Ghosts and Surfers

On Sunday morning, after a fantastic 5 days travelling around Hawai'i together, I left Anitra at Hilo Airport, to begin her journey back to Washington State.
My plan was to drive back to Kona, spend the night at Patey's Place and return the car the next day. No driving distance is that far in Hawai'i, so I made a few stops on the way.
First I went to Akaka Falls, it was very early (around 8am) so I had the place to myself. I was enjoying this until I took a photo of one of the Banyan trees in the park, when I looked on my camera display, there appeared to be some kind of cloudy "thing" in the middle of the tree. Rather than believe it to be my flash, I decided it was a ghost in the tree and ran along.

Akaka Falls

There are a lot of Mongoose here. Admittedly until last week I thought a Mongoose was a type of mountain bike, but apparently it's also a small cat like carnivore. I believe the British are also to blame for this infestation on the island (they were brought in to kill rats eating sugar cane), along with the mosquito problem. The latter only thrived after wild pigs (brought by you know who) destroyed fallen trees and created hollows where rain collected, perfect for mosquitoes to multiply. I'm still amazed as I travel to so many countries on this trip and hear of another British invasion, I mean expedition. I spotted a mongoose on the trail, so not only ran (from the ghost that is) but stomped. As we all know mongoose are afraid of noisy hikers. This is the Hawaiian State flag. It will be lovely to find a country without a footnote in British history, alas I think it's unlikely.
I continued driving to Waipio. Anitra had recommended a visit and she was right. Waipio Valley is at the north of the island. The view from the overlook is the sort of landscape I'd always thought of when I heard "Hawai'i". I decided to hike down to the beach. It's a popular destination on the island, so I was able to get some advice from a guy at the information stand before I started the hike.
There is a road down to the beach, but it's only suitable for 4 wheel drives, our little Chevy wasn't up to the task.

View from Waipio Overlook.

The road down was really tough. I understood it would be steep, but hadn't expected it to be so unrelenting. Finally at sea level the road turns back on itself, towards the ocean. The road here is particularly ragged. I watched a truck approach one of the many, huge puddles, afraid I was about to get an unwanted shower, I took shelter in the trees.
The driver shouted out to me, he was friendly and just wanted to let me know he wasn't about to charge through.
Down at the beach (which was full of surfers) I saw the guy again. He introduced himself and his dog as Marcus and Jeremy. Okay the dog wasn't called Jeremy, but I can't remember his name. Marcus offered me a ride back to the top of the lookout in an hour, I gladly accepted.
Marcus reminded me of David Carradine, a grizzly looking old surfer, but friendly enough.
When he'd finished surfing Marcus introduced himself and Jeremy again, I think he had a problem remembering names, I can't imagine what that's like. I took a seat upfront with Marcus and Claude jumped in the back with the surf board.
As soon as Marcus was on the dirt track he noticed two other people hiking up the hill. He pulled over and kindly offered them a lift too. I was glad of some company, Marcus's behaviour was growing strange. A few moments before he shouted "POY" out of the window. I had no idea why and really didn't like to ask.
The two hikers where a grandfather and granddaughter team. I gave up my seat (I had to be dragged) and stood in the back with Alison. I guess because the incline is so steep, Marcus started collecting huge rocks and loading them in the back of the pick up with Alison and I. The rocks where huge and it took all of Marcus's strength to lift them. Occasionally he would lift one and dance around, shouting "red ants, red ants!"
Alison and I clung on to the pick up for dear life, as Marcus accelerated up the hill. He managed to stop again for another hiker, but the rest of the way I heard him shouting at startled hikers, "sorry no room!"

Marcus and Jeremy

Tomorrow I'm taking a flight to Maui. I don't have any definite plans, although I'm staying here and will be taking advantage of the free tours of the island.

Volcano Village

Has to be the coolest name for a village. On the way to Volcano we stopped at the U.S.A's most Southern point, I always thought it was in the Florida Keys.
The land was arid and hot. Huge waves pounded against the shore and there is no shelter from the intense sun, but a strong cooling wind.
I have about 30 mosquito bites on my legs (very attractive), so decided to dip my legs in the tidal pools. This was until I spotted the fish, I can eat them, but I can't swim with them.

