A little paradise on the Big Island

For those who don't know, for Steve's birthday this year (which was in February) I bought us flights to Hawaii for the Ironman* World Championship which takes place annually in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. For people like us who, for some inexplicable reason, enjoy participating in and/or spectating such events, it's a pretty big deal. The biggest, in fact. Speaking on behalf of Steve (What's new? It's the blog!),  I can confidently say that it was well worth the wait. 

Ahhh Kona. One word? Awesome. I guess I would describe Kona as similar to the old sunny coast - spectacularly beautiful, peaceful, chilled-out and unpretentious. Perfection really.  Of course for the majority of the time we were there, it was all of this after a few too many Powerbars and protein shakes!

Just one of the many spectacular views

Oh, and another - for good measure!

Our holiday began on Wednesday October 5th and we were off to a great start when Steve was reprimanded by US boarder protection/immigration officers because he had apparently reported a lost or stolen passport. He had not. So I spent a lovely, peaceful half an hour browsing my way through the duty free shops while he was stuck in a back-room presumably being interrogated by the FBI for his sinister behaviour! I had to laugh (yes, I know it's totally politically incorrect of me) when every second person coming through the doors was wearing a burqa or a hijab or a funny little hat or had a long plaited beard and Steve was the one with the FBI date. Thankfully he was finally released about 10 minutes before we had to board the plane. Phew!

Our flight to Kona was a long and arduous one. It involved a 2 hour flight to LA with a 2 hour stop over (I desperately wanted to spot a Kardashian – the chances were good - there are so many of them - but unfortunately it wasn't to be!), followed by a 5 and a half hour flight to Kailua-Kona. This flight was a big struggle for one reason - no personal tv's! Yes, we got stuck on a dodgy old domestic plane that still had one of those brick style cordless telephones stuck in the back of the middle seat head-rest. I actually got excited when at first glance I thought this was a remote (I don't know why the lack of personal tv's had escaped me?) and then Steve swiftly pointed out how much of an idiot I was... or am.. or both. Whatever. Of course because we couldn't pick and choose what we wanted to watch we were subjected to Cars 2 (Steve actually, and genuinely, yelled "yessss!" when the Captain announced this) and an episode of Hawaii Five-0. Consequently I had the Hawaii Five-0 theme song stuck in my head for the entire trip.

As a first time visitor to Hawaii (and following 25 years of watching Hawaii-based movies and listening to the Beach Boys) I was irrationally excited about two specific things - someone saying "aloha" to me for the first time, and receiving a lei as I stepped off the plane. Was this too much to ask? Apparently, yes. I'm happy to report I came out 50/50. I received my first "aloha" from a flight attendant as I stepped off the plane but sadly, was not greeted with a lei. I didn't realise it at the time, but it seems you have to either A) stay at a really expensive hotel, B) buy your own, or C) complete an Ironman in under 17 hours to receive a lei in Hawaii.

Thursday was spent embracing the Ironman love in the lead up to Saturday's race. Steve took this literally ....

Steve + Chris "Macca" McCormack

Steve + Chris Lieto

Steve + Craig "Crowie" Alexander

I think he almost wet his pants with excitement when he saw how big the expo was. Then he almost fainted when Daniel Fontana (our pro friend from Cancun) walked up and starting chatting to us.  So our first day in Kona consisted of stalking athletes, coffee at Lava Java (a local coffee shop and athlete haunt) and meeting up with one of our fellow Activ cyclists who qualified and was racing on Saturday. We also spent some time walking around the main part of town, soaking up the atmosphere and feeling self conscious about our own athletic inadequacies! After 7 months of no cycling and little sunlight, my pale, flabby body certainly stood out amongst a sea of toned, tanned calves and veiny arms. 

So our hotel was at a place called Keauhou Beach - about a $20 cab ride into the main town. Fortunately for us, there was a town Trolley Service ($2 per person, per ride) that came right past our hotel. Unfortunately for us (and for me in particular, being the anal retentive person I am) the Trolley never ran on time. In fact, sometimes it just didn't turn up at all. So we ended up learning about the concept of "Island Time" the hard way. To be fair the schedule did clearly state "Subject to change without notice" ... yeah, EVERY DAY. In the end I couldn't even tell you how much we spent on cabs, but it was a lot! Nevertheless an important lesson was learned - next time we'll be renting a car!

The view from our balcony!

