A week in Hawaii

We’ve just returned from a week on the island of Kauai, in Hawaii. Kauai is the most westerly of the large, visitable islands, approx. a five hour flight from San Francisco. It is famous for its stunning landscapes, as well as for being the wettest place on earth. With that in mind, we had some trepidation about the weather, but actually most of the rain falls on the mountain in the middle of the island, which is permanently shrouded in mist; furthermore the showers elsewhere tend to occur during the night, so we didn’t have any problems.

So, what did we get up to? Well, we spent several days hiking the many trails on the island, and still felt there were others we’d have liked to have done. We did a strenuous eight mile hike along the famous Kalalau trail to a beach crashing with enormous waves, then inland to a waterfall. The Kalalau trail runs along the Na Pali coast, whose ridges and cliffs, sculpted into stupendous shapes by erosion, plunge dramatically into the deep blue Pacific. It would have been amazing to hike the whole trail, but that would have involved eleven strenuous miles each way with heavy camping gear (there is no road access to any part of this coastline) and would have taken several days. We also did a long hike above the valleys of Na Pali – some of it through dense jungle and other parts edging along the ridges. This offered some views of Niihau, the “forbidden isle”, several miles to the west. It has been owned by a Scottish family for well over a hundred years, which runs a kind of medieval fiefdom system on the island and does not allow visitors, or, it would seem, any mod cons. Another hike skirted the stunning Waimea Canyon, known as the “Grand Canyon of Hawaii”.

Kauai also boasts some beautiful beaches, although it’s not possible to swim from many of them because of the dangerously large waves and strong currents. One day we hired snorkel gear and took to Poipu beach on the south coast. There was a bit of reef a short distance out, so we had great fun watching all the tropical fish, although care was required with the currents even here. Later that day we went for a dip at another beach with calmer waters, which made it easier to view the colourful fish. On our last day (yesterday) we explored the beaches of the north coast, including the Bali Hai of the South Pacific film and my favourite, Ke’e Beach, a truly stunning palm-fringed crescent at the start of the Na Pali coastline.

The highlight of the trip, however, was probably the helicopter ride we did on my birthday. This took us over the forested interior, punctuated by waterfalls all fed by the wet mountain mentioned above, one of which featured in the film Jurassic Park. We then headed over the canyon country and then on to Na Pali, which was simply breathtaking. The biggest surprise, however, was when we flew into the crater of the now defunct volcano which formed the island six million years ago. In the dim light (rain was falling on this particular part), with waterfalls hundreds of feet high cascading down, it looked incredibly primeval.

We did a fair amount of eating out, although we made some of our own food too, as we had a kind of self-catering suite. Wherever you buy it, food is pretty expensive in Hawaii, since apart from tropical fruits, fish and coffee, most of it has to be flown in from several thousand miles away. Kauai’s nightlife is pretty non-existent – you have to go to Honolulu for that – but I suppose that was a good thing given the amount of exercise we did!

In terms of wildlife, we saw lots of colourful birds, a monk seal (splashing about with the snorkellers, then sunbathing on the beach like everyone else!), wild pigs, goats and lots of lizards. A big surprise was the number of “farmyard” cockerels and hens wandering around all over the island, even in the remotest spots. Although they are known as “jungle fowl”, it’s probably the case that they were introduced by settlers at some stage in the past, then went wild.

All in all, we had a really good time, and it may well be the most beautiful place either of us has ever seen. The only down side were the rather negative experiences we had at pretty much every stage of being processed at Kauai’s chaotic airport (agricultural check, check-in, security, seat allocation etc. etc.), but at least there was no passport control or customs at the other end, as it’s actually a domestic flight, so we were home about an hour after touching down. More photos are going up on the Fotki site shortly (http://public.fotki.com/EllenHardwick - password: moocow).

Getting ready for the off

It's been a busy week. I've been looking for and applying for jobs (nothing completely ideal, though, and haven't heard anything yet) plus going to my volunteer placements. Jon has been busy too and had a bit of a crisis at work yesterday when the specs for a machine he'd been preparing for the last two weeks were suddenly changed! We've done some socialising too, though: I went to another French meet-up on Wednesday night and we went out for dinner at James and Emma's (James is Jon's colleague) on Thursday night. Yesterday, I went to view the event space (where the Shanti fundraiser will be held) with the event co-ordinator, and we ended up having a lovely lunch afterwards in a vegetarian restaurant at Fort Mason (a former military installation) overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. Today it has rained a lot and we've just been getting ready for our holiday. We're off to Hawaii early tomorrow, specifically to the island of Kauai. I'm hoping it doesn't rain too much there - the mountain in the middle is the wettest place on earth! We're hopefully going to do a helicopter tour on Thursday, which is my birthday. When we get back, we're going to see the Arctic Monkeys in concert. I just got the tickets today - the gig had sold out, so I contacted a guy through Craigslist (the San Francisco website for EVERYTHING) who had a couple to sell and we went to get them from him this afternoon. For those of you who don't know, the Arctic Monkeys are a band from Sheffield, and their song, "Fake Tales of San Francisco" is probably the only one in the world which makes mention of both San Francisco and Rotherham! Anyway, should have lots to blog about next time - until then!

