Italy part II - Bari

Unfortunately, I have been off my blogging game but decided to bring it back to life for this trip. 2 years ago we were fortunate enough to visit Northern Italy. Then we saw Rome, Genoa, Cinque Terre, Brescia, Venice and Montefalco. We thought we might one day return to see the sud (South) but with so many places on our bucket lists we figured it would be a while. However, we learned earlier this spring that Scott had made President's Club at Forescout and they were sending us to a stunning resort in the Puglia region of Italy. So, having only been out of the USA once, I was heading back to the only foreign country I've been to - Italy!

Finally, May 14th arrived and we were off on our long flight(s). Little sleep and 3 flights later and we arrived in Bari, Italy on May 15th. We took a nice train from the airport to Bari and stumbled our way to our cute little B&B.

Pietro was there to greet us. I tried my best Italian on him but he was determined to speak to Google translate and play back the translation to us. Our room was spacious and Pietro showed us to the lovely rooftop patio and poured us each a giant glass of red wine from the region. I'm not sure the wine did much to help us stay awake but it was delicious and we were ready to celebrate having survived our flights.

After our wine, we headed to Bari Vecchia (old Bari). There we saw a lovely castle with an art display of peppers in the moat. Then we wandered through the old streets. Bari Vecchia history dates back as far as 3rd century BC. It was a beautiful stroll. It was fun to see hand made pasta (orrichetti - little ears) drying in the sun outside of homes. We were craving fresh seafood and had no problem finding a delicious meal near the water. We stayed up as late as we could trying to acclimate but only made it to about 4:30 pm local time before closing the blinds and calling it one very long day.

Napali Coast Adventure!

As we waited for our boat that would take us to our campsite for the night, a beautiful double rainbow appeared over Hanalei bay.

Our captain was running on Hawaiian time so we had plenty of time to enjoy the cool, misty morning. Soon the small zodiac arrived and four soaking wet bodies and their black trash bags unloaded and we took their place onboard. Dark brown and toothless, our Native Hawaiian tour guide and Captain popped open a Coors and we were on our way. I sat on a cooler and Scott on the side of the boat. The "super moon", a full moon 14% closer to the earth than usual, brought rough seas. We bounced along happily with water splashing in our faces. Thankfully, our guide had been driving his boat along the rugged Napali coast for 30 years so we were in good hands. We cruised by beautiful beaches, into sea caves and under waterfalls. We chased the rainbow we had first seen in Hanalei all the way to Kalalau.

Kayaks are the only marine craft permitted to land on Kalalau so our guide slowed and we jumped in the water and he threw our bags after us. The pounding surf dumped us on the mile long Kalalau Beach but not before ripping the camera from its tether on Scott's leg. Tanned, swim suit clad bell hops ran into the breaking waves to haul our luggage in from the ocean.

After a useless search for the camera we surveyed the area for a suitable campsite. We had a lovely choice of accommodations. After checking out the beautiful jungle campsites we decided that the ocean view was too lovely to pass up. We set up our tent on the edge of a large, dry sea cave, hung our clothes out to dry and sat down for a sandwich.

Afternoon on Kalalau Beach brought a nap, a hike up into the Kalalau Valley for a bath and then another nap. While napping, some of the locals came to get a closer look at us. When I opened my eyes from my snooze, hermit crabs and red footed boobies had come in close to inspect the latest tour group.



Bath time



 The human locals were even more friendly and one was kind enough to warn us about the falling rocks and share his dinner of moi stew, he had caught the fish for the stew earlier that day. That evening our sea cave shelter protected us from the wind and the little bit of rain that gave us a beautiful rainbow over the towering spires of Kalalau. We watched the sunset and crawled into our tent early. The sound of the crashing waves and a camper's flute lulled us to sleep.



Where is my camera?



The next morning we were up early, we ate what food we could and donated the rest to those staying in camp. We had a long hike ahead of us and needed to lighten the load as much as possible. We topped off our water supply at the beach waterfall and we were off.

 The first few miles of our nearly 12 mile hike flew by. The morning air was cool, the trail was dry and our feet were still fresh.

Crawlers ledge was dry and since we've both hiked with plenty of exposure in the past (Angel's landing), the narrow path and steep drop off did not give us any pause. The trail zig zagged between beautiful vista ocean views, dense jungle greenery and stunning waterfalls as we passed a few hikers and numerous wild goats.

