We rented a house on the North Shore just outside Hauula which would sleep 9 people. It was said to be “27 girly steps” from the beach. It seemed to me to be further than that, but it was still very well located. This was the part of the trip for relaxation. The days were mostly composed of going to the beach, napping, eating and cruising the web on the fast internet connection at the house.

The beach was a good swimming beach this time of year. In the winter the north shore sees big waves and surfers but this time of year we did not really see enough waves to bodysurf at any of the beaches we stopped at.

Thursday we drove around the north shore. We stopped at some food spots like Giovanni’s shrimp truck. Giovanni’s is an institution that had a big crowd each time we passed. They have tables and awnings setup and were parked with a shave ice truck as well. The whole area is thick with the aroma of garlic. Our group had mixed reviews of the shrimp. Some really enjoyed it but Joan thought they were way too tough and chewy. Giovanni’s truck has been signed by the various customers. Look for “Christensen, San Jose 09″ near the passenger’s side window.

We stopped briefly at the Turtle Bay resort. It is a lovely resort built much closer to the ocean than is currently allowed. Although, what stood out for us was the color of the stop signs.

We stopped at Waimea beach which would be filled with surfers surfing the big waves during the winter but had a calm surf this time of year. Waimea also has a particularly strange form of tree called a shoe tree which holds footwear that apparently was left at the beach.

We ate in Haleiwa with half the group at Kua ‘Aina Sandwich Shop and half at Pizza Bob’s‎. We enjoyed both of them. Kua ‘Aina Sandwich Shop is a chain with two shops in Hawaii and the rest in Japan. Dave also just managed to duck into Matsumoto’s for shave ice before they closed the door. The rest of us had to “settle” for ice cream at Scoop of Paradise‎.

Friday we visited the Pu’u O Mahuka Heiau state monument.

Pu’u o Mahuka Heiau is the largest heiau (religious site or temple) on O’ahu, covering almost 2 acres. The name is translated as “hill of escape”.

The road to the heiau is potholed and narrow with bone crunching speed bumps.

We also made a quick visit to Waimea Arboretum Botanical Garden‎ where we took pictures of the peacocks but opted not to spend $10 each to see the whole garden. After all, as one of my traveling companions pointed out, any place you put a fence around in Hawaii could be a botanical garden.

Liz headed off to do her last class to be scuba certified. Joan went alone to snorkel from the boat and take some video of her diving using our underwater video camera.

Checking out of the Ohana Waikiki West was an inconsistent experience for various members of the party. Dave had to turn in his key, Mike was offered to keep his key so he could ride the shuttle for free. Dave and I were told we could not check in our baggage for storage with the bell captain unless we had all the luggage from the room. Joy and Melody were told they could check in their luggage separately since they were leaving in different cars at different times. Dave was told he had to turn in his beach towels, Susan and Kevin were told that it would not be a problem to turn in the towels later in the day. Detect a trend here?

Dave wanted to learn the Hawaiian sport of stand up paddleboarding. He and I went to the lagoon near the Hilton Hawaiian village where you could rent a paddle board, get a quick lesson and then paddle around the calm lagoon. He enjoyed the experience but it was less satisfying for me as the official photographer because he did not fall in.

We then met some of the rest of the gang and went to the Iolani Palace. We had to use on the street parking as the parking near the palace was full (there is not much). Parking at and near the palace is metered which made the tour a bit rushed (1 hour limit). The tour is $12 plus another $1 for an audio guide. You have to put booties on to protect the floor. You are not allowed to take pictures in the palace.

The palace was the home for the last few Hawaiian monarchs and eventually where the last Hawaiian queen, Liliuokalani, was imprisoned for a while after the country was taken over by a minority of rich (mostly American) business people. The only American who came off in a positive light was Grover Cleveland who told the provisional government to return power to the constitutional monarch but was ignored. The tour emphasizes how talented and well-read Liliuokalani and her brother and predecessor King Kalakaua were. The palace had electric lighting and a telephone before the White House and Buckingham Palace. King Kalakaua wrote what is now the state anthem but was originally the national anthem.

We ate lunch at the food court at the International Market where we waited for Liz and Joan to return from their trip and for Liz’s certificate to be printed out. But eventually, despite printer technology, Liz was certified.