Tidal Pools at Southernmost Tip of U.S.A

Anitra and I decided to hit the road. We stopped a little further on at a fruit stand and picked up some delicious pineapple, ice cream banana's (not quite ripe yet) and a dragon fruit.
Our next stop was Black Sand Beach. We decided we needed to relax after our night searching for cockroaches. It's surprisingly difficult to find places on the Big Island. There are few signposts and they are often confusing. It seems strange when there are obviously many tourists driving around the island each year. It takes about 7 hours to drive non-stop around the island. But we just did 40 miles to Volcano Village.
Anitra had decided beforehand to spend a day hiking in the Volcano National Park, to one of the remote campgrounds. After reading the official guide to the trail, I decided I probably wasn't up to it. It involves walking across a very open Lava Field, that can become really hot. We stopped by the visitors centre so Anitra could get a camping permit.

Anitra at the start of the trail.

As Anitra had already toured the Park, as she stayed at the military complex inside the park for her water conservation conference, I decided to use the day to explore the Park for myself.
I dropped Anitra at the trail head this morning, and hiked a little of the way. I have to say it looks like a difficult trail and I hope Anitra made it to the beach safely. I know she has plenty of water and is very organised.
Volcano National Park, gives the public the chance to learn about volcano's and see them up close.
I was looking forward to seeing some lava. For almost a 100 years lava has flown into the sea, as the Park has been developed a road has been added so cars and drive close to the lava. This was until June, yes June this year, there was another eruption and the flow of lava was diverted to a spot that can only be viewed from a helicopter. Great.
I did get to see some huge craters and walk through a lava tube.

This is the Thurston Lava Tube

Miss Parrot Learns to Relax in Good Company

After a very dubious start here in Hawai'i, I'm pleased to report things have improved dramatically. At Patey's Hostel I had the good fortune to meet Anitra, it seems our paths crossed at the perfect moment. Anitra had spent the week at a water conservation conference (her line of work back home in Washington State) and was ready to explore the island. Unfortunately (but luckily for me) her plans were scuppered when she lost her driving license making it impossible to hire a car. I told her about my experiences and how I didn't have any plans, but would love some company. So on Tuesday morning we hired a rental car (Chevy Cobalt FYI Harry) and hit the road!

This is what the American's call a compact.

Anitra had found this site for what looked like a delightful guesthouse. Notice I use the past tense.
Anitra had spoken on several occasions to the owner, she understood she would be the only guest (until plans changed), but was looking forward to somewhere to unwind. It wasn't really the place for that though as fate would have it.
The Kaimana Guesthouse is on an old Lava Field, dating back to the 1920's. There is a lot of properties around, but still plenty of empty Lot's for sale. Although I'm not sure for how long, as apparently when Donald Trump was asked a good place to invest in property, his answer South Kona. The price of the Lot's has increased from around $7,000 to $47,000 in the last three years. It actually reminds me of photo's I've seen of Greenland. Painted houses, inhospitable land pounded by the ocean.
Anitra and I both agree it would be an odd place to live or even own a holiday home, the landscape is so harsh and there isn't much else to do, apart from look at the ocean, it's a hard place to imagine calling home.

Lava Field Homes

It was pretty cool be the only guests and have the place to ourselves. The owner, Solomon had told Anitra where to find the keys.
Our "dorm" was a mezzanine area, with three beds, downstairs there was a kitchen, and open plan living area. The guesthouse is about 100ft from the ocean, but the lava field is craggy and drops off into the ocean so is difficult to access.
It was not until the evening that things went a little off. I was using the phone when a giant cockroach jumped onto the kitchen counter right next to the phone.
We spotted a second on the counter top and started to panic. We discussed our options. We hoped the cockroaches couldn't make it up the stairs.

Attack of the Coakroaches!

