Category Archives: Travels
Trip to Maui day 6-7
Saturday we were booked for a tee off time at 7:30AM at Kahili Golf club. We arrived with a full bag of balls, courtesy of Pam and Bill 👏🏻👏🏻
What a beautiful course, with elevations that provided several different views of Maui. We apparently were lucky that the winds were taking a hiatus and it was not excessively hot. Nothing to blame for our missed shots!!
We finished just in time to drive over Mama’s fish house for our lunch reservation at this famous Maui restaurant. Super pricey but what a setting! Our table overlooking the beach and the ocean was perfect. The food was scrumptious and imaginative. I had crispy mahi mahi rolls and Onaga (white fish) as a main in a mushroom and caper sauce, while Chuck had the 3 fish sashimi dish and the Hawaiian wild boar and fish platter. Just perfect!
Back home for some packing and shower before heading out to Lorraine and John to cook dinner for them. We had stopped at Mana Foods in Paia to pick very fresh ingredients. Fabulous shop!
Enjoyed the best sunset yet as well as John’s amazing Mai Tai. They win the prize for sure!
Another perfect evening of conversation and food with great people.
On Sunday morning, I prepared to walk over for oceanfront yoga at 8AM while Chuck settled in for his football game: Vikings versus Rams. The 15 minutes walk over was enough to warm me up 😎🌞. 
The session was challenging and exactly what I needed in preparation for our long journey back home.
Walked back on the beach to take in the ocean one last time. 
Off we go. What a perfect week! Exactly what we needed.
Trip to Maui day 5
On Friday, we pick up our Jeep for our road trip to Hana. 
We leave at 9:30, armed with a few maps and a list of highlights on a mission to see some waterfalls. Right from mile 1 we realized we are in for a treat!! They say the journey is the destination, here that is an understatement! We stopped right away at mile 2 for the twin falls. We are able to walk along the fall but the top is closed due to flooding. Still some nice photo op
We continue on and get into the hairpin turns and one lane bridge part of the trip!! Reminiscing of the roads in Scotland’s west coast !!
It is hard to describe with words and even harder to show it with pictures as stopping on the sides of these roads is an adventure in itself but needless to it was spectacular. Chuck is drawn by a big BBQ sign on the side of the road so we stop at 11am for a delectable traditional Hawaiian BBQ using bamboo chopsticks, no plastics, all compostable dish, I love it!
Slow roasted wild boar and grilled bananas to die for!
We stopped shortly after at one of the wayside park with restroom and stumble upon a great view of the Honomanu bay.
Continuing on we stop on the side of the road for a spectacular fall right off the side of the road with a one lane bridge over the upper and lower side of the Waikani falls. 
More hairpin turns and signs to NOT PASS and SLOW DOWN, we finally arrive at Waianapanapa State Park for a stunning view of the black sand beach and the Sea Arch. It is stunning !
We begin our return tracing back our steps with Chuck gaining confidence on the road, we are experts now!! Quick stop at the Hoopika Beack Park for a quick photo op of the giant sea turtles who beach there and an opportunity to watch some serious surfing!!
We hurry back home for a quick shower and we are on our way back to The Becker’s cottage in Makena. Pam and Bill join us this time and Pam treats us to some Pū and a quick lesson. Lorraine and Chuck manage a few sounds but I am struggling despite my efforts. I figure I might as well look like I know what I am doing!!
Great conversation ranging from politics to travelling to life experiences. What a day!!
Trip to Maui day 4
Thursday morning Lorraine had invited me to her canoe club for the outrigger paddle visitor day. She picked me up with my new friend Pam and we made our way to sugar beach where the club is located. After a nice welcome and really impressive chant from a local Hawaiian, some of the leader blew the Pū, the Hawaiian conch shell to get us started. We were all assigned to different boat, I ended up on seat 2 behind Pam. We had a great paddle in the ocean on a windy morning. Took a short break which gave us an opportunity to have a chat and get to know each other. I realized that almost the whole boat was Canadian!!
I forgot how much fun paddling is on a big boat with a team. Will have to look for an outrigger boat back home next spring!!
After my morning paddle, chuck and I decided to rent snorkelling equipment and try our luck spotting sea turtles. As soon as we arrived at the beach across from our condo Kamaole Beach III, a lady pointed a giant one swimming leisurely right along the shore followed by a group of enthusiastic children. The turtles are protected here and it is forbidden to touch them or approach to closely.
We put our equipment on and swan over to the nearby rocky area and spotted a few more swimming or simply resting at the bottom. Colourful fishes were hanging around the reef as well which made this little expedition a big success!! Too bad I forgot to bring our waterproof GoPro!!
In the afternoon we Ubered over to Lorraine and John and went for a walk on the long boardwalk built in front of the big hotels along the beaches.
In Hawaii all the beaches are public so anyone can walk and use them regardless of which property is build in front.
We realized that we had to be at the Marriott for our Luau earlier than we thought and had to power walk home!!
Lorraine accompanied us to the Luau and we were there promptly at 4:30. What a treat!!
Typical Hawaiian fare and tasty drinks made the meal part of the evening excellent, we realized again that we were sitting with Canadians at our table! We are everywhere!!