Some good old Hawaiian surf!

Ah, the Trolley!

So Ironman day (Saturday) rolled around and it was all very exciting. I was particularly looking forward to the swim start - hearing the cannon fire and seeing the whitewash as the age group athletes took off on their respective Ironman journeys. It was pretty impressive!

This is just a small snapshot of a much larger age group contingent. All up there were approximately 1800 athletes!

I must say it was nice to not have to be checking my watch or worried about getting a perfect photo or cheering loudly enough for once! Nevertheless Steve wanted me to show him what the entire supporter "experience" was like - which I attempted to do - however about 20 minutes after the swim start he decided to do whatever he wanted and proceed to tell me every half an hour how "easy" supporting at a long distance triathlon event is. This said, I decided to bite my tongue and instead make a mental note of a few key supporter "fails" - keeping in mind it was my intention (before he hijacked the day) to expose him to the true supporter experience...

It all started with a dream...  several weeks before our holiday I had a dream that we were finally getting married (I know - crazy!). So I made my way down the aisle in front of all our guests, but when I got to the end Steve wasn't there. "Where was he?" you ask? Oh, just in the toilet. So in my dream, my delightful husband-to-be missed our entire wedding because he had more important things to attend to in the lavatory. Charming. And sadly, not at all unusual. This story effectively conveys my frustration for a large portion of the morning of Ironman. Yep. Following the swim start someone had to go to the toilet, so we ended up spending a good 40 minutes searching for one and ended up missing seeing the pro's come out of the swim. Supporter Fail #1 - Putting your bladder before the opportunity to hustle for a prime viewing position and/or viewing crucial race moments.

Steve's Supporter Fail #2 came in the form of Steve missing shots of Pete (our Activ cyclist friend) on the bike leg as he was too busy gas-bagging to someone else. This one needs no further explanation. Supporter Fail #2 - missing crucial photos because you are gas-bagging and/or attending to your own, trivial needs.

Finally, Supporter Fail #3 reared it's ugly head 2 minutes before Craig Alexander (the eventual winner) was about to cross the finish line. Steve was hungry so had decided to wander off and order a panini and a smoothie. Knowing it wasn't long before the pro athletes would begin to cross the finish line, any practiced supporter would opt to suppress the hunger and wait, at least to see the winner cross. But no, Steve orders and then proceeds to get stuck in the cafe waiting for his food. Fortunately he redeemed himself, arriving just in time to take some finisher photos of Craig. Supporter Fail #3 - Putting your hunger needs before milestone athlete moments.

We love the Crowie bandwagon!

Supporting is tough work!

Crowie on his way to the finish line!

Pete (from Activ) finishing his race!

To be honest, he did pretty well overall. Yet I maintain that support crew do it tough out there too. Perhaps not as tough as the athletes, but tough enough. And we should be aptly rewarded. Despite these minor supporter mishaps, we really enjoyed the day. We were lucky enough to get to cheer on some people we knew (which is always a plus) and amused ourselves with shave ice (it's delicious!) and other tasty treats. I also amused myself for about an hour by filming this hilarious Korean supporter - what a champion! The video doesn't do him justice but it will give you a bit of an idea...

Shave ice - yum!

It was a very long day in the end - a 4 am start (to get a good viewing spot) and a midnight finish. We ended up at the finish line at about 7.30pm and cheered for 4 and a half hours consecutively.  Thankfully the music was loud, the people were entertaining and Steve had his 5 hour energy shots (I don't believe in that rubbish!!). And let me tell you Mike Rielly & Co. really put that "Tic-Tock" Noosa man to shame! We were so glad we stayed until the very end and would do it again in a heartbeat - that's when you're really inspired. I've always believed it's not really about the professional athletes but more about the amazing stories and achievements of the "everyday" people. Amongst the finishers we cheered in within the last hour (between hour 16 and 17) when foil blankets seem to be the attire of choice -  an 81 year old man (the oldest male competitor), a 76 year old woman (the oldest female competitor), a mother of 3 who has stage 4 colon cancer and is currently (yes, currently) undergoing chemotherapy and several breast cancer survivors and type 1 diabetics.  The whole experience really cemented my belief - truly inspirational and very humbling.

Steve and his beloved 5 hour energy shot

Let the dancing begin!

This is just a snap shot ...

 

The  triple amputee finisher!!

