Earth 2010

Hawaii Five-0

In the second season of the remake of Hawaii Five-0 two newcomers have been cast has the famous detectives Steve McGarret and Danny "Danno" Williams.  Our cameras have followed them around Honolulu and the island of O'ahu whilst creating the new opening credits for the season.

 

 

The Ilikai Hotel in the background.  This is where Steve McGarrett stands on the roof.

 

 

 

 

 

The boys had a busy time in make up to get dressed for the part before moving on to their next location. 

 

 

 

The famous shot of King Kamehameha 1st with the new detectives, and another close up without.

 

 

 

 

 

The boys also had to dash to the law courts to help re-create the original scenes:







 

We believe their first assignment of the new season is based around a mysterious murder on an incoming cruise liner.







 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The episode will be set around the famous "Aloha Tower" which has welcomed many cruise ships to Honolulu.



  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 We have lots more photos in our Hawaii Five-0 album, following the boys on their first filming asignments.  We leave you with the famous hula.

 

The latest news just in: the boys acting career has not gone so well. We believe they have now left Hawaii and are heading for New Zelaand.  Find out more in the next blog.  Have fun!

Lava! Lava!

286 days since selling up and 122 days until the grand return.  David Jones recording.

Here we are on the big island of Hawaii, sitting in the laundry room of the hotel doing our washing: travelling can be so glamorous.  What to say about the big island? It's big, has five volcanoes and in our short time here we have driven over one thousand miles.  Which has been great fun in our Jeep Wrangler convertible, meaning we could get some sun whilst driving around.   

 

 

 

The only mishap we had was when we arrived at the hotel we surprised the car park attendant by pulling into the car park and stopping at her booth on the wrong side of the road.  She looked at us strangely and politely said "Aloha".  It was at that point I realised as the passenger I shouldn't be sitting next to her and we all laughed.  For the next 8 days every time we drove in and out she shouted and waved at us "Hi, it's you again!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our second day was turtle-tastic. We discovered a bay with many rock pools and in each one were 2 or 3 turtles.  At first we were looking for tropical fish and then started to notice these large rock formations in the black lava pools.  Very slowly as your eyes became adjusted the pools filled with turtles.

 

 

 

 

We also went to one of the active volcanoes on the island in search of real lava flow and discovered more than we thought...



 

Well, ok that's me standing in front of a picture board at the volcano park. 



 

That's what we had hoped to see, if fact there was no bubbling molten rock the day we went but we were treated to a strange mysterious landscape where lava had flown from previous eruptions.  We did see one of the active craters which had smoke pouring from the top, but unfortunately no fresh lava flow. But the whole landscape was quite magical and other-worldy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of our favourite places to visit was the sacred "place of refuge" a partial reconstruction of palace grounds and temples of the kings and queens of ancient Hawaii.  It was just so peaceful and spiritual.  A lovely place 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also took a journey to the east coast where we saw amazing waterfalls and rugged coastline.  Some of the recommended sights didn't live up to their name, like the boiling pots, which when we saw them were just small rock pools with still glass-like water, hardly boiling over.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Every night we have seen amazing sunsets.  Creature of habit that I am, I have found my own particular spot at a local restaurant which we have eaten at as many times as possible and always tried to get the same table. Oh yes! We have a cocktail to start: mine was, of course, a Bahama Mama while Paul preferred a '57 Chevy with Hawaiian plates.  We will tell you the recipes when we get back.

We are flying off to Honolulu tomorrow the home of Hawaii Five-0 and our third Hawaiian island this trip.

I will leave you with a sunset from my spot at the Kona Canoe Club. Toodle pip!



Sunny days, leaping whales and blue merry buffins - south shore of Mau'i

281 days since selling up, 127 days until the grand return. David Jones recording.

