London Christmas!

Kia ora whanau

Aroha mai from Tu & I for the lack of blogs in the past few days, we have had a crazy few weeks in the UK and now Europe, but are slowly catching up! With the manic European schedule, some blogs will be shorter... but all with just the same amount of punch! Fingers crossed :)

Luckily we were onto it and after each little leg of the trip, we would make notes on what we thought was pertinent to share with you all on the blog, so we didn't forget anything. So I'm going to go back a few days to Christmas Eve, departing NYC for London, UK.

So we woke up on xmas eve at 4am to catch an early 730am flight to London. We had heard there was going to be snow... thankfully that didn't impact on our flight out of the US. Landing in London was a treat, we were greeted by Uncle David (Tu's mums brother and Tu's godfather). There is nothing better than getting off a long flight and having whanau there to meet you. Kia ora uncle x

We get back to uncle's place in Herne Hill for their xmas eve dish - Shepherd Pie and it is JUST what we are needing after a day of airport/plane food. The house was lit up with fairy lights inside and outside, a christmas tree, fire place already to go, and the hot meal in the oven just topped it off. Uncle & Aunty had just completed renovations on their third floor to their place and we would be the first to stay in the brand new wing! Beautiful views of Herne Hill and the Shard from the bedroom, so homely, thank you both so much for having us. After wrapping a few gifts (for Uncle/Aunty and of course, each other) we called it a night, promising to be up at 7am to help cook the turkey.

Nek minnit... 9.30am rise and we rush downstairs to join in for some breakfast. Grandma Sylvia (Aunty Jills mum) is sitting at the table. Aunt & Uncle are gently rushing around in the kitchen, stopping here and there to have a chat or a laugh. We reckon it's about time for some of that French Champagne we bought from Duty Free to compliment our cereal so pop goes a bottle and it instantly feels joyous haha.

The traditional turkey is cooking nicely in the kitchen and all the stove tops and bench space is covered in kai. "Need any help" we constantly ask and they reply with "No, sit, eat, drink, relax"... Feeling helpless, Tu and I indulge in the snacks that were laid out in the lounge and champas and singalong to the xmas carols and gospel singing. Now, Aunty is the super organised type. She has a runsheet for the cooking on xmas day, and also the Sunday(s) prior to xmas are whanau prep days to make the xmas pudding and other additions to make it easier on the day. The runsheet - wow. My kinda style! Cooking times, schedules to put on the beans, to baste the turkey and to bake off the stuffing balls. Everything. Amazing.

Dinner time happens at 2pm... oh what a spread. Turkey, ham, and all the trimmings with a range of condiements; some from the Caymans, another bitter sauce, a bread sauce for the turkey, cranberry of course and some other ones. We also have Grandmas traditional christmas pudding recipie... DIVINE!

I now understand how Christmas feels in the Northern Hemisphere where everything is wintery and cold, and snowy. The fairy lights, egg nog and fireplace we see and hear about in the carols is exactly what we experienced (minus the snow!) and it felt really cosy. I must admit though, I was feeling particuarly homesick this day, knowing that I was not home with my whanau... being away from home at xmas was a tough one, but I was surrounded by whanau and had such a special day.

Later that night after filling our bellies, we sat in the lounge together and watched xmas movies and drank night caps and ate chocolates and snacks and then opened pressies, which traditionally happens after the Queens speech (for the London whanau)... Tu bought his uncle a beautiful photo of Tu when he was a baby pictured with his uncle. I think Uncle David loved it. We even got gifts! Such a nice day/evening... Merry Christmas whanau xxx

Boxing Day...

Another unplanned sleep in, is in order waking to bubble & squeak for brunch, with left over cold meats and some Blanco. Spoilt! After brunch we take a drive into the city for a bit of a city tour with Aunty & Uncle. They point out the main places to see and visit. London Town is a beautiful place... lots of old looking architecture and a big river running through it. Easy to imagine what it was like 100 years ago. Tu and I then spend the night in the city to catch up with some friends we met on the Inca Trail back in South America. Ended up having a big night of English tapas, wines, shots and dancing in London city! Epic!