Above all, I think the most interesting observation I made all day was that when all is said and done, Kona is just the same as every other Ironman event. Everyone is still out there, doing their best, struggling with their own mental battles and pushing themselves to their absolute maximum. The highs, the lows, the trials and tribulations - it's no different. Don't get me wrong - it's a really special experience - but so is every other Ironman event. Obviously what sets Kona apart from the rest is that participants (in most cases) need to qualify, but getting there is the hard part. The most refreshing thing about Kona is that participants can just enjoy their race because, for age groupers, they've really reached the pinnacle.  

Sunday was fairly slow for us, but we did spend the majority of the day chilling out and snorkeling at Keauhou beach with the most beautiful tropical fish and so many sea turtles. The sea turtles were one of the highlights of my entire trip - I could spend hours just watching them. The other highlight of my trip was of course snorkeling with the dolphins which we did in an organised tour on the Monday. I would highly recommend it and would do this again in a heartbeat - it was magical! We spent a good two hours in the water snorkeling with Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins - they are so used to human contact that they come up and swim beside you, around you, underneath you - and during our trip we each swam with up to 10 at any one time. Sometimes they'd let us catch up to them and swim along with them and other times they'd just take off. Truly amazing!

Sunlight on Water - the group we did our dolphin tour with

Spinner Dolphins!

Feeling a little depressed about our holiday coming to an end, we decided we'd rent a paddle board on the Tuesday in an attempt to make the most of the little time we had left - great idea by us! Paddle boarding was so much fun (even though neither of us had done it before) and it was pretty funny when at first we both fell off a couple of times. It took a little while to get the hang of it but once we did it was awesome (except perhaps for the time I couldn't turn it around and ended up almost crashing into rocks on the other side of the beach!). We then completed the day with lunch at the Kona Brewing Company and dinner (before catching our flight) at our beloved Lava Java cafe (oh, we're such triathlon groupies!!).

Paddle boarding

More paddle boarding ...

And a beer at the Kona Brewing Company to salute a great trip!

Not at all commercial, fake, touristy or tacky,  Kona is breathtaking yet simple. It's a truly peaceful place (even in the midst of Ironman) and never takes itself too seriously. Please don't change Kona, I love you just the way you are.

The week that was...

 * Ironman - a long distance triathlon consisting of a 3.8km swim, 180km bike & 42.2km (yes, an entire marathon) run.

Mexico 1.0: Cancun - machetes, machine guns & margaritas!

Oh... and sun, sand and ... a surf beach too! They're a given in Cancun, right? I never thought two of the three M's above would also be givens, but that's what you get when you leave Cancun's "Zona Hotelera" (I bet you can translate that all by yourselves) ... but I'll get to that adventure in a minute ...

First and foremost I must start at the beginning ... (or almost, anyway) Texas airport! I'm sure you've heard the common saying "everything is bigger in Texas" - this couldn't be more accurate. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that if Natalie lived in Texas (bear with me, only talking in third person for un momento) she'd be a helluva lot bigger too! The ribs at the airport alone were a sight to see, not to mention the rest of the smorgasbord of deliciously saucy, fatty food. So Texas airport was fun, but I didn't enjoy the generally rude people and the stupid airport buggies motoring back and forth every two minutes deliberately trying to run people over. They didn't even have horns, so the airport workers driving them would just yell at people to get out of the way. That was kinda funny actually (but not when you almost get run over!)

Pre Race Day

So despite the numerous attempts by Texas airport staff to run us over, we eventually made it to Cancun in once piece. Unfortunately Steve's beloved bike was not so fortunate as it had a few hiccups in transit (he tries not to think about it!) so Thursday for us was spent mostly learning that Mexican hotel workers don't understand a large majority of words associated with triathlon and/or cycling/bikes in general .. in any capacity at all. Steve's conversations with the hotel workers went something like this ....

Steve: {in long, slow, drawn-out speech} Hi. I was wondering where I can find the bike mechanic. I am doing the triathlon on Sunday and my bike was damaged on the flight here. I have to find the mechanic so I can get it fixed. The brakes aren't working. The mechanic is supposed to be at the host hotel which is next door but I am wondering if there is a bike mechanic in Cancun that specifically works with road or triathlon bikes. I need to find a bike shop.

Mexican Hotel Worker: {nods, with a perplexed look on his face} ... {no response} ... 