Aloha! We have had a fabulous five days on the south shore of Mau'i. Hot sunshine, tropical breezes, romantic sunsets and walks along miles of sandy beaches: that's what the south shore is all about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At this time of year though there's an extra something to keep your eyes gazing out to sea: the warm waters of Mau'i are the humpback whales' favourite winter destination. And if you're lucky you get to see them leap for joy - right out of the water. I was lucky, I got to see loads of leaping whales, unfortunately my lovely travelling companion - the one with the expensive new camera and zoom lens - kept missing them. But in Mau'i it doesn't matter, every day's perfect anyway. The best whale picture is in the album - blink and you'll miss it. Though he did get a movie of one jumping in front of the sunset - which was pretty spectacular. Though I haven't seen this movie yet, I'll let you know....

Anyway one of the best times for whale watching was in the morning. After a long beach walk, we'd settle down at the Lau Hala cafe for a Mocha Frappacino and one of their gorgeous Blue Merry Buffins and look out to see if any whales had come out to play. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We took a day out to the old Hawaiian capital and ex-whaling port, Lahaina. It's a lovely town full of weather-boarded houses from the nineteenth century, sitting wedged between the high, spiky slopes of the West Mau'i volcano and the sea, under swaying palms and with one of the largest Banyan trees in the world. Of all places it was here that we found out the secret ingredient of Butterbeer. It had been haunting us since tasting it back in November (see the Florida blog). By chance we picked up a free sample of shave ice - which everybody raves about in Hawai'i - and it tasted exactly like Butterbeer. We went in to buy one and found out the bright green concoction is called Mellona flavour. Still don't what it is but it was lovely and it is definitely what Harry, Ron and Hermione have been drinking. We also came across our first lava flow in Lahaina - though it was one of a more alcoholic than geological variety. 

 

  

  

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We did find a real lava flow right at the southern tip of the island at La Perouse Bay. Dark, dark fields of black rock rolling into the ocean forming lots of lovely little cove beaches, one of which we claimed as our own. Our other favourite beach was Little Beach where you could see lots of a completely different type of Blue Merry Buffin, but I'll leave that one to your imagination.

We'll leave you with the perfect end to a Mau'i day. Such fun!



 

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

Somewhere over the rainbow.... the north shore of Mau'i

276 days since selling up, 132 days until the grand return. Paul Twocock recording.

David's just too tired from walking along miles of beaches, lava-rock coastlines and watching the sunset while scouring the horizon for jumping whales to do the blog tonight, so I'm having a go.

We left concrete jungle of LA for the green shores of Mau'i on 18th Jan. We were returning to an island we know and love. In fact it was on the way back from Mau'i in 2009 that we decided we had to put the house on the market again and get away for a year. And for a treat (well above budget) we returned to Cliff's Edge - a special place on the north shore of the island. You sit on a deck perched on 300 feet cliffs overlooking the Pacific, palm trees sway, all you can hear is the surf crashing and the occasional passing bird, and as showers come and go rainbows arc across the sky.

 



























 

It was just as beautiful as we remembered. The north shore of Mau'i is away from all the hotels and condos. The road winds around high cliff faces, the rainforest and waterfalls reach right to the coast and things move more slowly. We settled into home for a week: relaxed, read books, wrote books (I finished the last chapter of my first draft - hooray - and have now gone back to the beginning to start re-editing the whole thing). The surf started getting high on day two so we cruised down to Hookipa Point where all the surfer dudes of Mau'i hang out the next big one. Sorry Bradley and Hugo - you would love it here.



























 

 

We took a day to drive slowly along the famous road to Hana - the winding road along the north shore - stopping at waterfalls, stunning black sand beaches with lava out-crops covered in palms, lookouts to the ocean and cool ponds surrounded by forest. At the end of the road we rewarded ourselves with a Mahi-mahi sandwich at our favourite (and I think the only) restaurant in the sleepy town of Hana on the far east coast of the island. There are lots of pics of waterfalls and pools in the album, but here's a taster:















































 

 

 

 