My theory involved sleeping with the light on, as cockroaches don't like light. Okay I have no idea where this came from, I mean the light was on in the kitchen. But Anitra was happy to believe my "theory". We started the night with our beds pushed into the corners of the room. As we heard noises in the rafters we slowly edged our beds into the centre of the room.

Our "dorm"

Each time there was the slightest noise, we would both lift ourselves up with alarmed, "What was that?"
You'll be pleased to hear we made it through the night. We both felt a bit silly in the morning, but put it down to being tired. We hit the road again, we wanted to get to Holo Holo In in Volcano Village, which is close to the entrance to Volcano National Park.

Miss Parrot Freaks Out in Hawaii Part II

I thought I'd break the post into two halves, so no one falls asleep. My flight arrived on time into Kona (one of the nicest airports I've ever used), I went to the luggage counter and filled out a form to arrange for my bag to be delivered to the farm I would be working at. I was told American Airlines staff don't arrive until the evening, so I'd receive the bag the following evening.
I gave Toivo (organic farm owner) a call (finding payphones was becoming a pain), he was waiting in the car park, so drove over to collect me. I expected it to be a little strange, meeting someone I'd only corresponded with via email, late at night. But I could see Toivo was very easy going, he was middle aged and told me a little about the island. We also chatted about Alaska, he'd lived on Kodiak Island for 15 years.
The farm was situated about 40 miles from the airport. We drove past some familiar fast food restaurants and then the roads became quieter. I asked if anyone else was volunteering at the moment. Not at this time. I knew this was often the case, there's a lot of work to be done, so there is normally a full staff and this is complimented during the year by Woofer's, as the volunteers are called.
Toivo started to point out a few small shops and an internet cafe, but we kept driving. I only had my daysack with me and that was mostly full with my laptop, camera and books. All the shops we were passing were closed so I knew I'd have to take a trip to one of the shops in the morning. I tried to keep track of where everything was located, but we continued to drive.
I became concerned when Toivo showed me the road he and his wife lived on, I was under the assumption they lived on the farm.
After a lot more driving we arrived at a small discreet unmarked driveway. Toivo explained "this is Evie's Farm". The car headlights lit up huge banana plants and other plantlife I couldn't identify.
The drive was only about 50ft. Toivo left his headlights on as there is only one electric bulb on site.
I guess when I hear the word "farm", I think sheds, fields, out housing that type of thing. Evie's Farm was very different. Toivo used a flashlight to show me around, I stumbled in the dark after him. Alarm growing, thinking what have I done?
I think Toivo hadn't been to the "farm" for a long time, he was surprised to see the tarpaulin covering the kitchen/store area had fallen down. He told me he worked on renovating homes and only a man worked on the "farm", but he wouldn't arrive until 4pm each weekday.

The kitchen/work area.

Toivo pointed his flashlight at the cabins, he said I could choose which one to stay in. But after he shone the light in one room, he quickly closed the door and directed me to a different cabin.
The cabin, had a large screened window, a double bed and a small table with a battery powered lamp.


The cabin.