The next day, well... the sleep in was even worse. Thankfully Aunty & Uncle didn't mind us sleeping in and just kept saying "you're on holiday" which we'd been hearing a lot through our trip. I wonder when that excuse just won't cut it anymore.. Anyway we decided to pop off to the movies again and see the Hobbit. Aunty & Uncle hadn't seen it and we were keen to see it again lol. Before the movie, we smash some fish and chips, England style and then catch the flick. Afterwards, Tu & I meet up with one of his very old and good friends from college, Nigel Moresi. Had a great dinner, drinks and caught some live music before calling it a night as we had an early start the next morning catching our first Contiki!

While our stay was short and sweet in London, we managed to experience quite a bit and spend time with whanau, old friends and new friends. Thanks so much to Aunty &Uncle for having us. It was so great to meet you both and to be with you and Grandma for christmas. One that we will never forget.

Arohanui...

Time to get our hashtag on and join the Contiki craziness #noregrets

 

 

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New York: Part 2

Now, where were we?

Aaah yes. Day 3. Brooklyn Bridge

So this morning, we decided to hit up some sightseeing of the landmarks of NYC, beginning with the famous Brooklyn Bridge. We took a couple of Subways to the bridge on the Manhattan side and took about an hour walk over the bridge. It's an old bridge with some history, and some awesome views of NYC's skyline. Brooklyn originally wanted to be an independant city, separate to NYC, alas that didn't happen and they're a borough of the Big Apple. Once we got over to the Brooklyn side, we then took a water taxi around Staten Island in the Hudson River and saw Lady Liberty and NYC from the water... Breathtaking views of the skyline and the freedom building, which has now taken the Twin Towers place, which went down well with our morning bubbles!

We got off the water taxi and found a boutique food court and had an early lunch of Spanish tapas and sangria. Delicious! Feeling nice and warm, we returned to Times Square and marvelled once again at the lights and sounds and jumped on a double decker bus with the top cut off for a guided city tour through Central Park and up and around through Harlem. Beautiful Harlem! It's such a colourful, bright part of NYC. Unfortunately, we didn't stop here, but we missed Apollo Theatre Amateur Night, so next visit to NYC - that's us. We had the coolest African American tour guide, who knew all the juicy spots and sights and after every time he said either 'New York' or 'Brooklyn' he would say, 'Baby!' in that typical NYC accent.

After a tour of the city, we found a nice pub in Hells Kitchen (a precinct next to Times Sq with fantastic restaurants and bars) and had some dinner and drinks. It was a nice pre-show event as we were about to get our Mufasa and Simba on at the Broadway show; The Lion King! The show was really well put together, with excellent dancers and performers. We had good seats, just off to the right with good views of the stage. The Lion King story is timeless and showcases courage, responsibility, family and a sense of home in a beautiful story set in the Savannah. Love this movie, and loved the broadway show.

Feeling absolutely smashed, we ventured home for the night... the exhaustion is catching up on us.

Day 4:

Day in Brooklyn today, we thought we would take it easy with a sleep in and some brunch at a local cafe in Williamsburg. Brunch is a big thing in NYC, in the States actually. It's usually a boozy morning/afternoon of bacon, eggs, omellettes, pancakes, bubbles, mimosas and bellinis. After some hearty breakfast we checked out some local boutiques in Williamsburg on the famous Bedford Ave. This street so reminds me of Cuba street with all of its coffee shops, cute restaurants and stores. As one can expect, there's many designers in NYC so there's no shortage of original clothing at reasonably affordable prices.

We then stumbled across a pop up flea market with over 200 vendors and 70 food vendors. So good! Tu found some wrestling cards and I bought a necklace with an old vintage key... nyc steez! Today was like our rest day here in the big apple, we've been feeling very exhaused here, walking 20+ kms a day so we thought we'd take the afternoon off and catch another flick. Quiet night with a movie and finding a brilliant elegant and small restaurant on Bedford Ave. It was simply called "Oyster Bar"... OMG the best meal we've had in NYC by far. It was a quaint restaurant, with candles and lights lighting up the room. The bar was both serving alcohol on one side, and oysters on the other. Tu tried three different types of oysters from NY state, we tried the marinated olives with anchovies, baked bread, then for main, Tu had the braised beef and I had crispy duck confit. Another OMG experience... all paired with cava (French champas) and I had a gin cocktail that went nicely with the duck. So delicious... and now we're ready for bed.

Day 5:

Final day in NYC. Lets do this! We took off to SoHo which is the fasion and shopping district of Manhattan. Overcome with the stores and xmas "sales" we bought a couply NYC streetwear items, some leather boots for the EU leg and some umbrellas, cos' the heavens opened up and it rained something wicked.