Last time we were at Cliff's Edge we became fast friends with Lucy, a lovely old spaniel who used to insist on sharing our breakfast every morning at 7am sharp. Although still around, Lucy is the grand old age of 17 and has lost her hearing now, so wasn't as sprightly as before. But she did have a new friend, Maile, who seems to have replaced Lucy as the dog entertainment at Cliff's Edge. I know because I have the scratches to prove it. Quietly swimming in the pool one day, 25 lengths done, 25 to go and suddenly when I get to the end there's a big dog waiting to play with me. As I swam she ran around the pool to greet me at each end, and then in a sudden fit of courage launched herself off the side of the pool, right on top of me. Now it was a swimming race and she wanted to swim right up close and personal - her doggy paddle paws digging right in! Then out she'd get out and dive in again. We played for a while but when I could take no more playful scratches I retired back to Bali Cottage. She followed me home and so from then on started joining us for lunch. With such a sad face and mild-mannered patience, she always got her egg mayonnaise or chicken sandwich - I'm sure it can't be good for her...

 

































 

 

 

 

 

 

David got his own minor injury later in the week when we made our way to one last waterfall just down the road from us. It was a pleasant twenty minute walk through palm groves and forest to Twin Falls, but what we hadn't counted on was needing to wade through the river to get the best view. Intrepid adventurers that we are, the shoes came off and we were knee deep walking gingerly over round, spiky and slimy stones, but the effort was worth it: it was a lovely clear falls into a pond at the bottom of an eroded lava tube. Looked a bit like a grotto. Although if you look carefully below you can already see in David's eyes that he knew all those little black bruises were forming on the soles of his feet!









 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oh and I forgot to mention we made it up to the top of the volcano - Haleakala - for the most awesome sunset you are ever likely to see. We made it up the crater road with minutes to spare to see the sun dip into the sea of clouds that stretched out below us. Being at the summit makes you feel like your flying. Such fun!



San Francisco and driving down the Big Sur

266 days since selling up, 138 until the grand return.  David Jones recording.

Well it's a little confusing because we are currently in Hawaii enjoying island life, which means lazing around, watching the surf, soaking up the rays, watching the surf, eating, drinking, reading and watching the surf.  Book fans: Agatha's on the last chapter (drum roll), now looking for an agent! Know any?

Let's give you a quick catch up. Had a brilliant time in San Francisco; we had both left our hearts there on a previous visit, so picked them up at the train station and I think lost them again on the drive to Los Angeles down the Big Sur.  If I could, I think I would live in San Francisco. It's a beautiful city: just so beautiful and unique.  The Golden Gate Bridge, the hills, the cable cars and trolley buses, pastel buildings, the bay and the Pacific Ocean, stunning!

 

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

  

We stayed at a Travelodge in Marina District, near Presido Park, the perfect place for us: near the marina and an easy walk to the bridge, and down a quiet, quiet road.  Slightly longer walk to Fisherman's Wharf but easily do-able.  Cable car or trolley bus to the main shopping district.  Whilst in San Francisco, we did all the sights, including some we hadn't done before.  We saw the brown bison in Golden Gate Park, the Painted Ladies - a famous row of Victorian houses that survived the 1906 earthquake and have the city skyline shimmering behind. Virtually lived in Chestnut St near our hotel, doing most things there: eating out, getting our haircut (thanks to the ladies at FLiP), doing our laundry (in the coolest laundromat on the west coast - thanks Missing Sock!) and going to the cinema (Black Swan - but I wouldn't bother...)

 

After three days we then moved on to spend the next five days driving down Pacific Coast Highway to Los Angeles - the highlight was the Big Sur - 100 miles of spectacular mountainside driving right by the Pacific.  We saw stunning scenery and wildlife, including the McWay falls (pictured below).

 

We then experienced a surprising beach full of elephant seals (look below, and then look again - they are seals not boulders!) They were making such a noise, like giant woopee cushions.  We listened to them, hudreds of them, shouting and burping and playing as we watched the sun set into the Pacific ocean: so romantic! We also spent some time whale watching looking for the tell-tale sign of a spurt of water in the ocean (there are photos in the album).

 

 

On our journey we also visited Hearst Castle, the amazing home of William Randolf Hearst, the publishing millionaire.  It was like an ornate Mediterranean village.  It was very 1920s, and apparantly lots of famous stars and personalities of the time stayed there (Charlie Chaplin, David Niven, Gary Cooper, Amelia Earhart, and Hearst's mistress the actress Marion Davies). We had a brilliant tour guide - thanks Diane - and if you want to get a sense of the time, Diane recommends watching 'The Cat's Meow' - an Eddie Izzard film about an incident on a boat in the 1920s including W.R. Hearst and his mistress, Marion Davies. We have a copy - but it's deep in the heart of the lock-up, ask to borrow sometime in the summer.