Toivo muttered something about the last person leaving stuff behind, there were a lot of empty beer bottles and cigarette butts on the floor. The bed was filthy, with burn holes. I was amazed that neither Toivo nor his wife had checked the cabins out, between volunteers.
Toivo left me his flashlight. I'd shrewdly "borrowed" a blanket from the plane and lay this down on the bed. The realisation of my situation suddenly hit me, it was awful. Without the torch there was no light at all, yet I could here "things" scurrying about amongst the dry leaves under the cabin. I felt foolish for not saying to Toivo, I can't stay here. It was all a kind of delayed reaction.
I decided to try and get a grip, I just needed to get through the night and at first light I would start hiking to the nearest payphone.
Before leaving Toivo had told me to get around the island I could hitchhike, I had looked at him incredulously. But he said it was safe.
I can honestly say I've never been more terrified than last night. I bundled myself onto the bed and tried to think of nice places and firmly keep any creepy thoughts at bay. But who I am kidding? I have an incredibly over active imagination, thoughts raced through my mind all night.
What if the volunteer who had moved out was still around? What if some demented stranger broke into, I mean pushed open the cabin door. I had no way to protect myself and no idea how remote the farm was. The night crept by. I think it must have been fear, but I kept needing to pee. After trying to ignore my bladder for long periods of time, I'd eventually build up the courage to go outside. Only to find five minutes later I needed to go again.
I started to think, what if something did happen to me? No was even coming to the "farm' until 4pm, even then I'm not sure they would look in a cabin.
I'd ask Toivo what wildlife is there on the island. I had been surprised and pleased to hear there are no poisonous snakes. Mostly just wild pigs and rodents. I was so glad to hear Tovia say "rodents", had he said the other "r" word I'd probably still be in the cabin now, rocking myself back and forth. I can't explain why rats freak me out as much as they do, I know it's completely irrational, but that doesn't help.
I began to worry about the cabin next door, the one Tovio had shut the door to quickly, what had he seen? My imagination raced away with me.
I'd start to settle, when suddenly I'd hear a noise that sounded incredibly close and make me break out in a cold sweat.
I must have drifted off at times during the night, but when I started to hear the dawn chorus I felt elation. It was still fairly dark so I waited. It was then I heard a door shut. A human noise.
I was frozen in place, I slowly lifted my head to peer out the screen window, but all I could see were palm trees and the plantation. I heard coughing, it sounded like a heavy smoker had just woken.
Thanks to the little light, I started to think with some logic at last. It must be a neighbour I can hear. It was true, eventually I heard a car start and then drive away.

The driveway.

As light filtered into the room, I packed my bag and left Toivo's flash lamp on the table. Once outside the cabin I noticed owl's wings had been stuck to the side of the wall, as some kind of decoration. What the hell? It looked like something from a teen slasher movie.
I started the climb out of the drive, I didn't even try to get any water, the desire was so strong to get away from the place. Once I reached the road I realised the "farm" wasn't as remote as I'd thought during the night. In fact there were a number of properties along the road. I started to feel calmer.
Although there was no pavement along the road, I did meet a woman out jogging and an elderly gentleman out walking. My plan was to find a payphone and arrange a taxi to the airport. I wanted to get to my bag before it was sent to the "farm". Although I'm sure they couldn't have delivered to the address anyway.
I reached the first payphone after walking for half an hour. It was 6.30am. All the taxi numbers I tried I was greeted by answer phones. I decided to walk to the next payphone. At 7.45am I made it to a general store and managed to reach a company in Kona. It would cost $70, but they could collect me.
For some reason the dispatcher couldn't understand me when I said Karen, repeatedly. This happens all the time in the US.
The driver arrived about 30 minutes later, he was friendly and eager to tell me what to do on the island. We reached the airport about 30 minutes later, after I payed the driver he said "thank you Miss Parrot".
I have no idea how Karen, became Parrot, but there you go.
I had no trouble collecting my bag and then got a shuttle bus to the hostel I'm writing this from. I'm pleased to say there are other guests and no owls wings glued to the wall.


I have no plan for the remaining two and a half weeks I have on the island. I've met a friendly American guy in the hostel, he's hiring a car and has invited me to go to see some waterfalls with him tomorrow.
I'm sitting in a kitchen area, typing this, someone just walked in and I jumped out of my seat. I feel exhausted, I need to go to sleep.

