Several months after coming back from our honeymoon in Hawaii, I finally took the underwater disposable cameras to develop. Sadly, the results were not what I expected. The water was very deep and we didn't get to see many fishes. We were basically floating since the life jackets made it impossible to go deeper. We saw a couple of turtles while we were snorkeling. Hawaiian green sea turtles (Honu) are an endangered species and they are protected. You can't touch them and you must keep a distance from them. If you want to see the pictures from outside the water click here.
Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle
Our Catamaran
The Diamond head in the background
We have an upcoming excursion to snorkel with the Manatees in Crystal River located about one hour north of Tampa. Before revealing these pictures I was planning to buy more underwater cameras. I'm excited to see how close we can get to the manatees. Supposedly, they are very friendly and you are allowed to touch them if they come near you. I would love to be able to take a few (nice) pictures of them. I don't want to spend a lot of money in an underwater camera. Can anyone recommend a cheap/good one available?
Our last half day in Hawaii we spent the day snorkeling at the beach by the hotel. All the guests are allowed 1 hour of free rental snorkeling equipment daily.
After out last swim, we checked out and drove to the airport which located around 1 hour away from the North Shore. We said good bye to Hawaii and got ready for a 8 hour flight to Chicago, a 3 hour layover in Chicago, and finally a 2 and a half hour flight to Tampa. Hawaii is too far away to go every year, but I know that we will be back!!! I was worried that maybe Andre wouldn't like it or that he would not consider Hawaii worthy of the long flights. He said it was better than he ever imagined. That was the same feeling that I had when I traveled to Hawaii for the first time. Pictures don't show how amazing it really is. If you are considering a trip to Hawaii, you wont be disappointed.
We got back from the island of Kauai to Oahu for 2 more days before returning to Tampa. We decided to stay in the North Shore this time. Waikiki feels too much like Miami's South Beach. Kauai was magical and at times I felt in a different world. There were less tourists, it was rural, and the 4x4 jeep allowed us to explore remote beaches.
We wanted to stay at the Turtle Beach Resort for the last 2 days in Oahu. I fell in love with the hotel when I watched the movie "Forgetting Sara Marshall". We spent the evening walking around the beaches by the hotel. We had some drinks at the pool bar, watched the sunset, and had dinner at Leonardo's, the hotel's Italian restaurant.
The view from our room
The massage room
We found some hammocks around the hotel. It was the perfect spot to relax.
We kept walking towards the stables. I love horses. I wished I was staying longer at the hotel to do some horse backriding. We only had enough time to visit the north shore's beaches and the Polynesian Center. We were sad that the trip was coming to an end and wanted to see as much of Oahu as possible.
This was our last morning in Honolulu. We woke up early, and headed to the Diamond Head. We wanted to go to the top and see Honolulu from a different angle. The inactive volcano is one of the most beautiful sites from Oahu. It was used as a military observation point. You can drive to the base of the volcano and start the hike from there. The park fee was $5.
We expected an easy to moderate hike. It was HARD!! It was "easy" because the trail was marked and paved in some sections. However, there are several sets ofsteep stairs, and tunnels with little air that leave you exhausted. The view from the top is absolutely beautiful and it is worth all the effort. The hike was about 45 minutes going up and 15 minutes coming down.
The first set of steep stairs
The second set of stairs
Waikiki Beach from the top of the Diamond Head
After a shower, we went to the airport to take our flight to Kauai. Our flight was on time and it was less than 1 hour. I always heard that it was easy to travel between the Hawaiian Islands and it really was. We used Hawaiian Airlines and everything was great.
We took advantage of our time difference and woke up early every day. Everything in Hawaii opens early, so it is perfect. The first thing we did in the morning was to ask if our bag arrived. The bag arrived the night before, and we were relived to have it with us since we were leaving for Kauai the next day.
Our second day in Honolulu was our only full day to see this side of the island. Months before our trip, I suscribed to the groupon emails for Honolulu. I bought one for a Catamaran ride to go snorkerling with turtles. We went from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. The ride included breakfast and snorkeling in Turtle Canyon. The breakfast offered was coffee, fruit, and donuts. We also had 2 drink tickets. The actual snorkeling time was about 1 hour. We saw a few turtles, but not as many fishes as I expected to see. I actually forgot about the underwater disposable cameras until now. I want to see how the pictures came out. It was hard to take pictures of the turtles. They were far, and we were swimming in an area where other 2 catamarans stopped. The other catamarans didn't make people wear lifejackets. I know it's good to wear them, but it is hard to swim with them. There were 2 lifeguards that were always watching us, and making sure that we didn't get too far. I felt safe, and I was glad that the current was not too strong. I know how to swim, but I'm not a great swimmer.
We used Makani Catamaran. I got it at 50% off from groupon, but the regular price is $64. According to their website, the package that we took was the Waikiki’s Turtle Canyon Snorkel/Sail Combo (9am –12pm, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays Only). They say that includes Snorkel Gear, Lifejackets, Breakfast Pastries, Fresh Fruit Salad, Complimentary Coffee, and 2 Complimentary Beverages. I will definitely recommend them, the food was not great, but the crew was extremely nice. They recommended one Catamaran company in Kauai that we ended up using. I will post those pictures in a later post.
Before sailing
The Diamond Head
The deep blue Hawaiian water
After the snorkeling and the nice ride in catamaran, we drove towards China Town. We drove a few streets that our book said were the most important and we were not impressed. I did buy a Lei from one of the many shops in China Town. This is the cheapest place to buy leis.
After China Town, we started our drive towards the south east side of the island. I loved this side of the island 3 years ago. The road has scenic stops where you can pull over and take pictures. You do want to rent a car in hawaii to explore the island and get lost on purpose. Everything is beautiful. Driving the coast with many beautiful beaches or heading to the mountains.
One of the most see places along the east side is Hanauma Bay. I have not done snorkeling here, but it's supposed to be one of the best places in the island. it looks very crowded so I haven't been very tempted. I love to see the spectacular cliffs on the east coast. It is probably my favorite side of the island along with the North Shore.
Not so crowded at the end of the day
I made this video while we were driving around the East side of the Island.
By the blow hole that didn't blow too hard, but the volcanic rocks are a sight not to miss
Halona blow hole
Someone trying to jump!!
Another scenic stop along the way
When I was planning the trip to Hawaii, I saw this post from Kristin from Camels & Chocolate about the Byodo-in Temple. I didn't hear about this place until I saw the amazing pictures that Kristin took. My favorite part was the giant Zen Garden around the temple. I wish that they let people move the stones in giant sand box.
The Zen Garden
After the temple closed we continued driving north to see the beaches on the east side. It was almost 6:00 PM and the sun light was almost out. We stopped to take pictures of the "Chinaman's hat" from the Kualoa Beach park.
On our way back, we drove between the mountains instead of the coast. I couldn't stop looking at the different shapes of the mountains. This was a long day and we were ready for dinner and bed. The next day we only had until noon in Oahu and we wanted to make the most of it.