 

 

 

We continued on our journey until will arrived in Los Angeles, the day after the Golden Globes.  We didn't see anybody famous, but took a whistle stop tour of all the sights.  LA has never been my favourite place, but at least this time it was hot and sunny, the other time I had been here it was cold and rainy like Brighton on an August bank holiday.  From here we caught our plane to Hawaii, such fun!

 

New Orleans and then on to San Francisco by train

259 days since selling up, 145 until the big return.  David Jones recording.

Well we have successfully left Central America and arrived in the US.  It was quite a relief to not worry about what to eat and drink.  The greatest joy was to be able to brush your teeth with tap water.  It's amazing how much you take for granted. Well let's talk about New Orleans. One of America's party towns, but it seemed like quite a quiet place in early January, everybody had done partying.  But what they say is true, it is the Big Easy: everyone's laid back, things move slowly and there's the sound of a saxophone always floating down street. And there were some gorgeous buildings, although we found out the famous French Quarter is actually mostly Spanish. And the famous Mississippi on a grey January day could be mistaken for the Thames at Deptford.

 

 

 

  

  

  

  

  

 

 

 

Although we were way too early for Mardi Gras, we did help the good people of New Orleans celebrate Joan of Arc's 598th birthday. Apparently the Maid of Old Orleans is revered just as much in the new city. As soon as the sun set a troop of citizens dressed in medieval garb processed through the French Quarter to the golden statue of our Joan with the rest of us following with 598 candles, which kept blowing out in the breeze. There was even a group of minstrels to help us along the way (not the chocolates!). Joan looked like she stepped out of the High School Prom, but it was fun and Paul got lots of pics. See the album some of the least blurry ones.

From New Orleans we caught Amtrak's famous Sunset Limited train through the bayous and across the desert to Los Angeles.This was my first sleeper train and I was excited. We had two nights and two days in our bijou roomette! Everyone in the sleeper car got to know each other as we crossed America, sharing our life stories over breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining car. It wasn't quite like a cruise where you go on as passengers and come off as cargo, but we were certainly kept well fed. We spent the days gazing at the scenery and trying to stop ourselves from dozing off. Oh and and Agatha got on with more of the book - first draft nearly done, apparently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The train was good fun. The scenery was stunning. And it was all very relaxing, even if it was quite difficult to sleep! We arrived at Los Angeles Union Station an hour late. We had a few hours in the gorgeous Art Deco station and the boarded the Coast Starlight - the pacific coast train to San Francisco. No roomette this time for the 10 hour journey up the coast, but we did have two lovely recliners on the ocean side of the train and did a lot of chilling, watching the beach, surfers, pelicans, cliffs and waves go by. I sent Paul down several times to the see the out of work actor in the snack bar to keep us fed and watered, and we arrived at Oakland just before midnight. It was freezing - really! It was only just above zero, and the bus driver who was to take us across the Bay Bridge to San Francisco didn't turn up. So we broke the budget and got in a taxi to whisk us across and settle in to our Travelodge not far from the Golden Gate - home for the next four nights... such fun!



Some statistics so far!

258 days since selling up.

146 days until we return.

Since November have visited 5 countries: USA, Peru, Mexico, Guatemala and Costa Rica.

We have been on 18 planes.

We have travelled on 13 buses.

We have travelled on 5 trains. one of them for 48 hours.

And had one hair cut!

Costa Rica, why?

245 days since selling up. David Jones recording.

That is the question why did we decide to come to Costa Rica.  It seemed like a good idea at the time!

We imagined a wonderful tropical beach, sunshine, wildlife and the excitement of an active volcano with lava flow. We also thought we could save some money.  I think it is sometimes best not to have too grand an expectation for a country because it might let you down.