*PAUSE*

(Based on my analysis of the situation as it unfolded before me, I have determined the words I believe the hotel worker understood. You'll see these are the only words that remain in the paragraph above...)

Following what can only be described as an extraordinary language/translation FAIL , Steve's rule for the rest of the trip was "just don't talk to the Mexicans" ... that was until the tables turned and I became 'The Blitz' (you'll get this if you watch How I Met Your Mother). Consequently, my rule for the final four days was "just don't talk to Mexicans!".

So we stayed at the Grand Oasis Resort which was pretty spectacular. It was even better because September is low season in Cancun so the hotel was fairly quiet. Let's just say I'm pretty sure I couldn't handle it in peak season ... not for a second! Steve was excited during our first buffet breakfast morning (and not just for the buffet breakfast!) when he met three pro athletes who race for a team in Italy who were in Cancun for the race and who were staying at our hotel. He was even more excited when they asked if he was a pro as well. Mind you, the question of his pro status was not exclusive to the Italian athletes, he was asked twice more by completely different people. I can confirm his head has remained inflated (as a side note he just came in and told me to make sure there are lots of photos of him in this post because in the last post there were none!!). We like to think the Italians stalked us for the remainder of the trip too, as they seemed to eat everywhere and at exactly the same time as us!

One of the many snack & drink bars ... and the view - yes, it really does look like that!

Another tough day in Cancun

Relaxing by the pool

Posing ... like a "pro"

Buffet breakfast time - Steve's favourite!

There are so many fun memories from our Cancun trip, it would be impossible to detail every single one (and you know I'd love to). I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed the open bar full of pretty much any cocktail you like (they free-pour) while lovingly nicknaming Steve "dorky water-bottle guy" ("hydration" was the motto, you know!) for the first 4 days. I guess in a nut shell, hanging out at the resort was just like being on a cruise, minus the cruise part! After just three days I also declared that I had heard enough Black Eyed Peas, Rihanna and Usher to last a lifetime! All part of the fun of Cancun! I am also positive that I was absolutely the whitest person there. For once I was the minority and it was a little unnerving, I must admit.

A little volleyball, anyone?

Or perhaps a little more pool time ...

Ahh the beautiful beach ... and our beautiful faces ... hah

Yes Steven, you're in Cancun, and it's AWESOME.

So for the first few days I kept trying to remember to use Spanish when I could as I thought I may as well embrace it (even though I felt like an idiot) when I was there. The only problem was that my stupid brain kept jumbling up all the bits and pieces of languages I know, so every time I went to say "Hola", "Bonjour" would almost/half come out instead - total dork moments! A few times I heard a little "Buongiorno" slip out too. I kept getting so nervous before having to say "hello", "please" and "thank you" that I kept making myself practice in my head. Total disaster. I am happy to report after 8 days of freaking, I finally got my "Si's" and my "Gracias"'s down-pat! It also took me a few days to stop doing thumbs up to people back in Canada when I had to say "yes please" or "thanks" ... embarrassing!!

Part of my birthday present from Steve was a half day spa which I got to enjoy while we were in Cancun. I highly recommend a day at the spa in Cancun - cheap and luxurious! - I had a facial, massage and a chocolate body exfoliation and wrap - I smelled like chocolate icing!! (I even had one of those 'lip smacker' moments when you think that if you just had a tiny taste it might actually taste like it smells... but I promise I didn't, because let's face it, that's also a bit weird ...)

Race Day

So race day was pretty spectacular ... and spectacularly hot! What made it worse from the perspective of a spectator were the smelly mangroves by the course - worse than Vancouver port-a-loos... but not as bad as Mexican port-a-loos!! Seriously, the smell was so bad that I even had to weigh up the possibility of dehydration vs. having to step into one of the grotesque port-a-loos. In fact, I do not lie when I say I dry-reached every time there was a slight breeze. 

Steve raced really well despite the incredible heat. He was 3^rd after the swim & bike, but the heat eventually took its toll and he slipped to 7th by the finish. Nevertheless, an awesome effort - particularly under the conditions - I saw plenty of people collapsing all over the place after crossing the finish line! One of Steve's new pro friends came second overall and after catching up with him post-race we found out he'll be in Kona so we'll have someone we know to cheer for! 

Swim start

Getting ready to head off to the swim start!

The tough run!