Miss Parrot Freaks Out in Hawaii Part I

The last 24 hours have been rough, actually that's putting it mildly. It's like describing the Titanic as a small boating accident. The last 24 hours have been terrible!
It all started in L.A and yes I've still to post about my visit to the City of Angels, which I actually really liked. But first let me tell you about leaving L.A. I booked a shuttle bus to pick me up from my hostel and explained my flight was at 3.15pm. They suggested a 1pm pickup, I said that sounds kind of late, so I was booked for a 12.30 pickup. I checked out and waited in the lobby with some other people. After a few frantic phone calls the driver arrived at 1pm. We then had to collect a few more people from the sister hostel around the corner. I explained to the driver I had a 3.15 flight, he told me not to worry I'd make it. He would also drop me off first. However when we got to LAX he somehow forgot this and made a stop at Air New Zealand first. I think I made it to the American Airlines check in for 1.45. Having taken quite a few internal flights in America I know getting through security alone can take two hours.
I reached the check in counter, only to find they had no reservation in my name. This flight was part of my round the world ticket, I have a printed itinerary with the flight details, but apparently that doesn't mean anything. The American Airlines stewardess was really helpful, she phoned Qantas (who are responsible for the Pacific part of my ticket) and passed the phone to me. The Qantas representative sounded like Stephen Hawkins. I seriously thought I was talking to a machine at first, but apparently this lady likes to enunciate every syllable. She told me I only had a flight booked from L.A to Nadi (Fiji), but I explained I had changed these details in June along with my flights in and out of Australia. Although STA charged me for this amendment it seems only the Australian leg of the trip was altered. I still don't know who is at fault, but I ended up having to pay again, before "Stephen Hawkins" would book a seat on the 3.15 flight for me. Finally at 2.35 I had a seat on the 3.15 flight to Honolulu. I was particularly anxious to get on this flight as I had the last connecting flight of the day from Honolulu to Kona on the Big Island. For some reason at LAX you can't simple hand over your luggage, instead they tag it and then you have to carry it to the x-ray area. After this I ran to the security check area, as is usual in airports everywhere there was a huge queue as people stumble in bare feet with belts, laptops and watches in hand.
Considering the size of LAX, the queue was amazingly quick, I couldn't believe it when I made it through security in less than 20 minutes.
All smiles I calmly strolled to my flight gate. Boarding hadn't been announced so I settled down to read for a little while. Later and still no announcement I checked the departure screens to see the flight had been put back to 4pm. I didn't have much time in Honolulu to make it across to Aloha Airlines, so I approached the information desk. I was told the plane had a mechanical failure, so American Airlines are at fault and therefore will do whatever than can to get me on that flight or put me up in Honolulu for the night.
I phoned Tovia my contact on the organic farm and told him not to leave for the airport, instead I'll call him when I know for sure what's happening.
The next update on the departures screen put the flight back to 6pm. I knew I would definitely miss my connection in Honolulu, so I called Aloha Airlines to re-arrange my flight, they told me they would charge for the change, unless I got a code from American Airlines. So I went back to the AA desk and explained the situation, it was then I was told of a 6.40pm direct flight to Kona. I was transferred to this flight, understanding my backpack would still be on the Honolulu flight and wouldn't be transferred to Kona until the following morning. I phoned Tovia arranged the pickup in Kona and boarded the 6.40pm flight. Thankfully it was running on time.
I had always thought of Hawaii as being closer to the mainland than it actually is, in fact the flight was five and a half hours and I'm now 11 hours behind the UK. Finally I was moving the right direction.

Good Intentions

It's late here in L.A and I have a flight to Hawaii tomorrow. I had all good intentions to update this blog with my adventures in Tinseltown, but I've run out of time! Apologies now to anyone who has sent me an email and I'm unable to reply to.
I'm going to Hawaii to volunteer on an organic farm through WWOOF. I'll let you click on the website as I'm at the first hostel I've come across charging for wifi and I have little time left!
I will be working three hours a day, five days a week and my accommodations will be rustic, eh without electricity in what is described as a small cabin room with screened in windows, no glass. In return I can eat all the produce I can eat. After Hawaii it's onto Fiji, but only for five days before I fly to New Zealand.

When will I learn my lesson???

Greyhound sucks! Rather than take a bus to the Emeryville train station (just outside San Francisco), a train to Bakersfield and then a bus to L.A. I decided to take the express Greyhound bus from San Francisco direct to L.A, taking seven and a half hours. Supposedly.
Well as you can probably guess, it didn't go to plan. An hour and a half into the journey I woke up to find us parked on the side of the interstate. The driver informed us the bus had overheated. A few moments later a State Trooper told our driver he had to find a safer place to park. Once the bus had cooled down enough he managed to move us a mile up the highway and take an exit road.
We were allowed to get out of the bus and step into the heat, to find, well, nothing. We were in the middle of nowhere. And there we waited for four and a half hours.