Costa Rica has all of the above, (apart from saving money!) but not quite how I imagined.  The beaches are tropical palm trees etc, the beach near us had a funny grey sort of sand and looked a bit like Morecambe on a cloudy day with the tide out.  It was quite busy because it was Christmas, but also didn't appear very clean.  We found out later on the internet that the beach wasn't very clean and there was a warning about untreated sewage found in the water - swim at your own peril.  We only went to the beach twice because of the sewage but also it was too far to walk from our house and chaos if you drove: strange unofficial men asking for money to park on the street, people and cars everywhere.  Not quite the vision of peace and tranquillity I had hoped for.

There has been a lot of wildlife and considering we have been to the Amazon rainforest in Peru we have seen more wildlife here, just by the villa.  Every morning and late afternoon the house is surrounded by monkeys swinging from the trees.  They seem to be having "such fun".

 

We have also seen a variety of birds including toucans.  That has been the nice thing about the house: you can just sit by the pool and watch the animals.

 

 

Obviously it has been Christmas while we have been here.  I think we spent Christmas day like everyone else, sitting around eating food and watching telly.  Ok, and the occasional dip in the pool.  We both missed the traditional Christmas turkey.  Though we did have our own version of a roast dinner and yorkshire puddings too.  How very British!

 

Whilst in Costa Rica we stayed in a lodge opposite one of the country's most active volcanoes.  The idea was to be able to see a spectacular show of lava flow coming down the volcano at night.  Unfortunately for us, despite sitting longingly staring at the volcano for 3 nights nothing happened. 

 It reminded me of late August nights staring into the sky looking for shooting stars and going to bed late sad that none had appeared. So the volcano was a bit of a damp squib.

We also travelled across the country using a Jeep-Boat-Jeep transfer to see the "cloud forest": the Costa Rican rain forest, high on a mountain.  We stayed in a hotel that looked like a Swiss chalet and travelled through scenery that was like going to the lakes in Cumbria with the odd palm tree doted here and there.

We spent one morning exploring the high canopy of the forest using a succession of suspended rope bridges.  Well actually they were made out of steel so not as scary as it sounds.  The other option to explore the canopy was by zip-wire sliding through the trees.  I had decided against this option.  But as we wandered through the trees you heard the occasional cry of someone sliding through the forest.

We were looking for the elusive Quetzal bird. After several hours looking at the trees we think we saw one!  (I have included a picture in the Costa Rica album, see if you can spot the bird!)

The cloud forest certainly lived up to its name it was like walking through a cloud, most of the time we were walking through the mist and rain.  Luckily we were equipped with our trusty "pac-o-macs".  Paul in his bright red mac seemed to draw the attention of a local hummingbird who chased him across one of the bridges, obviously thinking he was a giant red flower.  After so much effort and with no joy the hummingbird, exhausted, sat and rested on my finger to catch its breath.  Unfortunately "David Bailey" was too slow with the camera, so no pictures I'm afraid. (David Bailey thought a big bee was attacking him - not a pretty hummingbird!)

 

Well its New Years Eve about 1pm here so everyone back home will probably be getting ready to start there New Year's parties. I know you want be reading this until after New Year but we would both like to wish every body a peaceful and Happy New Year. XXX

I leave you with a souvenir of Costa Rica, such fun!    

 

 

 

 

 

Listen very carefully – we ‘ave found the fallen Madonnas with the spraying boobies

229 days since selling up. The two British airmen recording.

Hello! Listen very carefully, we shall say this only once. The British airmen have ended up in Guatemala following a lead from Réné about the whereabouts of the fallen Madonna with the big boobies. Having arrived in Antigua, the airmen disguised themselves as British tourists and holed up in a lovely colonial hotel with a courtyard filled with a fountain, flowers and a resident hummingbird.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because they love French cuisine so much since their extended stay in Nouvions, they have been frequenting the only French restaurant in Antigua, Le Bistro Cinq; and have eaten their first full meals for days!