They displayed how the roasted wild boar is slowly roasted, wrapped and placed on coals then buried in the sand.
After the sun down, began the show. It was absolutely magical, such amazing performers, a fantastic host who shared with us the history of their Polynesian ancestors. Simply wonderful!!
Trip to Maui day 3
On Wednesday we were booked for watching the sunrise atop the Haleakala volcano followed by a bike ride down the summit to the beach.
Our pick up was at 3AM 😱 in front of our complex. What!!! We were there in the pitch dark hoping someone would come…sure enough they were right on time. Our conductor Dante was up and at it and drove us to the Mountain Riders office. After getting our gear (jacket, pants and glove) and a quick coffee, up we go to the top of the volcano.
We get there by 5:10 and are told that we got there just in time as this place will be packed in 20 minutes. In the pouring rain and strong cold wind, we make our way to the edge of the crater for a prime spot….oh we are ready. We are told that it will be about 6:20 when the sun rise so we have over an hour to wait…a long miserable, freezing and wet hour. As the sunrise hour approach, it became more cloudy and cold. 
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eptical but stayed there in the hope to see this amazing sunrise…..it was not to be…we all made our way back to the van cold and wet.
Our amazing upbeat guide got us all set up with our specially built bikes with brakes from scooter to be able to handle the descent!! With our big helmet and our full rain gear, we set out, staying in a single file, basically gliding down. After multiple sharp turns, we arrive at a great spot where the sun is out and the rainbow is showing. The volcano is at 10,000 feet elevation and each 1,000 feet of descent brings us to a new weather pattern. Pretty neat. We stopped for fun pictures.
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ur ride again when the guide spots a gecko in a bush. Another pit stop for photos.
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the beach after a nice stop for breakfast at 9am in the small hippie town of Makawao.
Back at our condo around 11am where the sun is shiny and we are back to 90F weather, go figure!!
We spend time at the beach and make our way over to our cousin's cottage Lorraine and John in Makena. They pick us up and take us on a great drive along fancy neighbourhood, definitely much more expensive houses!!
We are treated to a beautiful sunset and yummy dinner.
Great conversations to re-connect with families. Our gracious hosts make us feel so welcome.
How fun!!
Trip to Maui day 1-2
On Monday the 13th, I joined Chuck in LA following his trip to Vegas with Stewart. We checked in our flight to Maui and left the airport to meet up with uncle Jimmy and aunt Bernice for lunch. It was so great to catch up with them and for Chuck to see their house. We realized that he hadn’t visited since Lorraine’s wedding!!! They took us to their golf country club for lunch, and we had a great visit sharing all the news from the Murray’s next generation in Ontario.
After a long flight we landed in Maui and discovered that the Uber to our condo was double the cost of a cab! Uber is new in Maui.
Arrived at our airbandb late evening (which was 4Am for us) and accessed our unit without incident. Time for bed!!
The next morning on Tuesday, we decided to go go for breakfast at Fred’s nearby, check out the beach and go for a long walk before our lunch date with cousin Lorraine and John. Beach is beautiful with gorgeous sand and warmish water. The condo and malls lack local flavour to me. Seems fairly typical USA which is disappointing. Returned home and after fun time trying to figure out the shower, got ready for lunch at the 5 Palms restaurant. A wonderful welcome by our cousins with beautiful Lai. The view was spectacular and we had good Mai Tai and food. Had a very nice long chat after which they dropped us up at our condo for a quick visit.
Enjoyed a lazy afternoon followed by dinner at the Cafe O Lei. Excellent Ahi while Chuck had sushi. Good thing we were there early, the place was absolutely packed by 7PM!!
Off to bed early to be ready for our 2:30 wake up call tomorrow!!
Day 8 : last day in Naxos and day 9 in transit
We wake for our last day to high winds again. It is really unfortunate that the weather is not cooperating for our last day in the Greek island of Naxos. The hotel, pool and beaches are gorgeous and it would be wonderful to be able to take advantage of them. Last night at the restaurant, we are told that the hotel has lost some of its electricity due to the heavy rain and winds. It is reminiscent of St-Lucia !!!
We walk in the very pretty old village and meet a very nice shopkeeper who tells us where to buy the best honey from the mountain. It must be thyme honey. The absolute best!
We find out that the boat is an hour and a half late so it will leave at 6:30 and arrive at 12:45 in Athens. The high speed is of course running on schedule. Oh well!!
Day 7 in Naxos
The This morning is every bit as stormy as they predicted. Rainy, windy and cloudy so we take our time with breakfast and getting ready. This morning at breakfast, I learn that Karimara is the greek greeting for good morning.
We leave with our rental car to visit some of the typical villages that were pointed to us, the Kytron distillery and the Zeus summit.
We drive towards Ano Sagkri and a temple in that area. After driving on a dirt road, we find instead the archeological site dating back to 500 BC, Yiroulia Sangri. On the same ground, a christian church was built as well. Great view from up there.
