Last one on Hawaii!!…

This is the last post of Hawaii, I really hope you liked the other ones; however, this one’s my favorite. I don’t think there is a better way to express what Hawaii was for me than this photo shoot in the beach, you can see the waves, the beach, the mountains, and one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, a true recommendation and a must do here in Hawaii. In the pictures, I am in a beach called “Big Beach” (2.4 km long) in the area of Makena. We drove one and a half hours to get to this amazing beach, I had heard that it was one of the bests in Maui, specially for locals. The beach is beautiful, the waves are impressive, and it is really clean; besides you can bring as much as you can handle from your house, either if it’s food, towels, chairs, surf boards, anything to spend a day full of adventure and relaxation at the same time. In Makena, you can also find “Little Beach” (200 m) a beach which is separated from Big Beach by a steep lava outcropping just 5 minutes away. Locals go to Little Beach on sundays to dance on a celebration of drums and fire; and it’s the only beach on the island where people can sunbathe and swim naked… I’ll leave this part to you, but do visit the beaches, they are amazing and waiting for you to be discovered!! Also while you’re there, you must visit Wailea, a resort area just around the corner, it has one of the best shopping malls of the island and really good hotels. Thanks for reading.

Este es el último post acerca de Hawaii, realmente espero que les hayan gustado los pasados; sin embargo, este es mi favorito. No creo que haya mejor manera de expresar lo que Hawaii fue para mi que este foto shoot en la playa; aquí pude disfrutar la playa, el mar, las montañas y uno de los mejores atardeceres que he visto en mi vida, una verdadera recomendación y un “must do” aquí en Hawaii. En estas fotos, estoy en una playa que se llama “Big Beach” (2.4 km de largo) en el área de Makena. Manejamos una hora y media para llegar a esta playa, había escuchado que era una de las mejores de Maui, especialmente para los locales. La playa esta hermosa, las olas impresionantes y está muy limpia; además pueden traer lo que quieran de su casa, comida, bebidas, sillas, toallas, tablas de surf, lo que se les ocurra para pasar un día lleno de aventura y relajación al mismo tiempo. En Makena, también pueden visitar una playa a 5 minutos caminando de Big Beach, ésta se llama Little Beach con sólo 200 m de largo. Los locales van a esta playa los domingos para bailar con tambores y espectáculos de fuego; también es la única playa en la isla que la policía permite a la gente asolearse y nadar desnudos…esta parte se las dejo a ustedes, pero si visiten las playas, realmente son espectaculares!! Ya que están ahí en Makena, manejen sólo 10 minutos a Wailea, es una zona hotelera muy bonita, con hoteles muy padres y tiene uno de los centros comerciales más grandes de la isla. Gracias por leer!!!!

Surfing USA…!!

Hello readers!! In Hawaii, a lot of what locals do are aquatic sports, they live to surf, paddle, kayak, and relax on the beach. The weather allows for these activities most of the seasons throughout the year, so locals just enjoy the ride and have some fun at the same time. When you drive by the island, in every piece of beach, you can see a lot of people surfing, and stand up paddle surfing; so I figured, why not try something to feel and experience as a local?!! Therefore, Daniel and I decided to take surfing lessons, the concierge at the hotel recommended us a great company for beginners that has two locations in the island just in case one of them fills out really quickly, which they do. We reserved our spot for two hours at $85 USD per person, it is a little bit expensive but believe me, after the class finishes it will be totally worth it, it is extremely fun and exciting. The company is called “Royal Hawaiian Surf Academy,” it has locations in Lahaina, and in Kaanapali. We went to Kaanapali which is inside a hotel so the access to the beach was easy. As soon as we arrived, we met our instructor, who dedicates his life to teach surfing and surfing. He explained everything we needed to know: the parts of the board, how to stand, how to paddle, where to position ourselves within the board and then, he made us practice on the sand. 30 minutes after, we were heading to the sea to try our “knowledge.” He was pretty straightforward and he made it feel really easy, we took turns and he helped us take the waves, all we had to do is “stand up.” As you can see in the pictures I managed to do it a few times, it felt amazing!!

If you want to try something different and exciting you should really try surfing, it will let you crave for more!! When was the last time you did something for the first time??!! Oh, and don’t forget: keep it local!!! Thank you for reading!!!

 

Hola a todos mis lectores!!! En Hawai, lo que hace la mayoría de los locales son deportes acuáticos, ellos viven para surfear, remar, remar parados en una tabla especial, pasear en kayac, o simplemente relajarse en la playa. El clima permite que éstas actividades se realicen casi todas las temporadas del año, así que los locales aprovechan la oportunidad y se divierten. Es impresionante cómo cuando van manejando alrededor de la isla, en cada lugar que hay playa, se puede ver a muchas personas surfeando o remando parados en lo que se llama el paddle board, es por esto que decidí probar una de estas actividades para sentirme como un local en Hawai. Daniel y yo decidimos tomar clases de surf, el concierge del hotel nos recomendó una compañía que se dedica a entrenar a principiantes y que además tienen dos ubicaciones en la isla por si uno de ellos se llena rápido, lo cuál es bastante común. Reservamos nuestro lugar por $85 dólares por persona (una clase de dos horas), puede ser un poco cara, pero cuando termine la clase, sentirán que vale mucho la pena, es muy divertido y emocionante. La compañía se llama “Royal Hawaiian Surf Academy,” ubicada en Lahaina y en Kaanapali. Nosotros reservamos en Kaanapali, que está dentro de un hotel y la entrada a la playa es muy accesible. En cuanto llegamos, conocimos a nuestro instructor, quien dedica su vida a enseñar a surfear y a surfear. Nos enseño todo lo necesario para empezar: las partes de la tabla, como remar, en qué posición colocarnos en la tabla y lo más importante, cómo pararnos. Después de 30 minutos de practicar, nos fuimos al mar a probar nuestros “conocimientos.” El maestro fue muy claro y nos hizo sentir que todo era muy fácil, lo cual nos dio seguridad para poder hacerlo. Tomamos turnos y el nos ayudaba a tomar las olas, lo único que nosotros debíamos hacer era “pararnos.” Como pueden ver en las fotos, logré pararme un par de veces, se sintió increíble!!!

