Solo Camping at Inks Lake State Park in November, 2018

 Last week I returned from a two night solo camping trip with my dog.

This may appear to be a blog about a solo camping trip. And it is that as well. But mostly, it is a blog about life: solo, female, single, child-free, middle-aged life. A new kind of life form, that this planet may have never seen before.

So, although it appears on the surface to be just a simple two night camping trip, it is actually a study in leading edge existence, in my very humble opinion. The motivation for this is simply to create, because I have become very stuck lately (mid-life crisis?) and I don’t know what to do besides create something in order to examine and to know myself. And writing has always come the most naturally for me to do that. When I was young and had barely learned how to write, I would sit amidst the family Sunday lunch chaos and write little stories in my notebooks. I read Lonesome Dove and Gone With The Wind and The Shell Seekers as an 11 year old. I would use a flashlight in my closet after lights out to read more. Words and stories have always been my beacon, as well as animals, and so now, in the 40th year of life, I return to words and stories, for no other reason than I know they can, as they always have, keep me afloat.

And also because, as Socrates said at his trial for corrupting youth and impiety, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” I cannot agree more. And he said that in 399 BC. Did we hear him? I don’t know. I can’t be the judge of others, but I can make an effort to do what I think examining life is. So here is my attempt to examine life through a solo camping trip and a written account of it.

I went to Inks Lake, near Burnet, Texas. I had been trying to go for six weeks, but it was always raining or freezing and I kept rescheduling. I wasted probably $50 in rescheduling fees and for not actually rescheduling in time the last time and having to re-book entirely.

I watched videos on how to: set up a tent, wash a tent, start a campfire, cook on a fire, and hang a hammock. I had to order a fly pole (pole that holds the top layer of the tent to either side to keep rain and sun offf) off the internet, after going to REI and learning that was the only way to get one (and also buying what I thought I needed on Amazon, but turned out to be a MASSIVE pole about 10 feet long and half inch diameter). I bought a small cooler, sleeping bag, air mattress, air mattress pump, fire starter, and head lamp. I really wanted a knife, but they were too expensive.

I had bought all the food I’d need before I left. I had bought a cute teal colored cooler and it was perfect sized for the food. I had too much, as originally I was going to go for three nights. I had a huge steak I was planning to cut and eat a third of each night. And I had 2 brats, some bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese inside, 6 shrimp, and veggies. I had salami for sandwiches for lunch. A bottle of wine, which I would mix with apple cider and cinnamon sticks and heat, and some whiskey.

I had my ex’s old tent he gave me, so I wanted to wash it, as it is literally 7 years old. I got special tech wash stuff off Amazon and washed it in the bathtub. It was laborious, and I almost regretted having a clean freak gene.

I left Austin about 2pm after walking client dogs. It was a 1.5 hour drive out 71 then north to the lake. I passed through the town of Marble Falls. It got pretty Texan looking — which was awesome. I remember seeing a cowboy-hatted man next to his pickup truck checking his mail at the end of his long rural driveway.

I arrived at Inks Lake, checked in at the ranger station, and went up to the site. It was not the best site by a long shot, but it was hard to tell from the website photos how good the sites were, and I was so tired of rescheduling I just picked one of the ones I felt happy about and booked it. The fire pit was centrally located, which is what I had wanted.

It turned out to be a really lovely campground — bathrooms and showers were amazing, there was a campground store stocked with anything you may have forgotten, and there were firewood dispensers all over the park. I didn’t know this (bad research), so stopped at Home Depot for firewood and a store just outside the grounds for ice. I’m sure both were cheaper doing so. In fact, I know the firewood was about $2 cheaper a bundle.

I got out the folding chair and had a beer before I set up the tent. The tent was easy to set up, and I was using a shower curtain as a footprint, as the tent had lost it’s footprint. (I actually don’t know why my ex even “gave” me this tent instead of telling me that it really wasn’t any good anymore. There were little duct taped spots here and there on it and it was missing two kind of important things). When I saw that footprints were about $35 I decided to research what to use instead. And that’s where I found the shower curtain idea. I also learned that the purpose of footprints are to keep the water on the ground away from the tent bottom. As well as simply protect the bottom of the tent. Some people put the footprint inside their tent, as a fully dry layer to have.