Off to LIttle Italy, we were frantically finding a place for lunch and Tu (once again, with his Maori/Italian radar) found us a cute place off the beat and path called Puglia Restaurant...(Tu spotted it because 'Puglia' is a region in southern Italy, and is where the Sciascia whanau came from.) The restaurant was an old family establishment from the 1940s, known for its simple, tasty italian food. We tried ravioli, and the Puglia pizza special washed down with a cold bottle of red (for only $16). So, so good. Feeling merry and full, we stumbled across a pop up designer store. Expensive, but original clothing from NYC designers, so we splurged a little :)

We then took off home again to prepare for the NBA game... One of Tu's bucket list items and dreams. No dinner, cos' we were going to get free food and beverage at the game... Turning up to Barclays, Tu was ecstatic, as was I! And this is where I pass over the keyboard for him to tell you all about his NBA dream... Where Brooklyn AT?!

Kia ora Dee for that intro... Ae, dreams were coming true this night. Like any big sporting event, there was a natural mystic flowing in the air... What I like about the Americans is their passion and support for their sporting teams - everyone is dressed up in their teams kit, and they follow their teams - even if they away.

Dee and I armed ourselves with a Brooklyn cap and beanie, and we ventured to our seats. First via the kai shop - because our tickets gave unlimited access to all kai and inu in the building - bar alcohol. Chicken salads, buffalo wings, hot chips, nachos, redbull, water, coke - we had it all! Heoi, armed with dinner we venture to our seats, I had an idea of where we were sitting, but sh*t was about to get craycray. Section 122, row 1, seats 1 and 2... I thought the top of the section was row 1 - but it was the bottom! And we literally only had courtside seats in front of us! Boom!

Loved the Biggy and Jay being played during warm-up... What else could a baller want! We had the Nets warming up at our end, which I was swt about because that meant we had Paul George dominating our end coming in the second half.

The game itself was good until halftime. Nets are struggling, and the Pacers are one of the best teams in the East. So they only lasted 24mins. Pearce got ejected of a weak foul, didnt really looked interested in playing. At least KG looks like he is giving a hundy all game. Joe Johnston needs to shoot more, and D-Will needs to control the game more, and they were serously missing Lopez (cos I think Hibbet is one of the best C in the game).

We supported Brooklyn because it was our home for a fantastic 6 days, but I am backing the Pacers in the East and Adams' OKC Thunder in the West. But a night I will never forget x thank you my baby!

After the game, we skyped our whanau and went to bed around 1am and woke up at 4am for our London flight.... London. Christmas Eve. Christmas Day. Wow.

 

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New York: Part 1

What a beast of a city, this is. We felt it important to provide blogs in 'parts' so that we don't miss any details of the trip that we need to share with ya'll. New York City is one of those cities that you instantly feel the wairua once arriving. It's an energy that is kinda mystic - you've seen NYC in the movies, on the news, in the video clips and music clips and all the songs. It's concrete buildings and old history, it's melting pot of every culture, language and religion on the planet in one small place.

New York is a wonderful, alive and inspiring place to be in...

So we arrived from the sunny Cayman Islands of 35 degrees to NYC and snow on the runway and about 10 layers. JFK airport was intense - waiting inline for an hour and a half for customs... Luckily our customs officer was super nice (first time ever!) and talked to us about Broadway shows and at the end says "Happy Holidays". Boom, we are instantly feeling christmassy! The iconic yellow cab takes us into Brooklyn where we've booked an apartment through AirBNB. Our apartment is not far from Bedford Ave in Williamsburg. A quaint part of Brooklyn that is now known for it's hip, chic bars and cafes and boutique stores. The grungiest, Cuba Street looking people live here and it's a nice taster of NYC. Our apartment is great. Big white walls, with a white duvet and curtains and your standard brick wall that are featured in most NY lofts.

The next morning we venture out at 730am trying to capture Brooklyn at that time of the morning when hustle and bustle of people scurrying to work and making their way to the subway, grabbing coffee and a bagel on the way and dressed extremely fashionable. We took two subway trains to Times Square. A good start for Tu to check out the lights that is Times Sq! After picking up our New York Pass tickets, the tummys begin to rumble and we find a cafe for some American breakfast. Bacon, eggs, homefries (fried spuds) and an omellette between us - Boom. We're ready for sightseeing.

