physically around them. And this evening seems to confirm his theory – half of the people around us are currently on Facebook, chatting with their friends. So everybody is chatting, and yet, it is dead-silent in the lobby.

Marc is saying that it is a sign of times. He says that it was different when we were young. I’m of a different opinion – partially because I don’t like to be thrown into Marc’s remarks about what was it like “when we were young” –I’m not yet 30 so I like to think that I am still young. And partially because I choose to think that computers enhance human interaction rather than inhibit it.

So I explained to Marc that this hostel is different: most of the guests in our hostel are not your everyday traveler. There are a lot of international students who stay here for several months and need to do their homework every night. They probably don’t have time for empty chats. And, more importantly, the hostel doesn’t have a bar, or rather has a very teasing bar that is closed because the liquor license has not arrived yet. I bet, I explain to Marc, that once Napa valley’s wines start to flow through the veins of the hostel guests, the atmosphere will change.

Marc is ready to give the hostels of today a benefit of a doubt. But if our next experiences in hostels are similar to this one, I will be willing to admit that my mentality might be closer to Marc’s generation than to the “youth of today”. Although I will never go as far as to admit that I’m actually the same generation as Marc!

BoB is on the move!!

This is an update for my dear co-workers:
Although this picture was taken in Toronto, I assure that BoB arrived safely in San Francisco and was even acknowledged by a US immigration officer at the airport :)

Those dangerous clementines

The card read : “Do you bring any food with you to the United States?”

Well I have a few clementines, but these will be in my stomach while we wait for the plane. So I check “no”.

Big mistake.

The U.S. Custom Agent asks me the same question. I tell her that I have a few clementines in my bag and that I do not intend to bring those to the U.S.

She tells us that we have to go through these revolving doors for a “secondary search”. Ania is angry at me. She had told me to get rid of those before we reach U.S Customs agents.

It is 9:15 AM and our plane leaves in 45 minutes. We all know that these “searches” can last an eternity if conducted by a jittery agent.

Thank God the fellow at the “Agriculture Department” booth where we are sent is not a zealot. He simply asks us for the clementines and drops them in a bin. Phew!

Two lessons for me here:

1 – Don’t underestimate the threat represented by clementines. In the hands of Evil Doers, the can become a national security issue.

2 – Listen to Ania. :)

The countdown has started

Our mobile phone lines have been deactivated.

We are returning our cable modem to Rogers.

Without Internet (Ania would prefer "without my mobile phone"), there is no going back; we are almost on our way!


The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page. ~St. Augustine

Backpaking then; backpacking now

About ten years ago, I was backpacking in Australia. To communicate with friends and family, fortunately, there was Internet. But Internet was restricted to Internet cafes. Checking my emails at a local Internet cafe, when I could find one, exposed me to a lot of nasty risks: account hijack, keylogger attacks, financial account phishing scams, identity thefts, to name a few.

The farther away from civilization I was, the more expensive the browsing experience. I could easily pay 10$ for 30 minutes on the Web.

That was then.

Today wireless Internet (WI-FI) is everywhere. And best of all, it is often free: municipal libraries, hostels and even Starbucks offer free WI-FI.

That being said, using free WI-FI can be as hazardous as logging onto my email account back in the days. Free WI-FI makes it very easy for a smartass to sniff out information sent over the connection (passwords, banking account information, etc.). It can lead to disaster.

We want the goodies without the risks.

A backpacker serious about computer security should do the following if he wants to use a netbook on his trip:

1) Disable drive C sharing
2) Disable Windows XP firewall and use a standalone free firewall (Comodo firewall)
3)Disable all useless (or outright dangerous) Windows services, including the notorious "Universal Plug and "Pray""
4) Create a strong Windows password
5) Install anti-spyware software (Malwarebytes Anti-Malware, Emisoft Anti-Malware, Spywareblaster)
6) Update your free antivirus (Avast)
7) Encrypt your data (Cryptainer Le)
8) Install a Virtual Private Network (HotSpot shield)

The last two items are key to a successful defense against computer, financial or identity theft. We have need to carry a few documents that contain
sensitive information. Obviously, we want to protect ourselves against the risk that somebody steals our netbook and finds all this sensitive information.