Middle of Nowhere.

Greyhound sent out two mechanics and even though they knew the fan belt had broken they didn't bring a replacement. They didn't bring any water either, even though there were a number of really small children and old people on board. So we had to wait while the mechanics went off in search of a fan belt.
Richard, the guy sitting next to me phoned the customer service helpline. He was told there is no refund if Greyhound get you to your destination. Apparently it doesn't matter how long that takes.

The bus going nowhere.

I'm so pleased to think I don't have anymore overland internal trips planned, I'm free of Greyhound!

The Streets of San Francisco and the Rock

Sorry two screen references in one title is possibly over doing it. I arrived in San Francisco after a very long train journey from Portland, Oregon. The beginning of the journey was very beautiful, cutting through the Cascade mountain range. I wanted to get off the train and have a wander around, it all looked so inviting, huge pine trees, crystal clear lakes, under a clear blue sky.
San Francisco is an extremely popular place this time of year, so much of my time was spent finding somewhere to stay. After checking in to a hostel for a night, I've ended up in a hotel as ALL the hostels where booked through the weekend. It's the first time I've had such difficulties. Admittedly being the weekend didn't help.
I always like to walk around a new place, get an idea of where everything is and get a feel for a place. In San Francisco this is kind of difficult, unless your extremely fit (I'm not even slightly fit), the streets are so steep and the hills are impossible to avoid. It's great to hop on a streetcar, but with so many tourists often you are left watching another packed streetcar pass you by.
I managed to get a ticket to Alcatraz, no mean feat and sailed over in the late afternoon with what felt like every tourist in the city.
I was excited to see Alcatraz, could Sean Connery really break out? Even with the help of Nicholas Cage?

The cells

I imagine those brave souls entering Ellis Island at the beginning of the last century (notice how I avoid pinpointing the year?) to be prodded and questioned had it easy compared with a tourist arriving at Alcatraz! All fifteen hundred of us (do I exaggerate?) were herded up the hill after departing the ferry. There were too many people and too few staff, so a man stood with a loud speaker directing us up the hill to the "facility". Once there we were herded in a long line through passageways, eventually to pick up a set of headphones for the audio tour. The day before I had been mightily impressed with the audio tour at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, where they hand out video ipods. Unfortunately Alcatraz isn't quite as advanced. But I enjoyed the audio tour (narrated by ex guards and ex inmates), which led me from cell to yard, to visitors galley, to cell etc. The only problem being as the voice in my ears would say "turn left and look at cell number 38" at least another 40 tourists would hear the same thing from their headphones. At each interesting point I'd find too many people all cramming to see the same thing. I guess the only way to combat this would be to further restrict the number of visitors. I do think the tour would really benefit. I was disappointed that the audio tour and a few mounted photo's where the only means of information. I think the island would really benefit from some kind of re-enactment you see at other museums, especially when there are so many young visitors.


I left the island a little disappointed. I did learn a few things from the audio tour and the views from the island to San Francisco are really impressive.
Tomorrow I'm off to L.A where I'll be until Monday when I fly to Hawaii. Can you believe I'm taking ANOTHER Greyhound bus to L.A! But unfortunately taking the train would mean also taking two buses, it seems easier to take one bus from here and Greyhound actually have a stop in Hollywood, where I'll be staying. The hostel was recommended to me by a fellow English traveller. Check it out here.

The Art of Photography

Travelling on my own makes it sometimes difficult to get a photo of myself. After all the most important thing about this trip is having many photo's of myself, in front of famous landmarks.
This brings me to the Golden Gate Bridge, as far as landmarks go, it's impressive.
At the "photo point" by the visitors centre I found crowds of tourists. I took a few photo's of the bridge and then politely approached a woman and asked if she could take my photo for me.
This was the result.



Yes apparently it was too difficult to zoom in, or even stand up for that matter, so there's a lot of fence and a boy.