Our first stop is Rockafellar Centre and the Observation Deck called 'Top of the Rock'. Since we have the NY Pass we get to skip all queues and get into 100 attractions for free, including this one. We took a lift up 63 stories where we could see vista views of NYC. It was a clear (but still cold) day, so we had some blue skies and sun. We especially wanted to get to this attraction first, as we had an agenda to take some good photos for our 'Save the Date' photo we wanted to use to inform our whanau and friends on the date of our proposed wedding! Exciting :)

It's truly breathtaking being at the top of one of the tallest buildings in NYC. You get to see Staten Island where the Statue of Liberty stands, you get to look directly at the Empire State Building, the Chrysler building, look over Central Park (dressed in white snow) and all the other boroughs of Manhattan and beyond. After this sight, we visited MoMA and saw some beautiful art followed by a wine & cheese tasting hehe. It was quite magical. We then took a walk into Central Park and found ourselves at the New York City Zoo haha. This was my idea to go see the animals :) reminded me of Madagascar when the lion, giraffe, zebra and hippo all escape for their homelands lol. After this, we decided to venture back to Brooklyn. Remembering this is the first day in 11 days that we're actually doing any physical activity - Caymans we had it too easy lounging all day and swimming, so we were pretty smashed.

We headed back to Williamsburg for a pinot noir, some pulled pork sliders and mac cheese and then went and saw the Hobbit! Peter Jackson you never cease to amaze me... Hobbit was amazing. Feeling very tired, we popped into a wine store, grabbed a Brancott Estate Sauv (NZ in the house!) and then headed home for the night. Day 1 - DONE & DUSTED!

 

DAY 2

Our second day of sightseeing was much more efficient as we knew exactly where the subway was, what sights we wanted to see and where we should eat. We kicked off the day with some OJ, coffee and NY bagels from Bagelsmith in Bedford Ave - YUM. After a light breaky, we took the subway into town and straight to Madison Square Garden. Our pass enables us free entry to take an all access guided tour around the garden checking out the stadium itself (the NY Rangers were practising for their game that night, I believe they're the ice hockey team here lol). We missed the Knicks practising unfortunately, but it was still cool to be at the famous garden! We got to check out all the different sights around the place including lounges and suites that all the richies own. After the garden, we took off to the MET museum where the Te Maori exhibition was held in the '80's. Tu especially enjoyed this museum knowing his papa and the other kaitiaki of our taonga Maori that came over on the tour were once here. We ventured through the museum seeing greek, egyptian, medieval and african art and lo and behold we find a small corner of taonga Maori. It was Tu's radar that lead us to these tupuna and we said our greetings and spent some time with them; mere pounamu, hei tiki, and whakairo. They were housed next to some Hawaiian artifacts, so they were in good company :)

After the museum, we raced back to town to the Radio City Music Hall where we bought tickets to the "Radio City Christmas Spectacular!"... this was of course, my idea ha. I have been feeling xmassy since we arrived, so this was to top it all off! And it was amazing. A 90 minute theatre production of dancers, Hana Koko, a dynamic and amazing stage, props and settings that used the entire theatre and a beautiful story of christmas. We left feeling pretty joyful and walked straight outside to see the Rockafellar xmas tree and hark herald angels (just like on Home Alone). Dream come true!

After this, we decided to return to the Top of the Rock to see NYC from the top of the building at night... saw the xmas lights special on the Empire State Building and appreciated NYC lights at a 360 degree view - breathtaking once again.

It's 730pm by now and we are knackered... Brooklyn bound for a pinot noir and some spoken word poetry at a local bar for a night cap before returning home for the night. NYC Day 2 - did it.

 

 

 

Grand Cayman Islands

Kia ora ano!

Well it is our last day here in the Cayman Islands - and it has been nothing short of luxurious...Friends, Kai, Activities, Beach... Our tans are super topped up, beachwear fully used and we are starting the mental prep for winter in New York.

Here are three answered questions about our stay on the island...

Q.1 What are some of your highlights of the Caymans?

Dee: Well, first of all I must say that I didn't know where the Caymans were, or what it would be like here. I just knew we had friends to visit, so were going to spent 10 days. Upon arriving, the heat felt instantly like Hawai'i... I guess it hadn't sunk in that we were actually in the Caribbean!