I didn’t lay the shower curtain out very well, and didn’t cut it to shape as planned (make sure it doesn’t extend past the tent floor because then the rain will just fall on it and slide right between the tent and the footprint, defeating the purpose of the footprint) but it wasn’t forecast to rain anyway, so I wasn’t that concerned.

Within about an hour I got in trouble for having alcohol visible on my table. (This country is a little overly paranoid about alcohol). Not really in trouble, just very nicely asked to cover it up.

I didn’t get the hammock up. I tried. It was fun practicing the knots I had learned. I didn’t have the right ropes or caribiners. I plan on buying those for next time!

Then it was time to unpack, start the fire, and cook. I did the Jenga style thing with the firewood logs, and it took a while to light, but it caught. I threw the shrimp on first. I didn’t know how long they were supposed to cook, but they tasted great when I took them off! Then I did a sausage and some dates and peppers. I spent the evening drinking mulled wine and listening to music.

It wasn’t cold at all, just chilly. I had my headlamp on, and had a great lantern on the table. I expected some raccoons, but nothing! I didn’t see one the whole two days.

I made s’mores. I basically went camping so I could eat s’mores, really. So good.

Then I put the cooler and food in the car, hung trash up on the pole, brushed teeth, climbed in the tent. My dog was totally confused and generally ungrateful for the beautiful outdoor experience I was providing him. I had brought his bed and he hunkered down, occasionally growling at something he heard, which was totally unsettling of him and I didn’t appreciate it one bit! I woke up a few times, mostly because of coyote howling, which was freaky and fascinating. It was definitely a bit nerve-wracking sleeping alone in a tent in a state park. It was pitch black and super quiet. So I was grateful for morning!

In the morning I took a shower. The showers were so nice for campground showers. No bugs, clean, warm water. Then I went to the campground store in hopes they would have coffee. I didn’t bring any, as I didn’t want to start a morning fire, to save firewood. And they did! I was really grateful, because it had been exhausting doing all that yesterday! Definitely deserved that coffee.

We then walked on the shore of the lake for a while, then went back to the site and got ready for a hike. We did a great little hike and then I made a sandwich, read my book, took a nap, and sat by the lake in the sun. Then it was time for another hike at the other end of the park. It was beautiful, weather was great, and we saw only 5 people. Then we went back to the site and started a fire and I got to cooking. I got the fire started much faster this time. I think because I was using the rest of my fire starter. I had read online that dryer lint makes for a good fire starter, so I’d been collecting it. And it did!

The next morning I attempted to start a fire and cook some of the last of the meat so I could take it home cooked and not on ice. But I had run out of starter and only had two big logs. So it took forever to catch and even then it was such a sad little fire. I did manage to get the rest of the steak fairly cooked and the sausage I was cooking fell into the ashes. I had to be out by noon, and taking the tent down and packing up the car took a bit of time. I finally shoved everything in there and we hit the road home. I stopped for coffee in Marble Falls. Both of us were a complete mess. Paz (dog) kept lying on the ground instead of the beds I had brought, so he was covered in burrs constantly and smelled like smoke. And my hair smelled like smoke, of course. As well as my clothes. And the car was a total mess too.

I wanted to take a scenic route home, and Google Maps helped me get lost to do so. We went on a gravel road for about 5 miles and passed a lot of big ranches. It was true Texas.

When I got home I unpacked, started laundry, showered, washed the dog, and then took the car for a wash.

Mission accomplished!! I am proud of myself and looking forward to doing it again.

A solo camping trip, an examined life. And also a hope that my experience and account can bring something helpful to someone’s life.

Puerto Rico. March, 2019.

I am obsessed with beaches, the sun, the ocean, islands, budget travel, and Latin America.  :) Puerto Rico was affordable, so I jumped on it.  Also, my Spanish just really needs to get better, so I found Puerto Rico less intimidating in that respect.

Costs:
Flight (one stop in Ft. Lauderdale): $280  (which is more than I should have paid. Time it better and you can get same flight for $230)
First leg on Jet Blue, second on Spirit.

Accomodation: $220
Car Rental: $120
Gas: $40
Food: $200
Drink: $100
Entrance Fees and boat tour:  $80

Total:  $1,040

3 days and 4 nights in Old San Juan.
3 nights at an AirBnB in Ponce.