We then joined the rest of the group at the North shore at a rental house not far from the Polynesian cultural center. We picked up pizza for dinner. We were surprised that we could not pick up beer or wine in Laie because it is a dry town. We suspect this is because of the significant Mormon influence (the Polynesian Cultural center, a Mormon temple and an extension of BYU). Stores also close on Sunday.

I am not sure if they have hot showers at this hostel (Hostel del Mercado) which is something I had read in reviews before coming. I certainly did not have one but there seemed to be hot water at the sink nearby. The showers are “complete bathrooms” which means the shower and toilet are in the same enclosure.

For breakfast they brought out tea for me and a pancake and I thought “well that’s OK I don’t need a big breakfast”. Then they brought me a tasty eggs over tortilla chips dish and a small loaf of fresh bread.

After breakfast I headed to the Zocalo and the Cathedral which is at an adjacent square. I walked through the two markets near the hostel. At 10am many of the shops were just opening. There is some great smelling food in the markets, flowers, clothes, spices and many other things.

The Zocalo already had a good crowd of people milling about. There are sidewalk cafes on two of the sides, street vendors, shoeshine stands and a gazebo in the center.

Then I toured the cathedral near by. The cathedral is not the most spectacular church in town.

The honor of most spectacular church goes to the church of Santo Domingo which was my next stop. This church interior is gilded extensively and some workers were working apparently to re-gild parts of one wall.

I toured the museum connected to the church in the old abbey. It has displays of artifacts from the area from the Zapatec civilization through more recent history. None of the displays are in English but an audio guide is available. The entry fee was the same as the National Museum in Mexico City at 51 pesos and another 35 pesos to use your video camera. This museum was less extensive, but the building itself was also interesting.

This seemed to be my day to teach people how to use their new cameras. I ran into a couple from Scotland and Portugal and two gentlemen from London and spent about a half hour total doing a little class in how to get good pictures from their cameras. Both cameras where one of the small Canon point and shoot cameras. Oddly one of the two seemed to have no fill flash option anymore.

Lunch was a Torta Cubana from the restaurant La Grand Torta. A torta is a sandwich and I am a bit of a connoisseur of the sandwich. This was a good one with ham, egg, cheese, beans, avocado, mushrooms and tomato. After that it was time for a siesta in the heat of the day.

After my siesta I went to the large market in the more rustic southern part of town just over the railroad tracks. The market is amazingly huge. I am not sure there is anything you could not find at the market. They had clothes, cutlery, fruit, small food stalls, pots and pans and you could even see a dentist or get a gynecological exam. Parts of it are a dark warren and I noticed only two other tourists there unlike the rest of town that has a serious tourist infestation.

I walked around after that taking pictures of Oaxaca and some of its architecture.

I then met with Sarah who was the guest on Travel to Oaxaca, Mexico - Amateur Traveler Episode 174 for coffee. I had a famous Oaxaca hot chocolate instead. It was great to meet in person with someone trying to make a living travel blogging.

Dinner was a pastry and a cup of corn (with butter, salt, and picante) from a street vendor.

The Zocalo at night was filled with families and with music. There was a band concert in the gazebo and it seemed like most of the town had come out.

More pictures can be found on my flickr photo stream

A little mixup at the hostel. i think I may have claimed someone else’s bed, or at least someone else was in it when I went to bed. But my sheets, towel and blankets were in that bed so I did not sleep as well as I could have. The hostel breakfast was eggs with some sort of sausage which was filling but my stomach was still settling to Mexico.

I took the metro to Coyoacan to meet up with Amateur Traveler listener Ana Laura (and guest on an upcoming episode on Mexico City). I had been warned against using the metro at rush hour and it is more challenging at that hour as you push yourself onto the car and off again. Rush hour aside the metro is a wonderful way to get around. People on the train (not at rush hour) were selling CDs, tissues, etc. Seeing someone selling classical music CDs on the metro was interesting. The guys have big boom boxes on their back so you can hear what they are selling.

I got there an hour early and just watched the people go by. I was feeling a bit lonely, I am not sure how much I am cut out to be a solo traveler, so it was a treat to get a tour of Coyoacan. Ana Laura’s family came to Mexico from Argentina. She said that her mother had trouble with transitioning to a country where she could not drink the water.