 Scott spotted a couple of fresh mangos along the trail and we took a short break to savor the sweet fruit. We made it all the way to the Hanokoa Campground in a little over two hours. The last three miles were the most difficult. We ran into a Kalalau Facebook friend who told us that it had been raining hard on the North end of the trail making the path wet and sloppy. Sure enough, the wet mud was slippery forcing us to carefully choose each step. Thank God for trekking poles or we would have both spend a fair amount of time wallowing in the mud (a favorite past-time of the jungle's wild boars). With my usual grace I managed to fall a few times but fortunately only my pride was damaged.

After 6 beautiful, exhausting hours we made it to the trail head at Ke'e beach. I spied a couple of guys who had been leapfrogging us on the trail and asked them if they'd mind giving us a ride back to our car which was hopefully still parked in Hanalei. They agreed and we piled our stinky, sweaty stuff into their car and were thankfully done with walking.

As Scott went to check us in at the Kauai Marriot Beach Resort I started organizing our bags and unloading the car. My muddy legs and horrific odor was drawing more than a few looks from the Marriott crowd.

After learning that I wasn't trying to steal the luggage cart and was actually checking in, the bell boy drove me in the golf cart to a "quicker" entrance to my hotel room. Meanwhile Scott ditched the rental car. Before I could even finish scrubbing the red dirt from my toes, a bottle of Champagne was delivered to our room compliments of Marriott. Turns out they were congratulating us on our nuptials and not just thanking me for taking a shower.

Freshly scrubbed and completely famished we enjoyed a lovely dinner poolside. The fish was as fresh as the night before but this time we didn't have to do our own dishes in the "big sink" aka the ocean. It was the perfect ending to our honeymoon and the perfect beginning of our lives together as husband and wife.





A Wonderful Week in Kauai

Since we had been to Kauai before we had some old favorite spots to visit as well as some new adventures to try. We were also lucky enough to have our friends the Harris's join us at the resort for a few days. Their boys loved Poi pu beach and could play there for hours stabbing waves, boogie boarding and snorkeling. On Tuesday we took them to the North side of the Island for amazing snorkeling at Tunnels. There are a large variety of tropical fish there that are unbothered by the humans gawking at them. Even the turtles were quite friendly and seemed happy to let us swim near them. Scott swam out to the edge of the large reef but headed back in after glimpsing a tiger shark. After snorkeling Scott and I went off to make arrangements to rent our camp gear and the Harris family found Chicken in a Barrel. We ran into them again in Hanalei and enjoyed some happy hour drinks with them while watching the NBA finals from a restaurant with killer views of waterfall laced mountains.

Excellent snorkeling at Tunnels

Wednesday Scott and I ventured off on our own and went up Wiamea Canyon. The day was clear so we were able to look down into the Kalalau Valley and look forward to our adventure there. We hiked the Honopu Ridge trail. Due to trail erosion, the parks department had taken down the sign to the trail which made the route that much less populated and much more overgrown. The fern groves were immense and we got a little scraped up by the foliage. The views at the end of the trail looking down on Honopu Beach were amazing. When we got back Kara invited us over for a delicious dinner.

One of our favorite hikes along the South Shore

Thursday we avoided the tour companies, rented kayaks and headed up the Walia River with the Harris family. Malik wanted to be first up the river and we had to work hard to keep up with him and Scot. The hike through the jungle to the falls was short and the falls were cool and refreshing. Scot and the boys had fun getting blasted by the falls while Kara, Scott and I watched them get pounded from shore. Back in the kayaks we headed up river again to a swimming hole. Everyone jumped off the 10 foot cliff while I took pictures. Scott had to repeat his back flip since Mason missed seeing it and we practically had to drag Malik away because he kept wanting to jump "just one more time".

Friday Scott and I headed over to Kalapaki beach. My tummy was angry so I relaxed on the beach while Scott mastered stand up paddling. Next we ventured over to check out the Nawiliwili Lighthouse. The views were spectacular and since we were at the end of the runway, the planes looked like we could reach out and touch them as they flew over. Just down from there we found a little local boogie boarding beach. Teens browned from the sun leaped into the rough surf and let the waves shoot them out while twisting and flying. Scott provided the entertainment for them by donning his snorkeling gear and heading out to find some fish. Upon returning from his swim one boy asked him if he had seen Tony out there. "Ya kno brah, Tony the Tiger shark". Upon returning from our day's adventures, we went to our local Poipu beach to find that two Hawaiian Monk seals had landed. Over dinner with the Harris family we learned that there are only 1100 Monk seals left and only 200 in the Hawaiian islands. We were lucky to get to see them!