I researched the history of Puerto Rico a little bit.  I didn't know much about it all, except that it's "occupied" by the US.  I learned that the US aquired it in 1898 in the US initiated Spanish-American War.  Puerto Rico had belonged to Spain before then. Which is incredible to me, that Spain held onto it for that long. It is actually the only colony that never became independent. Sadly, it was given self rule by Spain just 6 months before the US invaded.  And it's also super amazing to me that Puerto Rico is still a colony of the US. It's truly a modern day colony.  Because the US controls the basic functional elements of it: currency, communications, trade, laws, immigration, social benefits, etc.  The US has the final say on all of it and the citizens don't get to vote or have represenation in Congress.  So yeah, that is a colony, just like the colonies from 500 years ago.

Already, there is that, making this place strange.  Then, there's the ethnic make up.  Slavery was not abolished until 1873, when almost 30,000 slaves were freed.  So African influence is strong in all aspects of culture.  As well as Spanish and indigenous.  So the ethnic diversity is much different to Austin, and it made being there feel so strangely comfortable and wonderful.  Like how life really should be.

The indigenous peoples of Puerto Rico when Columbus arrived were called Taino.  They populated most of the Caribbean, and apparently the big boss of them all was the tallest of them and lived on Puerto Rico.  They were small and did not have steel, so were easy for the Spanish to savagely destroy.

Puerto Rico was ethnically diverse, which I really enjoyed.

I landed and took a cab to my hostel. I was starving so went next door to this cute little place and immediately had a Medalla, the local beer, and some local cuisines.

I had a private room in a small one floor hostel that was on the third floor.  It was pretty crappy, despite all the great reviews. :)  That is budget travel for you! No air conditioning.  But the owner was a really nice guy and called me Italia and made good big breakfasts for me.

My first day I went straight to Castillo San Felipe del Morro, a huge Spanish fort on the tip of the mini island that is Old San Juan.  It was amazing!!  It was begun in 1503.  So incredible.

I quickly learned that I needed sunscreen. I knew I would, but not this quickly. The sun felt more intense there. There were tons of sunburned tourists wandering around. :)

Then I walked back and stopped for a drink.  I kept wandering around, just absorbing everything.   I was about to go on a tour of the governer's mansion, which was finished in 1540, but the tour guide told me the tour was in Spanish and there was an English one in an hour. So I went back for it, but it was cancelled. *sigh*

I've learned with traveling that things go wrong constantly, and you just have to roll with it.  I was so excited to be there, I didn't care, and thought I'd go the next day. But that never panned out. :)  I saw a flyer for a boat tour of the bay for $49 so I called and booked that.  That evening I went out searching for food and found this tapas place that had flamenco dancing. It was tons of fun.  It was also POURING rain when I got out.

Next day I wrote some postcards, then went on my boat tour. After that I walked around the capitol building, then went to the other fort in town.  It was pretty hot and I was wearing my not good for walking sandals, so I was pretty beat afterwards.   I got a drink at a hotel bar, where the bartender explained to me about Barrilto rum, a rum that is made on the island by Puerto Ricans, and is not marketed or exported. He said it's only to be sipped neat. So that's what I did. :) I actually liked it! Then I walked along the walkway around the city.  There were tons of street cats. :(  Most of them mostly feral, but of course I found one that let me pet it. :)   I know I went to eat somewhere after that, but I can't remember where.

The next day I wanted to see Casa Blanca, a house that was built for Juan Ponce de Leon in 1521, although he died before he could live in it, but his daughter lived in it.  It was used as a fortification against Taino attacks.  Then I wanted to go to the Museum of San Juan, but it was closed until 1pm, so I went to the National Gallery next door, but could not find an entrance, and finally learned it was closed.  Then I wandered around looking for the Museum of the Americas, and finally found it, but it didn't open until 1pm.  It was really good, and worth the wait.  I then rushed home to change and get to the only beach in Old San Juan.   Old San Juan faces the Atlantic side of the island, the north side.  The south side faces the Caribbean.  It was great to be on the beach, just soaking in the sun.

I went out afterwards in search of food and ended up at a cute place and ordered Mofongo, a local dish of mashed plaintains covered in meat or seafood. Then found the bar that Despacito was filmed in and drank more Barrilito and chatted with a couple from Michigan.