Coyoacan is an old area as Cortez setup his house there shortly after the conquest of the Aztecs. It is also an expensive area as Ana Laura pointed out one house that sold recently for $2M. Coyoacan is a very pretty neighborhood which attracted artists and at least one Russian exile by the name of Trotsky who was assassinated in Coyoacan.

We visited the church that Cortez built and attended. It is a beautiful church with lovely murals on the walls with stories of the saints. It is a surprisingly large church. There is a stone cross outside that Ana Laura said was where they held services for the native people who were afraid of going into a church. It is a plain cross instead of the typical catholic crucifix since they did not want to remind the people of their previous practice of human sacrifice.

We also toured the local market (known for its costumes) and some of the lesser known backstreets before Ana Laura dropped me back off at the metro.

Mexico City is at over 7000 feet so I needed to rest a bit at the hostel to catch my breath before heading around the corner to find a great al pastor taco at a local taco stand. Al pastor is pork cooked in the same style as a greek Giro, a Turkish doner kabab, or Middle Eastern shawarma. Mine was served with onions and pineapple which I was told is the style in Mexico City.

After that I walked to the Chapultepec park down the Passeo de la Reforma which is where many of Mexico’s newest skyscrapers are located. The architecture of some of the latest buildings is quite striking and the avenue is also dotted with numerous monuments.

The unexpected treat of my walk was that when I stopped on a bench to rest my weary feet a 65 year old Mexican man struck up a conversation in Spanish and we talked for most of an hour about my trip, his love of opera (he is a tenor), his business (he sells insurance out of the Torre Latinamericanna), my business (more difficult to explain building online communities in Spanish). I did not know that I could hold a conversation for that long in Spanish but it helps when you have a patient listener. We exchanged email addresses. This was the sort of thing I was hoping would happen as I travelled solo.

More pictures can be found on my flickr photo stream

Santorini to Heraklion, Crete - May 29

We were taking the fast catamaran to Crete. I was amazed how many people the ferry holds. I would guess around the same as 2-3 wide body jets. Joan and beth sat together and I ended up with a woman and two young ladies from Dallas. The woman, Helen, is a Greek American who now owns and runs a bed and breakfast in Chania. She also runs private tours for small numbers of people (think 2 or 3) all over Greece. She was traveling with her niece and a friend. We had a great chat and she invited us to look her up in Chania when we are there and she would show us the town. I was surprised that she only gives tours for Americans. She has found Americans to be easy to please which surprised me.

We had not been given good reports of Heraklion by a number of people, but after we checked into our hotel we wandered out to get some dinner. Much of the old town is a pedestrian area. The center square was particularly hopping with night life. There was a good band playing and lots of young people out in particular. I wish I could say as much for the band’s lead singer but she was painful to listen to. The city still has old walls and an old port dating from when Venice ruled here. I would say our impression of Heraklion was more positive than I expected.

When we got back to the hotel we watched some TV. We notice that Greek TV seems to have fewer commercial breaks but they seem to be much longer.

Heraklion to Rethymno - May 30

We got up earlier so that we would be ready to go when they dropped off our rental car at 8:30 AM as it seemed unlikely that they would find a space to park. So we had our breakfast at the hotel and were packed and in the lobby. The driver from Caravel did find a space in a semi-legal parking space and we did all the paperwork and then tried to load 3 suitcases in a very small car. We ended up with one in the backseat. Joan and Liz went and got a Starbucks fix (4 euros) from a Starbucks we had walked by the night before. We drove out of town to a gas station and to the ancient ruin of Knosos without incident.

As we got near to Knosos there were a number of men beckoning us into their free parking lot by their shop or tavern, but we kept on driving to the official (and also free) parking at the site.

The entrance fee was 12 euros for us and free for Liz since she is 18 or under. We opted to do a tour for an additional 20 euros (10 per adult). The tour guide was soliciting people for an English tour and we had to wait for her to get 10 adults. We were glad we had done the tour as it was the difference between “look there is a wall” and knowing that 4 different cities were built on this site. The Minoan is the oldest civilization in Europe. Twice this palace was destroyed in earthquakes caused by eruptions on near by Santorini. After the last time the Mycenaeans came in and took over Crete, driving the Minoans into the hills. Much of what is seen in Knosos is reconstruction by the English archeologist Arthur Evans and often is more a tribute to his imagination than to what we really know of the Minoans. Apparently a lot of people come looking for the legendary labyrinth of Knosos, but no such thing exists… sadly. This was the palace of the “double ax” used in Minoan ceremonies, the word for double ax came is the root of labyrinth.