More tough running... (I think this is when I yelled out "C'mon Steve, only 10k's to go" and almost copped a punch)

Our Mini Mexican Road Trip

In the days following the race, we took it pretty easy. We basically relaxed at beach and drank cocktails by the pool. All in all a tough life really! 

Knowing what I know now, I would question our sanity, but on our last full day in Cancun we decided to hire a little car and head off on what I like to call our "Mini Mexican Road Trip" - a 2.5 hour "quest" to Chichen Itza (an ancient Mayan site south-west of Cancun) and to find a cenote (a deep, natural sinkhole).

Getting to Chichen Itza was fairly straightforward as we cleverly decided to take the highway and pay the respective tolls (they get you twice over - State & Federal taxes - for everything). When we arrived there we realised we'd used all our money to pay the tolls and the various taxes to enter the site so we didn't have cash readily available to pay a tour guide. This was our first mistake. We ended up spending most of the two hours there inconspicuously following English tour guides around, listening to bits and pieces of the tours for free like massive tightarses. I even posed for photos near bits and pieces of different monuments so we could both listen to the tours without being completely obvious (I bet we still were!). 

Road Trip: The beginning (there is no Road Trip: The end shot - read on and it's self explanatory really....)

Vultures! Eww...

Road trip! Woo!

We amused ourselves by interpreting the road signs e.g. If you have a question, phone 'E' and he'll wash your hands!

I'm sure I was learning something interesting about these ruins when this photo was taken ...

Epic ruins

I'm not going to pretend I remember what this one was ... there wasn't a tour around when we were taking this photo!

He was a poser!!

Following our trip to Chichen Itza we stopped by a cenote and went for a swim - amazing!! The water was pretty cold (but welcomed) and we had a great time. It was certainly beautiful getting to swim in the clear, fresh water and with these huge fish (they looked like massive Black Moore Goldfish).

Some video footage of our jumps ...

 

The whole day was certainly an eye-opening experience for me. During our trip home we drove through many little towns of Yucatan and Quintana Roo, and having never seen any real poverty in my life, I was certainly taken aback. It definitely provided a swift reality check after spending the previous six days in the comfort of an all-inclusive resort. This said, I don't regret it for a second. Certainly the little towns versus the massive, multimillion dollar resorts - polar opposites - the contrasts between the 'Hotel Zone' and the rest of the state could not be more stark. As an animal lover what affected me the most were the skinny, stray dogs roaming the streets and the highway. It was pretty heartbreaking. Of course this probably sounds ridiculous to most people, given the apparent human poverty, but what frustrated me even more was the fact that the people were generally pretty well-rounded (let's say), yet the dogs were skin and bone. It made me sick to my stomach - I wanted to stop and feed the dogs, but at the same time I didn't want to get knifed by a machete! Yes, a machete. I even had to double-take when I saw my first one. After that day, I was a machete and machine gun pro! Everywhere we drove there were people roaming around with machetes slung on their waists and official-looking soldiers of some sort carrying machine guns. We decided to look straight ahead and for this reason, I have no photographs!! I am told that the machetes would, most likely, not be for us, but for doing day-to-day things like slashing long grass (I actually did see this happening) or ... slicing the top off a bottle of coke (yes, I saw this happening too!!). Handy things those machetes ... 

Good old Coca Cola -  transcends social class!

So on the way home it's safe to say we got a little lost.  In fact, we arrived back at the resort about 2 hours later than anticipated. But that's the good news and boy was I glad! For a moment there I thought we'd I'd never make it alive. I am not exaggerating!! (maybe just a little). Steve was the driver for our trip so, naturally, I was the navigator. This is clearly not my forte. Mind you, I managed to navigate us home, through central Cancun (over a million potholes) and back to the Hotel Zone (I can't tell you the relief I felt when I saw that big, beautiful 'Zona Hotelera' sign) using only a tourist map. That's right - no detailed street directory or even a Google map. Just a good old lame, vague, colourful tourist map. You bet I was cursing the hire-car guy who assured us it was easy ("so easy") to navigate using just the tourist map and the road signs. Of course it was easy for him - he's fluent in Spanish!

Nevertheless I am happy to report that impromptu mini Mexican road trips strengthen relationships ...

Every now and then, after a big, wonderful trip, the inevitable post-holiday blues ensue. But once you’ve been back for a few days you remember that life isn’t so bad where it’s at … in fact, it’s pretty damn good.