Going out & more hiking in Marin

I have started my job hunt in earnest now, and it has been proving a bit frustrating. I’m doubtful that I’ll be able to get exactly what I want (teaching French/German), so I’m widening my search. However, I have been given some useful tips by a friend of a friend, who’s a teacher. I’ve also been working hard in my volunteer positions, soliciting donations for the Shanti fundraising gala and also for the Italian Institute event. A nice Italian restaurant in the neighbourhood agreed to donate a gift certificate for the latter, so when our friend Emma got in touch and suggested a night out with some British chums, I of course recommended the restaurant in question. We had a lovely meal and they really treated us as VIPs, bringing us free bruschetta and free desserts! Still, we did buy a lot of wine (think I was drinking away my frustrations with the job hunt), and then repaired to a couple of bars, one notoriously good and one notoriously bad (we went for the experience!). It was a great night, but probably not wise in the middle of the week!

Yesterday was a bit rainy, which was just as well, as poor Jon had to work and I wanted to do some more job research on the Internet. In the afternoon I went over to Berkeley in the East Bay to the monthly German speakers’ meet-up. I went over by myself and used BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) for the first time. This is a kind of underground which turns into overground at certain points. I nearly missed the train because it took me so long to work out how to use the ticket machine! Back in SF, Jon and I went out for a Thai meal in the evening in a new bit of town (for us), but still within walking distance.

Today was nice and sunny, so we did our customary jog along the waterfront, and then headed over the Golden Gate Bridge to Marin County and the Tennessee Valley trailhead. We had done the shortish walk to the beach a few weeks ago, but this time we undertook to do a longer hike high up over the cliffs to Muir Beach. The views were spectacular, as always along this section of the coast, which consists of wooded mountains plunging dramatically into the ocean. We spent a while on Muir Beach: reading, recovering and paddling, before heading back to the trailhead via a different, more elevated and more inland route. At one point, we were rewarded with the surreal view of San Francisco’s skyscrapers and distinctive Transamerica Pyramid peeking up in the cleft between two forested peaks. We also saw quite a few birds: loads of vultures, a few stunning red-winged blackbirds and a couple of California quail (see pics below). It was a great hike, but my muscles are suggesting I overdid it a tad – maybe a five-mile run and a strenuous eight-mile hike are a bit much for one day! When we got back to SF, we compensated for the fact that there was no ice-cream van at the beach just when we needed it (don’t think they have them here) by going out for some at a great gelateria with dozens of flavours just around the corner.

Año Nuevo, Top of the Mark and Angel Island

Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary, and fortunately Jon was off work. It didn’t look like a very promising day, weather-wise, but we decided to take a trip I’d been wanting to do anyway: to Año Nuevo State Reserve, about fifty miles down the coast from here. The main reason to visit is to see the huge numbers of elephant seals that gather to breed on the beaches. The breeding season itself was over, but there were still plenty of blubbery bodies covering the sands, although Jon was disappointed that the enormous males (up to 16 feet long) had already departed. He was, however, consoled by the enormous deli sandwiches we’d purchased at Half Moon Bay on the way. Seriously though, the reserve actually has quite a lot more to offer than just the seals: it’s a stunning natural environment home to many other animals as well – we also saw a hummingbird, pelicans, lizards and a deer. Just off the coast is an island with a derelict lighthouse and homestead on it, which have been taken over by sealions and cormorants! We were lucky, because we managed to escape the fog and it was a lovely sunny day down there.

On our return to San Francisco we got dressed up and went out to dinner at the Top of the Mark, a restaurant/cocktail bar at the top of the Mark Hopkins Hotel on Nob Hill. This is famed for its views of the city, but frankly, we would have seen more from the Bottom of the Mark, as the fog had well and truly rolled in – alas! The food was, however, excellent. It’s a limited, but exquisite menu, which they offer with “wine pairing”, i.e. you get a different wine with every course. Afterwards, there was dancing to the jazz band to be done. We will have to go back on a clearer day to enjoy the views.