The beach is definitely the highlight for me. The water here is so clear where visibility is second to none. I can see the bottom of the ocean while jetskiing around the water. That's trippy. We were out on a boat and the water was such a beautiful blue colour, that we made a video :) Anyway, so the beach has been a real highlight for me. We spent everyday at the beach and got the meanest blackest tan that's going to fade once we hit New York, but hei aha.

I'd say that the second highlight has been the kai. We've been so well looked after by Jessie & Lachie since being here. They opened their home up to us, and their juice bar. They cooked the most delicious meals for us and shared beers, wine, sangria and tequila (amongst other delights) at the end of a long day and we had some great chats. Such a lovely, down to earth couple who have over the past 10 days inspired Tu and I in what they have done with their lives and business and what they continue to do with healthy living and eating through the juice bar. The food has been phenomenal. We've eaten NZ lambshanks, calamari, the most delicious salads, fish, juices, smoothies, sandwiches and wraps and mostly all healthy. The smoothies at Jessies have been a real treat. Almond Bob is one of my favs, with almond butter and banana... I reckon Tu and I have probably dropped some kg's since starting this trip!

The third highlight I'd say would have to be the stingrays. We boarded a catamaran at 730 one morning as part of a tour, called "Breakfast with the Stingrays". We had a delicious breakfast on board as we sailed out to the famous Stingray city. Upon arrival, we could see these black shadows all swimming up to our boat. In the old days, fishing boats would stop off at this shallow sandbar and drop their bait and old fish so it became a feeding ground for the local stingrays. The sound of boats means one thing: kai time! So over the years they have become friendly with people.

Getting into the water was SCARY. These massive creatures swimming up to you, under your feet, brushing past you, 5-6 at a time coming to check you out. After the initial horror of being bombarded by stingrays, I felt calm and relaxed enough to try and touch one. Their touch is a soft smooth feel on the bottom and on top is more rougher. I managed to hold one of the stingrays and dance with her (it was definitely a her, the big big ones are females and the small ones are males). It was such an amazing experience seeing their eyes look straight at you, into you almost. It was a humbling and privileging experience for me... I feel really grateful to have met one of Tangaroa's tamariki. Respect at all times of course. And thankfully, everyone walked away without any Steve Irwin action!

Cayman Islands - I will be back again!

Tu: Kia ora Dee for that 'novel' korero... :) First highlight, catching up and staying with Lachie and Jess, in their new whare, ki Snug Harbour. Massive whare, with a beautiful wairua, always has yummy kai, the 2nd beer fridge in the lounge, and some Breaking Bad too. Our stay here has been real easy, relaxing and enjoyable. And as Dee mentioned, their Juice bar is A MAZ ING!!! Finally got there, and we'll go there this morning for our last breaky.

Tautoko the moana, it is unreal here! Snug Harbour is directly opposite Seven Mile Beach and it was our second home on the island. Beach Suites (Resort/Hotel) was our local hangout, and Red Sails was our activity provider... Breaky with the Stingrays, Dee and I sailing a hobie (baby catamaran), snokelling around coral reefs and the dive wreck 'Kittiwake', Jetskiing off 7 mile beach, and last night we took Lach and Jess out on a three course dinner cruise - perfect way to end our stay here.

Highly recommend this place people.

 

Q.2 What made the Cayman Islands such a wonderful stay?

Dee: So many things, but our friends Jess & Lachie and their hospitality, their home they opened up to us, their friendship. It's been so neat staying here with them and hanging out.

Tu: Lachie and Jess, drinking with them, Jessie's Juice Bar, meeting their friends, all our activities on the moana (and getting 50% discount on all because we're have friends on the island), Dee and I sunbathing and getting pango at Beach Suites, seeing Dee and her turtles, some Br Ba, eating and drinking like kings and queens!

Q.3 What was a typical day on the island?

Dee: Typical day... wake up at around 8-830, walk to Jessies Juice bar for some breakfast, a smoothie, a honey glazed ham grilled cheese and a coffee, walk to the beach, set up a spot on a sun chair, order a Cayman Lemonade, take a dip in the caribbean waters, order another drink, sunbathe, repeat. Love the Caymans!

Tu: What Dee said... Followed by an amazing dinner at Lach and Jess' and some night caps.

 

Well whanau, that was some of the Caymans. Amazing place, people and sea. Dee and I are off for breaky now, catch some last summer rays for 2013, and prepare for a New York State of Mind.

