Capture the Colour

I found out about this contest on my friend's Andi's blog. I decided not to enter since I don't really have that much time to read other blogs and keep track on who was nominated or even have 5 bloggers to nominate. I still wanted to look at my old pictures and remember some of my previous trips. Here are some of my favorite pictures. 

WHITE

Kalapaki Beach, Kauai.

Every time I go to the beach I take pictures of the water bubbles. I do it as a way to remember what it felt like to have my toes in the sand. Kauai was our honeymoon destination in 2011. I have been thinking about it a lot since we spent 10 days in paradise exactly 2 years ago. Our second anniversary was in August and when I was there, I said that I wanted to go every 3 years to Hawaii. I went to Oahu in 2008 and at the time, it seemed reasonable to return in 2014. We have a few trips planned for the following year. Unfortunately, Hawaii will have to wait a little longer. 

BLUE

Kauai, Napali Coast

I'm obsessed with the beauty of Hawaii. The Napali coast is best seen from the air or from a boat. We did that, but we also drove to the end of the road and went hiking. I took this picture while we were doing one of the easy trails. The picture doesn't show how impressive the mountains are. I love how the horizon gets lost because the color of the ocean is almost the same as the sky. 

GREEN

Quito, Ecuador

This woman was selling scarfs in downtown Quito on a sunny Sunday afternoon. I got a few scarfs to help her and also because I wanted to ask her for a picture. She kindly agreed. I love how her daughter also smiled for the camera.

YELLOW

Tampa, Fl

One of the best things about living in Florida is watching beautiful sunsets. My favorite place in Tampa to watch the sun go down is near the Davis Island Yatch Club. The pictures that I've taken here are never the same because of the clouds and the boats.

RED

Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

I had the hardest time finding the perfect "red" picture. This old car was parked on one of the main streets in historical side of Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. Last year we went to Uruguay as a day trip from Buenos Aires. I loved the town. We took hundreds of pictures that day.

FYI: You don't have to be nominated so feel free to participate and spread the word. 

Honeymoon Day 8 - Part 1 - Kauai from the Air

The best way to say goodbye to Kauai was with a helicopter ride to see the rest of the island. Most of Kauai is not accessible, so the only way to really see it is by air. We decided to use Jack Harter Helicopters for the tour. The other options were the standard helicopters with room for 6 passengers. The passengers are seated by weight, so there is a chance that you wont get a window. The open door helicopter is only for 4 passengers, so everyone gets a prime view. We had seen a lot of Kauai by water and land. It was a great experience and see everything that we visited the days before from the air. This was the first time that I ever went on a helicopter ride. It was a little scary to have the open door/windows, but it was worth it. The tour was unbelievable, the pilot gave us many close ups to the falls, mountains, the valleys in the Napali coast, and into Mount Waialeale. I am happy that we picked Kauai as the island for our honeymoon, it was more beautiful than we imagined. Since pictures are worth a thousand words here are lots of pictures. 

Kalapaki Beach & our hotel on the right side

Jurassic Park Falls

The first sight of the Waimea Canyon

The Napali Coast from the air

I got the front seat and Andre got the back seat

Kee Beach from the air

Bali Hai from the air

Lumahai Beach from the air

Inside an inactive volcano crater

Waterfalls inside the crater of Mount Waialeale

Waterfalls everywhere

Wailua Falls

Mahalo Kauai, until we meet again. We were on our way back to Oahu for 2 more days before saying good bye to paradise.

Honeymoon Day 7, Kauai's East & North Coasts

This was probably my favorite day in Kauai. We had seen the Napali Coast from the water and it was wonderful. Now it was time to explore the east and north sides of the island. We stayed in Lihue which is located about 1 hour from the north shore of Kauai. We started the drive and soon after we started to see all the beautiful beaches on the East coast. We could not resist to stop for pictures. The water was very strong in some beaches and in those we stayed away from the water. I'm not afraid of the ocean, but I'm used to the flat water in Florida. When I see huge waves, I stay away. Plus my uncle broke his clavicle while vacationing in Hawaii, so I respect the waves and shore breaks even more. We used our map to drive around the island and found the most beautiful beaches. I saw a post card with Bali Hai beach on it, and I wanted to see it more than any other beach in the island. I am a beach person and I also love the mountains, so if you have a beach with a mountain in it that is my idea of a perfect beach. This happens very often in Kauai. Get ready for lots of pictures!!

We took route 56 towards Princeville. The first beach that we stopped was Kealia Beach. The water was very strong and there was a sign for no swimming. We only stopped for a few minutes to take pictures and walk around.

We later made a turn off the main highway towards a beach in the map marked as a beach that appeared in six days and seven nights. I don't remember the movie, but I was curious. We had to walk a small trail to get to the beach. We were hoping to see some Hawaiian Monk Seals since there was a sign for them.

Can I live in that house?

Kilauea Lighthouse is also the location of the Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge, a sanctuary for seabirds. The entrance fee is $5 per person. From December to May this is supposed to be a good lookout for whales.

Andre looking at Secret Beach

We continued our drive towards Bali Hai. We stopped at Hanalei Bay, another perfect beach along the way.

We also stopped at Lumahai Beach is located right after Hanalei Bay. This was beautiful because there was a river that met the ocean here and the sand was different from all the other beaches along the north-east coast. This was probably the widest beach that we saw that day. I later read that because of the currents, shore breaks, and waves this is one of the most dangerous beaches on Kauai. I also read that during the summer is calm enough for swimming. I visited during the summer and it was not OK to swim here, except on the river side. This beach was full of roosters, like most of the other beaches in Kauai.

Kauai's notorious resident

River

Close up of the darker sand

We stopped for lunch at the Princeville Center. We walked around the food court and saw a Mexican restaurant, Federicos. They have natural chicken and beef and use organic produce. We decided to have some tacos from there. They were probably the best tacos I've ever had. The owner is Mexican and she gave us directions to Bali Hai. It turns out it is not in the map because you need to find Tunnels beach not Bali Hai. We shopped for some t-shirts at Live a little. This was a great store with tons of good quality souvenir shirts.

After lunch, we drove towards Tunnels Beach. This is a popular beach for snorkeling, but I was just looking for the post card perfect scenery. This was the only beach where we could swim for a bit. When you visit Hawaii make sure that you know how the currents are. During the summer months and winter months the strong waves switch between the south and north shores.

The tunnel

Inside the tunnel

The mountain on the far right is the one in all the "Bali Hai" postcards

While we were walking towards Haena Beach, located west of the tunnels, we found a monk!!! I could not stop looking at him. 

Finally a Hawaiian Monk Seal

On our way back, we could not resist to take more pictures of the monk.

Finally opened his eyes

I love Hello Kitty and this towel that I got in ABC

The last beach that we visited was Kee Beach. This is the end of the north shore. Kee Beach is the beginning of the famous Kalalau Trail that leads into the Napali Coast.

On our way back, we wanted to go stop by the Wailua Falls, but it was already late and dark. The next day was our last half day in Kauai and we had plans to see the island from the air.