Yesterday we had a few chores to do – essential things like going to the Karen Millen sale (my favourite British shop actually has a branch in San Francisco!). In the evening we headed to the Mission district and had a swift burrito at a taqueria before heading to Randan’s apartment (a colleague of mine at Shanti) for drinks. We spent a pleasant evening chatting to her and her husband, as well as another couple, one of whom had a “murse” (this is new vocabulary – it’s a man’s handbag: man + purse = murse! Only in San Francisco…?!). The taxi driver took us back via the curly bit of Lombard Street and told us of the time when he made a $50 tip after some drunkards in his cab dared him to reverse back up it, which apparently he did!

Today has been a gorgeous day. We took the ferry over to Angel Island, the largest island in the bay and uninhabited bar a few National Park staff. We hiked up to the summit, where we were rewarded with 360° views of the city, Golden Gate Bridge, Marin County and the East Bay. We then descended via a different route and walked along the perimeter road past some abandoned army installations. Some of these were really spooky – a row of houses and a large brick mess hall surrounding a deserted parade ground (complete with a lonely flag pole) all boarded up and falling to pieces, yet sited in a stunning location. The Spring flowers were beautiful, the crickets were chirping and huge butterflies were fluttering around, plus we were lucky enough to see another hummingbird. The return ferry skirted Alcatraz closely before dropping us off at Pier 41, about a 12 minute walk from our apartment. I’m putting more photos up on the Fotki site (http://public.fotki.com/EllenHardwick/, password: moocow) so you can see what we’ve been up to.

Heavenly Lake Tahoe

The question is whether to put a comma in that title or not. The resort, in a rather cheesy fashion, is called Heavenly, but it manages to live up to its namesake. This weekend we drove up to Lake Tahoe for some skiing. That sentence makes the endeavour sound simpler than it was, because first we had to buy some snow chains for the car, in case we needed them, which in the end of course we didn’t. Having established that we couldn’t get chains for the BMW, we set about trying to buy the alternative – tyre cables. And of course we had to ring around a lot, because no one had them, with it being the end of the season, but we eventually succeeded and rebuffed the cashier’s inquiry as to whether we’d like the garage to fit them there and then with a quizzical look (of course, we’d love the darn clunky things on our wheels for the entire 200 miles of our journey, through places that never see so much as a frost, when there might be at most ten miles of snowy road right at the end!). Anyway, we eventually set off from a breezy San Francisco, watching the temperature rise to 29°C as we travelled through the flat Sacramento valley, then plunge to 10°C once we were in the mountains, passing some incredible rock formations on the way. The journey took just under four hours.

Lake Tahoe is one of the highest, largest, deepest lakes in the world and sits in a huge bowl in the Sierra Nevada mountains. From the summits, it was possible to observe just how high it is compared with the surrounding plains, which stretched for possibly hundreds of miles, many thousands of feet below. We stayed in a cheap motel (of which there are very many) near the California/Nevada stateline. Even without a map, it is easy to see where the border lies – the California side is a largish settlement of low-rise buildings surrounded by pine forest, while the Nevada side is a small cluster of huge, multi-storey casino hotels, profiting from the fact that gambling is illegal in California. We didn’t actually do any gambling ourselves, but couldn’t resist taking a peek at the many poker/blackjack/roulette/goodness knows what else tables and gaudy flashing slot machines. On the second night, we also had dinner in one of the casinos. It was a superb all-you-can-eat buffet on the 18th floor for about £10 and we had the good fortune of sitting right by the window with its amazing views of the lake, forest and snowy peaks.

Our motel was near the foot of the gondola that takes you up into the ski area, which was convenient, as it meant we could just tramp back there with our skis after the first day. In contrast to last time, the weather was sunny and clear, so we were able to enjoy some fabulous views and, more importantly, see where we were going for more of the time, which always helps. We had a great couple of days exploring the different runs. The only rather scary moment was when we completely lost each other, shortly after an argument regarding whose fault it was that we’d gone the wrong way. Jon disappeared and I ended up doing a bit of unplanned off-pisting in an icy little gully with lots of rocks and tree trunks poking up. We eventually found each other the best part of an hour later after we’d taken very different (and quite creative routes) back to our original destination. It was good that we went there when we did, because there can’t be much more of the season left now. The lower level runs were incredibly slushy (which made skiing on them rather exhausting), while some of the supposedly easy runs were deemed “experts only” because of the paucity of snow. I certainly made the most of what was left, which meant I woke up today stiff in a number of places! Not to mention the fact that my resulting jelly legs only managed to add to my earthquake paranoia once we got back to San Francisco.