We had some lunch across the street at one of the local cafes. Those cafes are more expensive but we were hungry. I picked up a hat since I have been getting sunburned on my face. Liz, my daughter, says it does complete my tourist look.

We drove around and around trying to get out of town to find the National highway. We would have been better suited to have driven all the way back to the harbor rather than follow the signs that directed us into alleys and then disappeared. We ended up getting out of town as much by dead reckoning and just following random cars as anything else (using the Dirk Gently, a Douglas Adam’s character’s, method).

There were a lot of hills on the beautiful highway from Heraklion to Rethymno. The little rental car we had did not pass many cars on the way but was passed by quite a few. The Crete style of driving means that cars will drive on teh shoulder to let people pass and that people will pass almost anywhere.

We found our hotel in Rethymno fairly easily although the parking on the street confused us as it was obvious that you needed some sort of ticket but it was not clear where to get one. The hotel desk clerk told us to get one from a local news stand. You buy one ticket per hour and then punch out the chads for the correct day, hour and minute. We laid an array of the cards on the dash of the car.

We wandered into the old town which is a wonderful place. It has numerous shops that the ladies enjoyed and picture taking opportunities everywhere for me. We wandered through the streets and alleys and down to the seaside. The city feels both a beach town as well as a historic town. A Venetian fortress looks down on the old town which we will see tomorrow.

We met Goran from Serbia who was one of the people who stand in front of the many restaurants and tries to bring people in (Kamaki - the one who speaks). We talked to him for a while about Crete. He and his wife, who is from the Netherlands, met in Crete. They lived in Netherlands, but that did not work for him, and Serbia, but that did not work for her, and have moved back to Crete.

We found a restaurant with brick oven pizza. Most of the restaurants have sea food and Greek dishes. As much as we like Greek food we do wonder, coming from a region with a great variety of food, why more people don’t differentiate their restaurant by opening a restaurant with a different menu. Some of the restaurants and bars along the sea side part of the old town have more of the look of a living room (including one called the Living Room) than a restaurant.

I checked the internet for email in the lobby of the hotel after we returned and downloaded more podcasts since I have run out.

Rethymno - May 31

We got up and had a very nice breakfast at the hotel. We checked the internet again to see what life is life in the real world.

We probably would not have stayed in Rethymno for an entire additional day if we did not have a hotel room for another night. As much as we love Rethymno, we have seen much of it already. We had yet to see the fortress and the beach so it promised to be a relaxed day.

We walked to the fortress first. It is quite a large fortress but there were no interpretive brochures or signs so if you have not seen something like this you might not know what you are looking at. It reminded me of El Morro in Puerto Rico so I am guessing it is late 1500s in construction until I learn otherwise. The walls are angled in a way that would indicate it was of post gunpowder construction. There was one bastion that had been turned into a theatre and the ladies hung out there while I looked around in more detail.

We stopped for a crepe break from Crepa Land as they were just opening and then walked over to the beach to the right of the marina which looked great. You can rent an umbrella and two chaises for 9 euros. We returned to the hotel for a nap for Liz, a brief one for me and some time with Joan wrestling with the hotel computer to try and print something from an email.

We changed into our suits and returned to the beach. Along the way we bought a beach towel since we had not brought any (4 euros). Somehow when Joan went into the first store to by a towel she came out with Nutella. What we have here is a failure to communicate.

The beach was very nice. It might be my favorite beach in Europe that I have seen. It is a nice sandy beach with warm water. It has very little in the way of waves so it is more of a swimming beach as body surfing would not work. It is a shallow beach so we saw a number of kids. I would guess about one in ten women were topless without regard to age or body type. We had run into our friend Goran again who suggested going further down from the marina where it would be better. We ended up getting 3 chaises and an umbrella for 7 euros. I am guessing that we may have paid less because it was later in the day.