 

 

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Costa Rica - PURA VIDA

Today is day 22 of the 80 day world trip - we are now one quarter way through our haerenga and visiting the second country of 18 that we will visit. The past 7 days we have spent in Costa Rica. It's a small ish country located in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama. Full of tropical forests, beaches and volcanoes, Costa Rica has both the Pacific and Caribbean oceans at its shores.

Upon arrival into San Jose, we were met by my lovely friend and sister from SWY25 Costa Rican delegation who I met in January and we became good friends beginning in Nagasaki where we were paired together for 2 day homestay. Gloriana Araya and her fiance, David are our hosts for the week! (muchas gracias my friends!)

During our travels in Costa Rica, we ventured to Volcan Poas, one of the many volcanoes close by San Jose with great views of the crater, nature and some wildlife. But it was not meant to be as we couldn't see a thing with cloud forests covering up the views, kei te pai though, it's about the journey as well, not just the destination! We came down the maunga and stopped for lunch, buying fresas (strawberries) that were so good and fresh, and tried our first Casada which has rice and beans (a staple here in CR) salad, some potatoe type thingy, grilled plantain (it's like the savoury cousin to the banana) and some pollo (chicken) - YUM! Really good food... and the prices are quite reasonable, for one of those plates (which is a humungous serving) is about $6USD. They use colones here though, so 1000 colones is $2 US dollars. It looks like Monopoly money and is kind of confusing when you think you're rich as with 50,000 not even.

We ate really well in Costa Rica and went out for dinner to Olio, a Spanish tapas bar and drank beautiful Spanish red wine with our friends. This is right up mine and Tu's alley! My friend Glori gave us a tour of San Jose city and we visited some of the markets. Quite different markets to Lima... Lima was rich in colours and textiles and Indigenous art works which we didn't see much of here in CR. Glad that we were able to get some of our art pieces from Lima. On Tuesday night we had a party at Glori's house - all the Costa Ricans from the SWY delegation came over. It was so good to see them and catch up again. Quite surreal being with all these crazies again! We all reminised of the good times and memories we shared on the Ship for World Youth. Reflecting on that trip seems like a distant memory and experience and now seeing my Costa Rican whanau, I feel grateful for the SWY experience...

Glori and David are the beautiful people who we have been staying with the past few days and they invited us to take us to La Marta - a rainforest and river in the mountains about 2 hours from San Jose. We arrived and hiked into a river where David and Glori got engaged - a very special place for these two and we could feel the wairua and aroha. It was so nice to swim in the freezing waters of the river - we felt rejuvenated and refreshed, connecting with Pacha Mama (Papatuanuku) and the fresh water river. It was a nice shared moment with my beautiful friend Glori and her soon to be husband.

Being with the SWY whanau, Tu and I were invited to celebrate the birthday of the Japanese Emperor. A swanky midday event, with officials, politicians and foreigners (and Maori's!). The most formal clothes we had, we rocked it. Remembering that we have packed one 20kg bag each, for three months, catering to beach & mountains, so we didn't have room for heels or number ones. It was a great gig with sushi, tempura and sashimi all round and of course sake, vino and umishu. Once again, Costa Zealand could be found by the bar. It was a great time to catch up with the Costa Ricans, and meet parents of my CR friends who are politicians. Speaking of which, my dear friend Glori, well her father is running for president in Costa Rica. A good looking man with a brilliant smile is scattered across San Jose on gigantic bilboards campaigning for presidency which will be decided in Feb 2014. Good luck Johnny Araya, all the best from Aotearoa!

We ended the week in Puerto Viejo - one of the most hippest (and potentially, hippiest hehe), chilled out, relaxed, surfy, reggae, rastafari beaches I've been to. It was so nice. It's on the caribbean coast not far from Limon. My good friend Nelson (from SWY25 Costa Rica) organised us to go down to this place for the weekend. We took two buses travelling about 5 hours from San Jose. Taking a bus at 6am for a 5 hour trip is not ideal let me tell you, but once you step off that second bus into Puerto Viejo - it is instantly worth the trip.

We stayed at a cute hostel on the main drag for $10 US a night and tried the famous rice and beans and caribbean chicken for lunch which was quickly followed by a liquid second lunch :) we thought that we'd take advantage of the night life and head out to some bars - real Hawai'i feel here, with the island time and chillaxness. The music is of reggae and salsa varieties mixed into one; and of course the US pop smut that we're all used to. We had a great night out dancing and drinking and playing pool with a Jamaican brother. Tried some street food of chicken skewers and didn't get sick (bonus! haha). The next day, feeling somewhat under the weather, we took our beach cruiser bikes that we hired for $5 and cycled through the country roads from Puerto Viejo to Punta Uva beach. Such a beautiful place...