So what I've done the following: create a folder buried deep in system32 windows folder; change all .doc filenames to .dll and encrypt the folder to make it invisible (the folder is also password-protected 256 bite SSL).

So John steals our netbook in Manilla. First he needs to crack Windows XP's password (doable). He looks in the folder "documents". He finds nothing. He searches the C drive by files (all .doc). He finds nothing. He goes into each and every folder on the C drive (takes him forever) and manages find a suspicious folder with...no files in it. He opens up Cryptainer Le and needs about 160 years to crack the strong 256 bite SSL password. Very unlikely he'll accomplish anything.

Now onto Hotspot Shield, the real gem. This software is a free Virtual Private Network. Basically, if we browse with this service activated, it works the same as our private network at home: the best defense in town. Free WI-FI suddenly tastes so much better!

No browsing is ever 100 % safe. But we are pretty damn close with this set-up.

Is there anything I forget?

The joys of plunging exchange rates

Our trip should have started in April. Back then, a Canadian dollar was worth 1.15 Australian dollar. Today, a Canadian dollar is worth a bit less than an Australian dollar! http://www.google.ca/finance?q=CADAUD

So if we spend 10 000$ in Australia, this amounts to a loss of 1 500$.

This is no joke.

It is impossible to hedge currency fluctuations in Canada when our wonderful banks do not allow us to hold other currencies in our accounts (other than USD, which is now correlated to the Canadian dollar. I know, it is crazy).

Why would they want to stop over in Miami?

A few of you may ask yourselves: "hey, I see that you guys are stopping over in Miami.
There must be more exotic places to visit!"

Well the way a round-the-world ticket works is that we only have 16 segments with maximum mileage of 39 000 miles. The way we are set up right now, we use about 38 536 miles, which is really just short of the maximum allowed. So after exiting Lima, we still had a segment left. However, because of mileage restrictions, we had to fly on a straight line to Ottawa.

We didn't want to lose this last segment. Why not a cruise around the Caribbeans to finish up? :)

Any reasonable hostel in Toronto?

Well, Toronto does not value backpacker dollars or the city would have reasonable accommodation for us. I was reading the comments about the ten or so hostels in Toronto: eight of them seem to come straight from a film noir with dark, shoddy rooms and nasty front desk staff.

Who would want to start a round-the-world trip in a place like that?

I am sure we will end up in a dark and smelly hostel room at least once during our trip. It is just too early for that :)

Beware those who think they can visit Toronto on a budget: options are few and far between.

Round trip ticket ready!

All right.

Here's a breakdown of where we are going:

Departure: November 8

Ottawa to San Francisco (stay in San Francisco – November 8 to November 12)

San Francisco to Honolulu (stay in Honolulu – November 12 to November 26)

Honolulu to Fiji (stay in Fiji – November 28 to December 6)

Fiji to New Zealand (stay in New Zealand – December 6 to December 17)

New Zealand to Australia (stay in Australia – December 17 to March 17)

Australia to Singapore (stay in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia – March 17 to April 13)

Singapore to Philippines (stay in Philippines – April 13 to April 23)

Philippines to Thailand (stay in Thailand, Hong Kong – April 23 to May 15)

Thailand to Oman (stay in Oman – May 15 to May 24)

Oman to Egypt (stay in Egypt, Jordan, Israel – May 24 to June 26)

Egypt to Frankfurt (stay in Poland – June 26 to July 6)

Frankfurt to Buenos Aires (stay in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia and Peru – July 6 to October 29)

Lima to Miami (stay in Miami – October 29 to November 4)

Miami to Ottawa (Friday 4th, 2011)

Toute histoire a un début

Il était une fois....Ania et Marc