After the beach we cleaned up, checked the Internet again and then returned to the old town for a traditional Greek dinner at one of the restaurants we had seen grilling over a wood fire.

I moved the car from where I had parked it blocks away in a free area to next to the hotel as parking is not enforced on Sundays. I looked some more for s hotel for our last night in London before going to bed.

Rethymno to Chania - June 1

We had breakfast at the hotel again, checked email, finished booking a hotel for London and then called Helen Swanston who I had met on the ferry to Heraklion. She and her family were planning an outing into the mountains to eat at a great Greek restaurant at one of the highest villages. She invited us along and gave us directions to get to her place outside Chania (well to get close to her house as the directions ended with “you are close, pull over and call from there”).

We drove to Chania without incident which is always a relief given the style of driving on Crete where cars will pass you anywhere and you had to drive as far right in the lane as you can both to let people pass and as a survival mechanism against people passing coming the other way. I did not get through on my U.S. iPhone but called Helen from my new UK cell phone and she came and got us. Her bed and breakfast is lovely with great view of the water from the hills on the Akrotiri peninsula. If we did not already have pre-paid reservations we would have gladly stayed there.

Helen drove Joan, Liz and I in one car and her friend Joy followed with Helen’s mother, niece Sarah, and Sarah’s friend Elena. We wound up and up into the white mountains south of Chania. I could have driven the road but was glad to not have to attempt it in a little standard rental car. I was also glad to be able to look at the beautiful scenery. We drove passed orchards of orange trees (most of them are exported to germany) and olives. The hills were also decorated with the pink flowers from Oleander bushes that grow wild. At the highest point of the road in the little town of Zorva. In Zorva we stopped at the Taverna Amelia where Helen had made reservations.

The restaurant is surprisingly large considering that (at least until some new construction finishes) there are maybe 5 houses in Zorva. The restaurant can hold many more as it is popular with the locals for celebrations like baptisms and naming days. We heard stories of baptism parties with 100 people or weddings with 1000 guests. We had a number of appetizers like a sort of zucchini and potatoes au gratin, bread, a greek salad, a cooked butter (more like cheese). The main dinner was boiled lamb and a rice that is traditionally served at weddings. The name of the rice caused some amusement because it translates into English with a name which I will describe as copulating rice. The term Helen used was of more Anglo-Saxon origin and earned her a slap from her friend Joy. We ate from two thirty to five o’clock in a very leisurely European manor.

We drove down the hills through one of the ravines, past more memorials to people who had missed the turns on the windy road with more goats than guard rails.

Helen then also took us to the British war memorial to those who died in the Battle of Crete in 1941 before guiding us back into town directly to our hotel. What a wonderful gift to have such hospitality. There are benefits to talking to your seat mates.

Our hotel in Chania (Hotel Akati) was at 1866 square which is very conveniently located just south of the old town. I was given instructions to drive the wrong way down a one way street to get to the back of the building and down the steep driveway into their parking garage. The staff was very friendly and the room was nice, although we did note with some apprehension that they were doing construction next door.

We walked into the old town and down to the old Venetian harbor. Many of the shops were closed on a Sunday night. We decided to forgo dinner and picked up some Greek cheese dip (we have to find a recipe for this!) and crackers to go with the fresh apricots that Helen had sent with us.

Chania - June 2

We had breakfast at the hotel, checked our email and then went out to explore Chania. This was our last real day of vacation but we are getting ready to go home. We strolled and shopped our way at a leisurely pace. Rethymno may be somewhat more photogenic… or maybe it is just time to go home.

After a light lunch and a rest at the hotel we headed to the beach late in the afternoon. We went to the beach to the West of the old town. It seemed that most of the people at the beach were locals. It was a smaller beach than at Rethymno but also a beautiful sandy, shallow beach. The water was either a little warmer or a little colder depending on which of us you ask. We rented 3 chaises and an umbrella for 7.5 euros and stayed until afternoon changed to evening. A number of men at a restaurant across the street serenaded us with what we assume to be Greek folk songs.

We had a typical Greek dinner in the old town. It seems like you can pick a restaurant completely at random and get a good meal. A Gyro or Souvlaki, a Greek salad and wine cost us around 12 euros. We only needed two of these to feed the 3 of us.