We continue on to Halki for the distillery. We find it in a small alleyway for pedestrians only. All the tools and machinery from 120 years ago are on the display as well the what they call “citron” which is not at all the same as our lemon. It is a very large sour lemon and we discover that the liquor is made of the leaves and not the fruit! We get to taste the 3 different types, green for the sweetest, yellow for the most bitter and the transparent one in between. The transparent one is my favorite.
From there we continue on through Filoti on our way to Zeus cave and summit. The legend says that after Zeus was born on Mykonos, he was brought here to hide from the gods while growing up. We turn right at the sign and come face to face with a very skinny road going up a cliff and no guardrail. I am so glad I am not the one driving…Chuck is wishing he was not driving! Cars coming from the opposite direction would be really bad!
Finally we arrive at the spot where the road ends and there is a small area to leave the car. We walk to the towards a fountain and a sign that point up a very narrow trail with a gate that is close. We decide to risk it and open the gate and start climbing. I definitely am not wearing the proper shoes! The view is fantastic! Luckily while we are there, the sun is out and it is not raining….
We make our way down just as the rain starts and begin the drive down on the skinny road.
Our plan is now to make it up to Rotondo, the restaurant perched up high with the best panoramic view towards Paros.
Again up a narrow road, we finally arrive there. It is quite spectacular but windy and some rain so we have to eat inside.
The food is also excellent but when we want to pay we are informed that it is cash only but not to worry, we can come back anytime later on. Don’t change your plans, just come back when you can…Wow! We are thankful that we needed to find an ATM as we end up in Apiranthos, the village of marble. It is so neat to go up the marble stairs and walk on the small roads. Again the view there is wonderful.
Naxos’ reputation as the island of many typical village is well earned. One could spend a few days driving up and down discovering new villages and tavernas and enjoying a great view atop the hills.
We return to the hotel and settle in to watch the storm…strong winds, lots of rain…no sunset tonight! Glad we enjoyed that yesterday. We review the weather forecast with the receptionist for tomorrow and it appears that they expect some rain but a milder and nicer day with wind of only 6 in strength…what does that mean? Well strong winds but not the end of the world, we should be able to get out on the ferry back to Athens…cross our fingers. We are told that the ferry left tonight and the wind speed is 7 so we should be good.
We are told that the Cyclades are named after the gods of wind and that is a good example. Within the span of one hour, the wind can change direction 3 times. We witnessed the gods of wind in action tonight!
Day 6: we leave for Naxos
We wake up today to a cloudy sky and strong winds. They die down quickly and a bit of cloudiness still let’s through amazing light. I would think this would be a fabulous place for an artist to create.
Time to leave and we make our way to the port to await our high speed ferry on Hellenic. Although the view was spectacular, I am not unhappy to leave.
We take the same road down to the port.
We arrive in Hora,Naxos and again the disembarkation is quite something! Here we see the blue that Greece is so famous for. I do not know if it is the place or the temperature that brings this colour to the sea but it is magnificient.
we settle in our beautiful suite and I go for a dip in the salt water pool and a walk on the beach while Chuck reads his book on the balcony.
Day 5: Oia, Santorini
Waking up to the view of the volcano and the sun rising over the cliff and Fira is quite the treat.
T
his morning, we take our breakfast on our terrace and are met by 2 very friendly cats. I of course share some of the cold cuts and cheese with them which they love but when I try to give them some Greek yoghurt, absolutely not!
Hummmm. They leave when they see we are done. They think nothing of walking on the ledge behind the gate! Yikes!
We finally learn why the vines are so different here. They are not trained up or planted on a row. They are basically spread out and trained to turn into a basket in the middle. The goal being to provide shade and protection from the high winds that come here. They do not have irrigation system but rather a stone in the composition of the soil, traps the little water that they get a year, sometimes 150 to 250 mm annually! Also the regular mist rising from the sea provides them with moisture and gives the wine a very particular mineral aroma / flavor. There are more than 400 local variety of grapes in Greece and more than 50 grow in Santorini. I did not realize how big a producer of wine Greece is. Apparently the protectionism in Canafa combined with the requirement to produce and ship a certain minimum number of bottles is the cause of the very limited Greek wine imported in canada. The majority of the wineries here are …gseveral generation family owned and low producers.
No lettuce of course. We have to let it sit for a while for the olive oil to soak up everything.
day 4: arrival in paradise: Santorini
We begin our day with the same intense winds which we heard all night. They do refer to Paros as the island to kite surf and I can see why!!! At midday, we embark again on the ferry but this time, destination Santorini. There are several stops along the way. One is Ios which looks quite pretty.
And then the ascent begins. There is no doubt in my mind that Mathew would definitely be vomiting by now. The zigzagging road going up the cliff is worst that the road going up to Chamonix in the French Alps AND the road going down to Monaco in the French Riviera. Christine, Annie t’en souviens-tu? Pire j’te dis!!! Je prends une photo demain.
We end up at the end of the island where it opens up to a wide open view of the sun setting! We will be back tomorrow.
We make plans to go down to the small port tomorrow sitting on the patio of the restaurant as we read about the donkey who carry supplies up and down and ignore tourists. We hear them coming!! Right by our table, there they are. More than 20 of them. Quite a sight!
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