Then it was up early to get an Uber to Avis and get my car and go to the rainforest, El Yunque.  Driving in Puerto Rico is crazy. The roads aren't great, and PR drivers are SLOW and have no concept of staying the right lane and allowing faster cars to pass. None. It's mind numbing!

Driving in El Yunque was also a bit of a trip, as the road was so narrow and windy. I went to a swimming hole and hung out for a couple hours.  Took a few beers and swam the the other side.  It was great, except for the parents allowing their kids to scream and yell at each other.

Then I went to some more spots in El Yunque. A waterfall, a sight seeing tower, and a hike. The hike was about a mile all uphill.  I was feeling pretty dismayed at how difficult it was. :) But I made it!

Then I drove about 2 hours to Ponce.  It was a pretty crazy trip, as I got lost several times and Google Maps is really a bitch sometimes.  I got to my AirBnb, which was called Abuelita's Home, after dark.  Abuelita's name was Iris and she was lovely.  I was so grateful for a clean room with air conditioning.  I showered really quickly and wanted to eat.  Iris' ex husband had been visiting, so he offered to drive me to check a few places out. I was so exhausted and he was so excited and happy to show off his town.  :) I found a fancy place and had crab empanadas and grilled fish, which was really good.  Had a hilarious time communicating with the server.

Then I took an Uber home, and it was the only Uber in Ponce, according to the app.  The driver was Luis, and he was blaring music when he pulled up.  I told him to play his favorite song.  He asked, "Do you like Raggeaton?" I replied, "I do when I'm in Puerto Rico!"  I filmed us dancing to his favorite song in the car. It was so fun and hilarious!  It's those little moments like that, with happy, joyful people, that make one addicted to budget traveling.

The next day I drove about 40 minutes to a historic town called San German. It was glorious. There were hardly any tourists.  I saw a couple museums, and a really old church.  I ate a veggie sandwich at a little coffee shop and chatted in Spanglish to the owner. He complained about the corrupt government.

Then I drove to another beach!  And laid on it for hours.  It was great.

I drove back to Ponce mostly in the dark.  Ate some bad chinese food, then went straight to bed.

The next day I tried to go on what I thought was a hike, but turned out to be just a long dirt road. I turned back, and went to Guanica, which is a beautiful area on the southern coast.  Yep, ended up at the beach again!  Then found this cute resort, went in and had a fruity drink, sat on a beach chair and read my book.

Got back to Ponce, showered and changed and ran down to the La Guancha, which was supposed to be a boardwalk along the bay.  It was closed however, even 2 years after Maria.  I ate some local food, which was their version of fried chicken, and my side was something called "mapen," which I still don't know what it is, but it was good!   Then went to the mall (haha) and got a coffee, because I was feeling dead.  Went back and went to bed.

My last day, I went into Ponce.  Which, as I sadly learned, was the wrong day to do Ponce.  It was a Tuesday, and most of the museums were randomly closed.  Which is very Latin America.  I should have looked on Google, but there were still some that said they were open on Google.  A little frustrating, but there were a couple open.  I drove a few minutes to an indigenous dwelling site that was discovered in 1975 after a flood.  There were a lot of artifacts on display and information about the native peoples of Puerto Rico from all time periods.

I then went back in Ponce and ate.  Yuca nachos and fried cheese.  PR has a thing for fried cheese. As you should. :)  Then I drove along the southern coast, stopping at various places for photos or drinks.  By nightfall I was on my way back to San Juan.  I had found a super COOL bar called El Boricua,  about 10 minutes from the airport to stop at.  My rental car was due back at 11:30.  And this bar certainly made up for all the hiccups earlier that day!  It was so cool.  An old guy and his friends started talking to me.  He said he is Elmer of Elmer's Glue, and that it is his company.  Not sure I believe that. lol. But it was great fun chatting with everyone.  There was live music, and people were dancing salsa inside.  And there were NO tourists. 

I turned the car back in, sat around in the airport, attempted to nap in the airport, and got on the flight to Ft. Lauderdale.