We swam and drank coconut water from fresh coconuts and ate patti (meat filled pastry... much like a mince savoury) and pondered life... So blessed to be living this life of ours. Never taken for granted, always appreciate it and always thinking about home and our families & friends.

Tu and I loved Costa Rica, such a different vibe to the other places we've visited and so special to share it with the SWY Costa Rica whanau. Thank you to all my SWY whanau for an awesome experience, we will be back to CR soon x

 

 

From Hawera/Porangahau to the Amazon

As I write this in the luxury of the city cafe in Miraflores, one of the nicest parts of Lima, with a Pisco sour coming, I reflect on our trip up the Tambopata river, Amazon Basin.

Day 1: We fly from the high altitude city of Cuzco (the longest inhabitiaed city of the Americas) to he jungle and the city of Puerto Maldonado. Once off the air-conditioned plane, we step out to an instant heat rush! Approximately 36'C with humidity 85% and climbing. We are then whipped away in a packed shuttle, where at the office prepare our duffle bags for the trip. Two nights up the Amazon basin.

The two guides names are Leao and Elvis. Elivis is a funny character, the joker, and we have Leao as our guide. Leao is a local fella from the awa and is a big fan of football. He was the man in short, 25 year old and who is very knowledgeable of the rohe, awa, ngahere. We reach the awa and head up it approx 1.5 hours. Can't beat travelling by waka eh, think our Maori genes kick in around now...

On the motorised canoe trip up, Leao with his eagle-eye points out some of the wildlife. We see the cap heron, red and green McCaw, Red Howler Monkeys, and Capibara (largest rodent in the world). The Amazon has many animals that are the world's largest...

We get to the lodge, dripping in sweat from the days travel, and head straight for our rooms for a cold shower - for some comfort and relief... but this soon evaporates! We are once again hot, sticky and battling. We head for tea, where we are asked to wear long pants and sleeves - as the mossies are most active at dusk and dawn. Our kai area (and bar) is over 20 years old, very tidy, and has a Jumanji feel to it. Its awesome - kai too... Wild tomato juice (yellow); and actually all the kai is local produce and is organic. Rawe!

After tea we head out for our night walk, which is around the premises of our lodge, here is me thinking - this will be a waste of time, what the hell are we going to see... Wrong. All we can see in the pitch black; some jumping spiders, bull ants, fly flies, an ant-eater... and we then see, 40 cms off track, a bloody BIRD EATING TARANTULA... Dee is through the roof, and I hate spiders, but am dedicated to picture this beast of a spider! At Discovery school primary school, I never read in the library, but always pulled out the books that had the biggest spiders, snakes etc. This spider was easily as big as my hand, it was bloody massive! Proud of Dee too, as she endured this night walk - she wasn't on about revisting the pics before bed, but we did it! Day 1 down, sleep time now under our mossie nets.

DAY 2

Up at 530am, kai at 6 and on the waka again at 630am. Leao has a trip in mind to walk 12kms, in Gummies, to the Sachabacatoc Lake (google it). The trek is tough, at 8am it is already mid 30s and sweat is filling our boots. Mossies are is full force - and when your guide says shower yourself in insect repellant, and he is doing it - you do EXACTLY THAT! The walk in is eye opening, we came across a group of monkeys - three different kind! The Squirrel, the Tamarind and the Capuchin monkeys. The Capuchin monkeys are the most intelligent of all primates. We then cross many bridges, some just logs, planks of wood, and some over wetlands primed for anacondas Leao says... I laugh the comment off.

We get to the lake hutt for lunch, and suddendly Leao, quitely yells for us to come and follow him! He has heard something... We rush to the lake side and see the 'king of the jungle' - the Giant River Otter. These fellas, three of them, can reach up to 2.5m long and are the world's largest. These fellas can take down caiman, jaguars if in the water, they dominate, and eat up to 5kgs of fish per day! Leao says this is quite a siting, and we are the only people at the lodge to see them. We have kai, and jump into the canoe, Leoa and I paddle our ope around. He then goes to talk abour pirhanas, electric eels and anacondas. We paddle to the end of the roto and we fricken spot a 4m ANACONDA.... Thought the bro was having me on... NOT EVEN!!! I get a shot, and some shady recording...you try and stand in a canoe and record a anaconda 3m away... Mind blowing experience. And in seconds, the world's largest snake submerges and dissapears. Wow! We then paddle back, seeing the prehistoric bird and stick bats. And were back on land - tough day paddling on the roto - but if Leao can, this Maori can.