Saturday we said goodbye to the Harris family and Scott and I headed North again. We went to our favorite beach, Hideaways. The trail to get to the beach is steep and slippery but the snorkeling is always worth it. On both of our visits to this beach I have managed to fall down on the trail and both times we've had to wait out a rainstorm but no complaints!  We had a lovely picnic, sat out a brief rainstorm and explored the reef some more. Not 5 feet from shore we found a leopard eel and Scott spooked him out of his den for a picture. You'll have to trust me on how awesome the pics were (see Napali Coast adventure). Back at our condo in Wiohai we packed for our big adventure and went to bed early. The next day we'd be heading off the grid.

A perfect day!

The pictures say it all. We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful place to make the commitment of marriage.

It was as if the sunset reflecting off the ocean was created just for us.

 

It was the perfect beginning of our life together. 

Mahalo Pele.

We were up early thanks to the time change and going to bed at 8:30 pm local time. After a good breakfast at the hotel we packed up the toys and found a great snorkel spot. The water was a beautiful aqua and the fish were abundant. Once we were adequately water logged we jumped in the car and headed further down the coast for more exploring. We found a wonderful little bay with black sand which we had all to ourselves. Scott headed in to explore the water and I checked out the lava caves on the coast. The Sheraton property was next on the list due to the rumors of manta rays. We did see one large one but after checking around we found out that the best viewing time was at night. However, this night had other adventures in store for us. We had a date with the Fire Goddess.

 

The island is called The Big Island for a reason. We drove around the Southern tip and over to Hilo on what turned out to be a 3 hour road trip. On the way we stopped at a lovely farmer's market where we were talked in to even more Mexican food. Chile verde served from the back of a van was on the menu this time and it was delicious! Scott set a vendor straight about Utah having no world championship skiers (Hello? Ted Ligety!) and we were back on our journey. Hilo was a short stop for provisions and then we headed South to Kalapana.

We reached our destination when the road ended at a bay now full of lava. The black desert of lava was sharp contrast to the lush green we had driven through for miles. After dodging countless hippies hitchhiking along the road, we met our guide at a "coffee shop". A large compound complete with bar, stage, and small wood buildings set into a tropical forest comprised the coffee shop and was where we met our guide Kyson. 

Us and 7 other couples were driven along the old highway which had in many places been swallowed by lava. We were dropped off and left in what seemed another world. Oozing, rippling lava had cooled and left ripples, braids, crevices and blobs that we hiked over and around. for hours. Some of the lava had been there for years, some as little as a few months and some was oozing fresh from the earth. Along the way we were rewarded with views of the ocean and even a rainbow. 

Suddenly the wind blew and the skies opened up just long enough to soak us to the skin. But the rainstorm was brief and so was the short hike over to the coast. Steam billowed up hundreds of feet into the air. Molten lava glowed as it waterfalled down into the ocean. Waves crashed into the fiery flows creating a spectacular show. After watching mesmerized for 45 minutes we hiked back in the dark. Hovering barely above the horizon in the North was the big dipper. The only sounds were our feet crunching on the lava. The terrain was void of any of the nature sounds that usually fill the Hawaiian skies. What an amazing night!

And we're off! June 13 2013

Well not  so fast. We made it all the way to 2300 East before realizing I had left my wedding dress at home. That made the morning a bit stressful but after a nice job we managed to make final boarding call and we were off!

A long flight we arrived in Kona and drove to a beautiful mountain ranch to get our wedding license. After that we found a place with crappy Mexican food and bad service but the game was on and the beer, which we had to fetch for ourselves, was cold.

The evening brought a beautiful drive up the coast and when we returned to our room we watched the luau from our lanai.

Bring it on!

Shanna tells me this is where I should log my deepest, most personal and sensual thoughts during our honeymoon. Oops, wrong web page.;-)  I'll try to keep the two sites straight in the weeks ahead.

 
I can't believe it's almost here. Thursday we set off to continue the most amazing chapter of our lives. Saturday, the sweet, kind, gorgeous, smart and fiercely independent woman soon-to-be-formerly-known-as Shanna Matheson will make me the happiest man alive by becoming my wife. We have two weeks full of amazing activities: snorkeling, hiking, chasing rainbows, and well, you know...."honeymoon activities" followed by more snorkeling. We'll try to come up for air once and a while and keep you posted on our amazing journey. Aloha and much love, Scott