In conclusion:
Puerto Rico is stunning and beautiful. I love the vibe - it is relaxed, fun, and present-moment orientated.  The ethnic diversity is so comfortable.  People drive obscenely slowly.  I enjoy the fact that almost everyone speaks a bit of English, so I could communicate using my Spanish much more. As I could use the English word for words I didn't know in Spanish frequently.  There is still a lot of damage from Maria.  The food is kind of boring, but natural and tasty.  The rum is fabulous.  This history is insanely interesting. The people are happy and kind.  There are people who long for independence from the US, and there are others that are fearful of what life will be like if that should happen.

Volunteering in Guatemala

I flew from SFO to Houston to San Salvador to Guatemala City on October 20th.   At the airport a shuttle bus driver met me and drove me to Antigua, to Linda's house. Linda wasn't there, she was in the Bay Area!  She is the co-founder of the dog rescue shelter I was volunteering with.

Ronaldo met me and let me in and tried to explain things in Spanish that I didn't understand.  I was very tired, as it was 11pm.  I went to sleep, and in the morning found Dona Ana, the housekeeper, who insisted on making me eggs.  I ate, and told her I was going to walk down the hill to Antigua.  She kept saying it wasn't safe.  So I asked Ronaldo and he said it was safe.  lol.  I decided I would walk down.

I didn't have a map, so headed in the direction I though the central park must be, when I got down.  I finally found it.  I wandered around and found a visitor center, and got a map.  But the streets are not marked on the walls, so it didn't really help too much.

I kept wandering around looking for a grocery store, because Linda had mentioned that I would need to bring my lunch to the shelter.  I couldn't find one, and was getting so tired.  I kept trying to ask at various places, but no one understood me.  It started to rain (rain!) so I hopped into a Tuc Tuc, and told the driver what I wanted, and he took me.  Finally!  Trying to get sliced turkey was an adventure, but they figured out what I wanted, and I got some other things.

I walked some more, and found a bar.  There was a girl who spoke English there, and she called Ronaldo for me to come and pick me up.  I ate some tipco food, which is a bowl of broth with big huge chunks of pumkin, potato, and some other orange thing in it, and rice and chicken on the side.

The next day was my first day at the shelter.  I helped clean the dog runs, refill waters, feed, and do dishes and laundry.  Then I worked with some dogs to see where they were at as far as behavior and training, for the rest of the day.

My days were like this until Linda arrived the next Tuesday morning.  Then I started going with her.  On Wednesday she took me to Guatemala City to take an agility class with one of the shelter dogs, and she had her own dog, Panda.  It was tons of fun!  I really enjoyed it.  It was very relaxed and casual.

Sometimes we would take some dogs to the "finca," which means plantation.  She had a friend with a huge coffee farm that lets her take the dogs and run them off leash.  She would let them out of the car and they run after the car!  Then we walk for a bit.  It's really really great for shelter dogs to get that time.

A few dogs had become sanctuary dogs because they have such severe behavior problems.  These types of problems CAN be helped, but it takes one-on-one daily work for months, and that is something that is just not available.

One day, Linda was driving volunteers and myself home, and we saw a tiny brown puppy on the side of the road.  She stopped, hopped out, and scooped up the puppy.  We took her back to Linda's house, and she dewormed and vaccinated her.  She slept with me in Linda's guest house.  She had an upper respiratory problem, and her breathing would sometimes be labored.  Linda took her to the vet, and got some meds, and she is doing fine!  One of the volunteers named her Hershey.

I spent a few more days wandering around Antigua.  There is so much to buy and eat, so many hotels and hostels and Spanish schools. It's just such a charming place.

Then my last day at the shelter came, and I went down to Antigua to a hostel.  The next day a guy that works at the hostel gave everyone football tickets, so we walked to the stadium and watched a football game, which was fun!  I met a French lady who is a holistic energy healer.

The next day I left for Lake Atitlan.  It was a three hour mini-bus ride.  I got a big car sick, as it's a curvy drive through the mountains, but managed.  I chatted to a man in the bus, who is retired for 14 years now and living off his social security traveling around Central and South America.  Amazing!

I found my hostel in Panajachel, called Sotz.  It was run by some German hippies who lived there with their 2 miniture pinchers and their 3 year old daughter. It was a bit cramped.  I had only planned to stay one night, which is good, because I didn't like the town.  There was a lot for sale, yes, but it was a bit dirty and chaotic.  I had a fish dinner on the lake, then walked around, had some mojitos at a cafe, while writing my postcards, and went back to the hostel, where I laid in the hammock with a dog.