The airmen have been trekking up and down the streets of Antigua looking for the painting, but instead have just been enjoying the great views: there’s a volcano at the end of every street!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally they came across the fallen Madonnas with the spraying boobies in the main square of Antigua, but still no sight of the great painting by Van Clomp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Undaunted the airmen set off to search other parts of Guatemala to find it. They woke up at 4am to get on a little plane to the lost Mayan jungle city of Tikal. Trekking through the jungle with their tour party they saw spider monkeys, toucans and heard the growl of the howler monkeys from the tops of the ruined Mayan pyramids. It was spectacular – but no painting by Van Clomp.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the humiliation of not discovering the real fallen Madonna, the two airmen have decided to hide out by Lake Atitlan in an out of the way hotel with stunning views of yet more volcanoes. It’s like they’ve gone to a Greek island! Just two nights here and then they’ll be whisked away to Costa Rica! Such fun!

 

It's a long way to Merida!

222 days since selling up. David Jones recording. 

We are on our final days in Mexico and I am writing this blog sitting on the balcony of what I can only describe as a docklands flat over looking a marina, but on the Caribbean Sea.  The story of how we got here involves a total of 10 hours driving, a visit to a outdoor market disguised as an ancient ruin, a dog eared lively colonial city and a ruined jungle city with the ghostly echoes of the Mayans.

We set out from Akumal on the Caribbean coast of Mexico to head towards Merida, the capital city of the Yucatan, inland. We were planning to spend four nights there.  On the way to Merida we planned to stop at Chichen Itza, the half way point.

Chitzen Itza is the jewel of the Mayan ruins crown in Mexico.  Or so the tourist information would have you believe.

We arrived with all the other tourists. Guides were excited to tell us all about the secrets of Chichen Itza. Oh yes, and I also need to mention the clapping. You see groups of tourists at the foot of the pyramids clapping, trying to achieve the echo of a Quetzal bird. The Mayans believed it was the messenger of the Gods and some say the pyramids were designed to create an echo to sound like them.  Anyway it gives something for the guides to pass on and earn their dollars.  Speaking of dollars, also at Chichen Itza there are hundreds of market stalls selling every Mayan touristy nik-nak you could imagine and most "for good price, one dollar".  The main structure is very impressive and I'm sure if you stayed for the laser light show at night it would shine. But with all the markets stalls, too many clappers and some over-restoration it didn't seem like the jewel in the crown to us.

Anyway we were on a schedule and needed to be in Merida before it got dark, mainly because we had no map and I didn't want to get lost.  Thankfully we got to our hotel before sunset, well only just.  The hotel was cheap and clean.  The first room we had was near the lift shaft, in fact it sounded like you were in the lift, so we asked to be moved.  The second room was great; despite not having a wardrobe it overlooked the pool. 

We had a wander around Merida. There were a few nice colonial buildings, some art deco ones a little worse for wear, and a lively vibe - all the Meridans go out on a Sunday afternoon/evening. But it only took us an hour and we'd seen the whole thing, and weren't too impressed with dinner.

We got back to our room in the evening and turned on the tap which promptly fell off flooding the room with water.  So we packed up and left that room and were moved to another room on the ground floor.  We decided at that point Merida was not for us, so searched on the internet for a last minute deal back on the Caribbean coast.  We found a great deal and decided we would drive back another 5 hours the next day.

On the way back we wanted to visit another ruin (the reason for going to Merida in the first place) called Uxmal. We didn't have high expectations especially after our experience at Chichen Itza. But all you travellers out there need to hear this. If you go to see the ruins in Mexico and you can only go to one place, you must, YOU MUST go to Uxmal.

We arrived there early so that the place was virtually empty apart from iguanas soaking up the early morning sun. Uxmal is beautiful and mysterious and is just how we imagined a Mayan ruin to be. You could feel and see how the Mayans lived, with their ornate carvings everywhere and large palaces, pyramids and plazas.

Also at Uxmal you can really get up close to these monuments (elsewhere they are often roped off). I'm sure that will change in the future, so go now.

Having enjoyed Uxmal we made the long drive back to the Caribbean coast, or the Riviera Maya as the Mexicans like to call it, to stay in this luxury condo, which I'm sure will spoil us before we get to Guatemala. Hola Guatemala! Such fun!