I decided I'd try the good old self portrait. But it's amazing how something as big as the Golden Gate Bridge can become elusive.



So I tried the other side,



Um, so how about portrait?



Okay so that didn't work. I approached another tourist. I was full of hope again.



Oh yes that's brilliant, I wanted it to look like the Golden Gate Bridge is growing OUT of my head.

I wandered off, found a quiet spot with a flat surface and set up the self-timer option on my camera. It's not brilliant, but there isn't a boy, fence or things protruding from my head so I'm happy(ish).

Discovery Islands Tour

Sometimes I get a little behind on this blog. It makes it hard to recall all the facts and details. But I'm going to surge ahead with this account as tomorrow I set off on a nineteen hour train journey to San Francisco.
After another bad bus journey (from Seattle to Portland) that took only three hours but was running two hours late, I'm looking forward to a spacious Amtrak carriage. I also have a stack of books to read having visited Powell's City of Books here in Portland, and it is now my favourite book store. It also happens to be the largest independent, new and used bookstore in the world!
After boarding a number of Greyhound buses and experiencing the delights of my fellow passengers quirky ways, from the 500lb pyjama clad woman, to the couple with blackened teeth I was pushed over the edge by a teenage girl boarding my bus to Portland with balloon animals. Yes balloon animals. It took her ten minutes to negotiate her way along the aisle to her seat, fellow passengers were left in her wake with static hair and thoroughly annoyed expressions.
However this post is not meant to be about my grievances with America, I'll get to that in another post, no now I want to write about my experiences kayaking in British Columbia.
I arrived on Quadra Island with trepidation, having never kayaked before and not really liking the sea, I began to think, why have I signed up for a 5 day sea kayaking trip?
The shock really hit me as we began (as a newly introduced group) to load our possessions, food and camping gear into our kayaks and after a quick introduction by our guides Jesse and Sandra, walked our kayaks into the sea. The sea was cold.
I had not considered the cold. Only a small problem for most, I however have been known to develop hypothermia when the central heating is turned down a notch. In our flat in West London, Kev and Gaz would often come home and find me under a blanket with several layers on and a hot water bottle pressed against my body, trying to get warm. I can only blame my Dad for this, it is after all hereditary. My Dad once complained when a friend (sleeping over) left a window open a jar all night. My Dad swore he could feel the draft in the next room. It was June.
I was teamed up with Richard in a two person kayak. As a group we were unusually light on couples (only two) and required lots of single person tents. Something else I hadn't considered, I would be sleeping alone in a tent in the wild! I was suddenly very grateful for my flashlight and extra batteries.


How evil looking is this tent?!

Me on the water.

We left Rebecca Spit for lunch on a small island off Quadra. Throughout the trip Jesse and Sandra cooked delicious meals. After paddling for an hour or so, as soon as we stepped out of the kayaks into the icy cold water (only a slight exaggeration) all the heat I had accumulated paddling evaporated and I was covered in goosebumps!
The weather on the first day was decidedly British, dark skies, a little wind and a sense of impending doom. Thankfully by the evening we had the type of beautiful weather we experienced for the rest of the trip.
I think I was really lucky to be in a group with a large number of singles and very friendly people. We all got along from the outset (putting aside your snoring Trevor) and spent a great deal of time laughing.


Jesse and Sandra make a delicious meal and entertain!

After the first day the kayaking for me became a lot of fun. I'd find a rhythm and kind of zone out. The scenery is absolutely stunning, we spent our time paddling around Quadra and Reed Island making stops for lunch and to explore. We spotted Seals lazing on rocks and Eagles soaring overhead. Jesse would always inform us about what we were looking at, from Blue Herons to kelp made into popcorn by indigenous people.


Beautiful Clear Water.

Anna also spotted a dolphin, but no one believes her. Sorry Anna, but you can't be the only person to see a leaping dolphin, that would just be unfair.
Bret did find a snake in the creek right by our campsite on the first night at Open Bay. I was rather alarmed to see he'd just picked it up and carried it into the camp. But his wife Sue Ellen explained they had once had a collection of pet snakes at home, some had even gone missing in the house and been found months later by one of their children. When Bret and Sue Ellen later offered me a place to stay in North Carolina if I ever pass through, I shook my head from side to side vigorously.