The next day I walked around a bit, had a tipico breakfast (eggs, fried plantains, crema, mushed up beans, cheese) at this cute literally wooden shack.   It was really good and cost $3.  Coffee and toast included.  When I first went to Latin America in 2009, I couldn't stand the tipico.  The crema looked like sour cream to me, and I just could handle beans for breakfast.  But now I love it!

Then I took a boat across the lake to San Pedro, where I told the French girl (Hanna Lisa) that I would meet her.  I had booked a "nice" hotel for $25 a night for 3 nights.  I took a tuc tuc up the hill to the hotel.  Then got my room and wandered back out into the town.  The bottom part of the town is tiny little lanes.  Only tuc tucs and motorcycles can use them.  I was a bit lost, as there are no signs, but just wandered.  It is full of cute restaurants, hostels and hotels, and bars. I found a nice place to have a bowl of lentil soup.  There are a lot of travelers who come to take Spanish classes or just chill out.  The government doesn't care how many times you leave and come back to the country to get your 3 month tourist visa.  Which seems so strange, but that is Guatemala!  There are a lot of Israelis, and so a lot of signs and businesses with Yiddish.

I went back to the hotel after some more wandering, with the idea of a quick nap and a shower, to go back out for a bit of nightlife (haven't had any yet!), but that didn't happen.  Woke up at 9pm and just didn't have the energy.  My hotel was really loud, as there is a restaurant right above me.

I wrote my pet blog I get paid to write, surfed the net, then went back to sleep!  lol.

Today I am going to meet up with Hanna Lisa for lunch and then who knows. There are tours here, but they all involve getting up at 5am, and hiking up volcanoes.  Or riding horses, which I just feel so awful doing.  I'm having fun just wandering around.

Budget Travel to Hawaii: Oahu, Maui, Big Island

Getting to Hawaii is always going to be cheapest in December and January.  Do some serious flight searching and see what you can find.  We flew Hawaiian airlines out of Oakland to Oahu for $460 (including taxes) round trip. I bet you could find it for even cheaper from the west coast on United.  Hawaiian is a really nice airline, tho. They gave us a free mai tai on the way and wine on the way back!

Once we got to Honolulu airport, we had to ask and look at the map to find where the city bus pick up was.  The city bus is $2.50 a ride.  Pick up is out front on the far pick up lane.  There are several buses that go by, and we learned from a nice guy waiting, that we needed the "L" version of the 19 to get into downtown Waikiki.  You need $2.50 in change for each person (or a $5 note for both).  Traffic in Oahu is terrible, and the bus ride will take about 45 minutes, but of course you will be super excited to be there!

We took the bus to our hostel, which is the Seaside Hawaiian Hostel, and is mere blocks from the beach.  It requires a minimum of a 2 night stay, and you can do a bed in a dorm room for about $22, and then a private or en suite room as well for more.  They serve free coffee and toast in the morning.  Remember that a lot of traveling young people will stay at hostels, so bring earplugs! ;)  There are a couple other hostels, I think, but Jesse chose this one, based on reviews.  If you book on hostelworld.com you may find the price is even cheaper. And going with a friend will help you afford a private room, if you aren't 21 and dorms aren't your thing. ;)  The bathrooms were absolutely acceptable and clean and I did not feel grossed out one bit.  The shower was hot and clean.  There is a big kitchen and fridge, if you'd like to make food, which will help you save money.  Write out some easy things to make so that when you get there it's not an issue and you don't have to use your precious brain power for thinking about what to buy!  It all needs to go to thinking about how awesome Hawaii is! :)  Staying in a hostel is a small price to pay for staying in Waikiki!

That late afternoon, after we got to the hostel and ate, we just walked around soaking it all in. We walked all the way up the Waikiki beach, which was awesome.  Then through the parks on the way back.  I needed a cardigan after the sun went down, but Jesse just wore a t shirt.  Honolulu is rather expensive for people who aren't from San Francisco, so be aware food and drink will be an expense.  You could have a look on Yelp and select the one and two $$ signs and locate some places that are acceptable to you.  Or you could just buy some pasta at the store and make it at the hostel.  But if you do just a bit of searching, you'll find something with "normal" prices.