Leao then says shall we feed the Pirhanas? We're like sure! So he drops leftover kai from lunch, right next to our waka at the jetty, and all of a sudden the water starts bubbling like Rotorua... And its Pirhanas coming to the surface and snatching the kai... F me! This roto is full of them! Anacondas too, with some 2.5m river otters - this is no average roto whanau. It is the Amazon!

We trek back the hot grueling 6kms back to the Tambopata river, and head home. We are well and truely done. High 30s, humid in the 90s, it takes all your energy to be in the jungel. These Maori are just doing it! Rest time.

Before dinner we prep to go on the waka to spot Caimans. They are part of the croc and aligator whanau. They are some what smaller than their Salt waters cuzzies. The trip is in the pitch dark and the awa - buzzing! Only one light onboard, Elvis with his spot light on the ihu... And thats it. He is taking us up the awa in pitch and the driver at the back is following his signals. Sure enough, he spots some in no time! He spots us some white caimans. Everyone starts taking pics, and it is heaps of fun! After an hour spotting caimans the crew drifts us down stream, no motor no light - with just the sound of the jungle... It is epic and peaceful. We then share our last dinner together, and head straight to bed, we prepare to pack bags for our 8am departure the next day.

After breaky, we gift Leao with some taonga from home. We give him a pounamu pendent and name it Tane. Leao is very knowledge of the forest and has the utmost respect for it. He is brillant at his job, and looks after Dee and I very well. We are blessed to have such a guide.

Again, 1.5 hours down river on the boat - reflecting on what is the Amazon... It is a truely a wonder of the world. Teaming with life, diversity and world largest animals. The trip was exhausting, the heat, the animals, the rohe, the ngahere - it all takes it out of you. But we survived to tell the story, and we enjoy our last day in Lima (dinner tonight with Eli and Chris - our Quechua rider friends) and prepare to leave the South American continent - for Costa Rica apopo.

Thanks for reading the novel. Im getting another pisco sour...

And that was our Amazon journey.

Peace to all

 

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Life changing

Tena koutou e te whanau!

 

Well it's been an amazing life changing 4 days in the Andes mountains, hiking the ancient pathways that the Inca people laid to reach the city of Machu Picchu.

The journey from the beginning, pushed our boundaries in so many ways and levels physically, mentally and spiritually.

 

Tu and I have come closer together (if that was even possible!) after sharing this life-changing experience with each other. Profound respect for each other and appreciation for who we are, where we come from, our heritage, culture, language, whanau and friends.

 

The journey itself was physically gruelling in parts, and in other parts surreal and unbelievable as we came eye-level and face to face with clouds, snow capped mountain tops, Inca ruins, ancient (like years before Christ, ancient) ruins all through the trail. This was all possible because of our amazing guide from the Quechua people, Percy. As well as our 26 porters and chefs who travelled with our group of 14 through the 4 days (they were amazing! preparing all the meals and campsites)

 

Most of the trail is in its original form that was laid by the Inca themselves, so he honore NUI tenei te hikoi i nga ara o enei rangatira. One part in particular, we climb a mountain that is 4,200 metres above sea level, which is 800metres HIGHER than Aoraki. This was the hardest day of them all... but we got to the top, which was one of the best feelings ever.

 

Day 4 (yesterday), we awoke at 3am to prepare for the final hike up to the Sun Gate of Machu Picchu where the sun passes through this ancient ruin (ko Tama nui te ra te tino atua o ratou).

 

We reached the top of the Sun Gate just after dawn... moments of celebration and appreciation were shared as we had finally reached, Machu Picchu after 4 days of a very difficult (but hugely rewarding) hike.

 

As our group gets into a circle, our guide Percy asks Tu to speak. Tu turns to me, asks me to go into the circle...

 

He then got on one knee and asked me to marry him! Of course, I said YES!!!

 

Extremely happy, it's still sinking in... We're off to the Amazon Jungle tomorrow for a few days. Feeling very blessed, happy and excited for the future!

 

Arohanui, Tu & Dee

 

 

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