Nov 14, Mary's POV

Nov 14,

Our first day was quite exhausting, we got up at 4:30 a.m. and headed off to the Calgary airport. Glad we allowed 2 hours to get through customs and security. Flew to Salt Lake City, then mayhem... The plane we were supposed to take to Honolulu was leaking oil so they wouldn't fly it over the ocean but had no problem after making us wait around for hours in putting us on it and flying us to SEATTLE! Finally made it to Honolulu after our outbound flight to Hilo on the big island had left so Delta put us up in an airport hotel and we left for Hilo the following morning.

Got picked up by the nice folks at Happy Campers and got acquainted with Mokio Gecko, our green westfalia van that we are CAMPING IN. As much as I would like to be the Judy Dench character in Best Exotic Marigold Hotel who adapts easily and is kind and helpful I am learning that really I'm just the bitchy nutjob who hates everything different. I really should just be an armchair traveler who looks at videos of exotic places. Actually it's not all that bad. We were a bit disappointed with our first campsite at Isaac Hale but are learning that maybe its a good campsite. Seems like it would be nice if we were tenting. The pluses are it's got potable water and outdoor showers.  Nothing I'd rather do that squeeze myself into a bathing suit and stand under a stream of refreshing water and try to get clean. On the good side, the bed is relatively comfortable, we are completely dry when the heavens open up and when it is a clean night we can open the skylight and see the millions and millions of stars and listen to the frogs croaking at night. In the morning we are serenaded by beautiful bird songs. We haven't seen any of the vibrantly coloured birds of hawaii but there are tiny brown jobs that are about the size of hummingbirds, morning (mourning?) doves, and something pretty that is black with a yellow beak. The palm trees and other vegetation is lush and gorgeous. We got a bit lost in a mango grove when we were first trying to find our campsite. In fact our campsite is very hard to find given we have no sense of direction and there are very few helpful signs anywhere. Last night I looked at my detailed spreadsheet and found very clear directions that I'd typed months ago. Doh!

We have seen pink, red and yellow hibiscus, vibrant pink bougainvillea, red elephant ears and several other beautiful things that we don't know the names of. Oh, and coconut trees, we're careful not to sit under the coconuts as we've seen some smashed at the base of the trees. Haven't really gone in the ocean yet as we both have colds, & no alcohol to date (could these be the reasons I'm cranky?). We have seen immense lava fields and gone up to the volcano national park and seen the caldera with the smoke (sulphurous vapour) pouring off of it. We also walked through a lava tube, which was very cool!

Very few bugs and Richard claims to have seen bats swooping around eating moths at night through our skylight but without my glasses I can only see the brightest stars. We have brought a ton of luggage given that we are traveling for 3 1/2 months and find we have to constantly organize twice a day when getting the bed set up and down. We have a cooler but no fridge so we are constantly buying ice but we finally found a block at a good grocery store today. We have a propane bbq and a propane stove. Richard has quickly realized he has to do "everything" and that "my ignorance keeps revealing itself". Frankly, he has no idea my parents sent me to Pioneer Ranch Camps, the all girls Christian camp as a teen where I learned everything I need to know (changing the tire on a 3/4 tonne truck & shooting a .22 caliber rifle) or I would be significantly more princessy than I actually am. I think this has convinced him that it's a good thing we aren't backpacking around oceana and that once we leave the big island the camping portion will be over.

Food prices are a bit shocking. We paid over $US 6 for a loaf a bread in one sketchy place. We were ripped off with a smile though, so it's all good. It rains without warning but so far during the day it has been light and short. It did pour for a bit last night, but again we were quite snug in our Mokio Gecko. Speaking of geckos, I have seen one a few times on the ceiling of the campground bathroom. I also saw a relatively small millipede wander by. Richard assures me they and the cockroaches will be HUGE in Australia. Awesome.

Well, I should sign off we found 1/2 hour of free wifi at an awesome coffee shop in Pahoa. Oh ya, every place name seems to be full of K's, L's and P's and lots of vowels and neither Richard and I can pronounce anything so finding our way with a map is hilarious.

Oh ya, and back to the skylight, the first night I felt some light raindrops on my face and leapt out of bed to start winching it shut, so picture me crouching and winching and farting over Richard's head as fast as I can. Thank goodness he slept through all of that! Ha ha ha ha.

Mary out!