Bret and a snake

Only joking Bret and Sue Ellen, I know you no longer have pet snakes so I'd love to visit! Did I mention I love to stay with locals for months at a time and observe?
On the second and third nights we set up camp at Freedom Point, this is on Reed Island (population 55) and juts out into the sea (hence the reference to a point in the name) towards Quadra Island. Beyond Quadra the snow capped mountains of Vancouver Island are visible.


The view from Freedom Point.

Campfire at Freedom Point

Gary helped me set up my tent on the second day. The camping area was in a wooded area with views on either side of the sea. As usual after setting up camp we all wandered around, chatted, took photo's and relaxed.
As dinner time approached we noticed Trevor hadn't returned from his nap. It was at this point our tranquil little world was suddenly very frightening. Richard came running into the kitchen area, he took Jesse to one side, Trevor was not sleeping but unconscious.
I don't really want to go into the details of everything that happened, as for one Trevor has only learned the details himself just recently. But I was very grateful for Sandra and Jesse's knowledge and how they dealt with the situation. Bret also did his part, even when sap fell from a tree into his hair while he was trying to keep Trevor awake! What a soldier. I'm making light of the situation because at the time it was very frightening for us all, particularly waiting for the coast guard to arrive. I'm very thankful Trevor is now well, although without prognosis.
We all missed Trevor (I didn't miss your snoring or Pommie bashing Trevor) and would always feel someone was missing from our little group.


The Group and no we weren't superimposed! It's my overactive flash and Zong-Wen has just run into frame from setting up his self timer too, he's not doing anything "funny". I'm sure he has a better photo of the group.

The group had a talented collection of singers too. Anna actually makes a living from singing and Sue Ellen has sung with professional choirs all over America. I myself cannot sing and not in the annoying way people say, "oh me sing? Oh no I can't sing" and then break into pitch perfect singing. No I mean I really can't sing, it even sounds bad to me. So it was a delight to listen to people who can really sing, although I had "O Canada" playing in my mind for the rest of trip.
Jesse also entertained us, not just by singing but recounting the tale "The Cremation of Sam McGee" by Robert W. Service. It's an epic poem and Jesse gave a passionate account. I felt very inadequate, unable to sing or tell a story. I sat quietly and savoured every moment.
Even though I slept in a tent on my own, I'm pleased to say I only freaked out once, when I opened my tent at night, crept in and had the feeling someone was already in the tent. After shining my light frantically around the tent (it probably looked funny from the outside) I calmed myself and eventually fell asleep.
I feel very fortunate to have chosen this particular tour and at this particular time, as I really believe the people I met made the trip for me.
I got to hang out with Anna and Jenny a little longer, as we shared a hotel room on Quadra after the tour was over.
The next morning Bret and Sue Ellen kindly gave me a lift to Victoria. As a mother of six Sue Ellen obviously has a strong mothering instinct. Typically as they pulled up in front of the hostel in Victoria I had a reservation for, a group of very dodgy looking people where hanging outside. I could see Sue Ellen's look of worry. I pushed the homeless person's trolley aside and entered the hostel, very sad to say goodbye to my new friends.

Sky above Quadra Island, BC.
For those of you who want to check out more photo's from the kayaking trip, click on the Flickr emblem to the right.

Hostel Living

This morning I woke up when a book landed on my head. Somehow it had fallen from the bunk bed above me and onto my head. Even stranger though, it was a copy of John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charley In Seach of America", the book I am currently reading. It took me several minutes to come around and realise the book wasn't my own copy and no it had not hurled itself at me during the night, but the girl in the bunk above had dropped her copy.

Kayak!

My 5 day tour of the Discovery Islands is over. I met some great people (and I'm not just writing that, because some of you may be reading) and found another beautiful part of the world. I will post more in the next few days.




The view