Así que ya saben, si quieren hacer algo totalmente diferente y emocionante, deben probar surfear, los dejará con ganas de más. Cuándo fue la última vez que hicieron algo por primera vez?? Ah, y no se olviden: Keep it local!!! Gracias por leer!!!

 

Hawaiian Symbol!!

When we arrived to Hawaii, we all wanted the traditional flower necklace you see on the movies, we didn’t even know what it was or why it is given for. However, after taking a “lei making” class I knew all about it. The necklace is actually called “lei” it is an ancient tradition in Hawaii brought by the Polynesian people, it can be made from leaves, flowers, shells, nuts, and even teeth from several animals. It is used as a symbol of beauty and uniqueness, given to one another in celebrations, such as graduations, weddings, anniversaries, or to symbolize your love for someone special. Several years ago the lei was given to welcome Malihini (visitors) and Kama’aina (locals) back home, it is said that when leaving the islands by boat, people would throw their lei (there is no singular or plural distinction in Hawaiian language) to the ocean hoping to return to the islands. Now the lei is the Hawaiian symbol to millions of visitors. Anyone can wear a lei and locals have several of them and use them in special occasions. There are some rules, however, to using the lei, if someone gives it to you, you cannot take it off in front of the person who gave it to you (it is considered rude); and the lei should rest in your shoulders hanging in front and in your back, you can wear as many as people give you in one day, there is no rule for that.

The class I took was from the hotel, and it truly was amazing. First of all it is free, and you can make as many lei as you want to. They taught us how to make the flower lei, there were hand picked flowers and you use a special long needle with a string to bond all the flowers together. It is made carefully and as it said on the brochure they gave us: “as a reflection of your love and affection for each other. As you exchange this lei, you will now begin to weave your own lei of life.” I absolutely enjoyed doing this, it is good to know how this tradition started and why it became such an important Aloha welcoming gift for tourists. Hope you like the pictures and the information, and remember always to keep it local!!!

Like a walk in The Park?…

I am having so much fun writing about what I see and experience, I hope you are liking my posts, let me know what you like or what you don’t. I am creating “FEELING FRIDAY” (new section on the blog) because I want to post things (only on fridays) about what I’m feeling or thinking related to some places I visit or something I experience, I hope you like it. It could also be a tip (healthy tip, fitness tip, travel tip, cooking tip, etc) or a quote, or something you “should know about something.” Here is my first one:

I’m in New York City, my favorite city in the world. When I’m here I always take a walk on Central Park, a place tourists see as “another NYC attraction,” locals see comfort, escape, and getaway from the madness that the concrete jungle has. New Yorkers go to Central Park to wander, to think, to find the sun, relaxation, serenity, and release stress by doing exercise. They take long walks on the park to find a bench to read, to find the perfect spot for their wedding picture, to find the quiet place to sit and think, to take a class, to find inspiration for their art, to play, to jog, to run, to dance, or just to belong. For them a walk in this park is revelation…

For you, what is a walk on the park???

Me estoy divirtiendo mucho escribiendo sobre lo que veo y las experiencias que estos lugares me dejan, espero les gusten mis posts, háganme saber lo que les gusta y lo que no. Estoy creando “FEELING FRIDAY” (una nueva sección en el blog) porque quiero escribir cosas (solo los viernes) acerca de lo que siento o pienso, relacionado con los lugares que visito o alguna experiencia en especifico, espero les guste. También puede ser algún consejo (de salud, de ejercicio, de cocina, de viaje, etc.) una frase, o “lo que deberían saber” sobre algo. Aquí está el primer “FEELING FRIDAY:”

Estoy en Nueva York, mi ciudad favorita en el mundo. Cuando vengo siempre trato de caminar en Central Park, un lugar que los turistas ven como “una atracción más,” los locales lo ven como un lugar de confort, y escape de todo lo que es la jungla de concreto. Los Neoyorquinos van a Central Park a pasear, a pensar, a encontrar el sol, relajación, serenidad, y a liberar el estrés haciendo ejercicio. Ellos toman largas caminatas en el parque para encontrar una banca donde leer, encontrar el lugar perfecto para su foto de bodas, encontrar un lugar callado para pensar, para tomar una clase, encontrar inspiración para su arte, para jugar, correr, bailar, o simplemente pertenecer. Para ellos, una caminata en este parque es revelación…

Para ti, ¿¿¿que es una caminata en el parque???