In Oahu, you can take the city bus anywhere.  The first day, we took it up to the trail head for Makapu'u Point, where there are beautiful views of the coast.  We chose this trail because it was shorter and easy to get to by bus. It was one bus.  AND, it's free!  But there are many trails, with all kinds of terrain, and some with waterfalls, etc.  If I were to do it again, I'd research which hike I wanted and how to get there before I left the mainland! Just Google "Hikes on Oahu" and then Google map how to get there from your hostel/hotel.  We bought sandwiches and put them in our backpacks and ate at the top.  It was not cold at all, just windy!  We walked all the way down to the bottom, through the valley, to the main road. It comes out slightly to the left of a country club, where there is a bus stop in front of.  I wanted to hitch hike, but Jesse wasn't into it.  :)  We didn't have the right change, so went into the country club store and they gave us some. There was a restaurant in there too, but we wanted to get back.  There is also a restroom.

The next day I went on a dolphin tour, which was my big splurge, and Jesse went skydiving.  The dolphin tour picked me up from the hostel.  Jesse read reviews and decided Dolphin Excursions was the best bet. And it was great. They were really nice and friendly and informative.  It took about an hour to get to the spot.  I didn't see any dolphins while I was in the water, but saw them from the boat, which was small.  You do not need to rent the wet suit,  it's not that cold! :)   But, since it's not guaranteed you'll see dolphins, it's up to you if you want to risk it, as it cost about $100.  They do feed you afterwards, however! And then drive you home.

That evening we walked around Chinatown and the old palace and other buildings. There are museums around this area that are probably not that expensive.  But just walking around here was amazing, as it's so unique.  We didn't really research free or inexpensive things to do, but I'm sure they exist.  We just knew we wanted to hike, so we did that.

The next day, we left by way of the Honolulu airport to go to Maui.  We flew Island Air for $80. The airport is in Kahului. In Maui, we rented a car from the airport for $45 a day.  This was a pretty low price.  But renting a car is a necessity in Maui.

We stayed at the Lahaina Inn in Lahaina.  Lahaina is about a 30 minute drive from the airport.  The rental cars don't have GPS, so you can use your phone.  I have Metro PCS, which is not a great service, so my GPS was sometimes slow and sometimes non-existent. :)  But, relax, you're in Hawaii. :)  Get a good map from the rental car place. We forgot to do that, and had a crappy map.

Lahaina Inn was great.  It was built in the 1930's, so yes, it's older.  But we love that.  It was clean, professional, and cute.  And expensive! For US, but not for Maui! :)  $145 a night, including tax.  Again, look at all different websites to see if you can get different quotes.  Expedia, Hotels.com, Orbitz, etc.  There is a hostel called Banana Bungalow, in Kahului, so accessible by bus easily, that has dorm rooms for $40 a night and $100 for a private double, $120 for a private triple (before tax).  So, really compare and contrast.  We were also lucky and got a balcony room at Lahaina Inn!  And it is a perfect location, close to everything.

Also, I saw many signs for camping!  ;)  I love camping, but lugging gear to Hawaii isn't really an option.  But if you want to do that (I don't know if Hawaiian airlines charges for checked bags), you could rent a car and then camp.  You'd have to research amenities at the campgrounds - a grill for cooking, bathrooms. Sometimes, campgrounds are really great and can save you money.

The first day, we drove down south, to the end of highway 31.  It finally ends in a lava field.  You can get out and walk down the coast along a beautiful trail even further.  We saw about 10 other humans the whole hour.  It was gorgeous.
We stopped in Kihei to eat on our way back. There is a cute little area between Alahele Pl and Keala Pl with a good pizza place, shave ice, little cute shops, etc.

The next day we drove to the north, along the highway 30 to the 340.  It was a crazy drive!  It takes a couple hours, because it's so bendy.  And you will want to stop to get out and take pictures. We learned later that rental cars aren't supposed to go on it, because the road gets really narrow and curvy.  But of course it was so cool!

We made a point to be on the beach to watch the sun set, which was always so cool.

We ate in Lahaina, which was not as expensive as Honolulu, but still not cheap.

We were going to return our rental car and take a bus back to Lahania, to save money.  But we got food poisoning, and didn't want to be stuck on a bus for too long!  Yes, awful.  We think it was from these crab rangoon things we ordered at a place called Lahaina Coolers. So don't go there! haha.  So Jesse went to book another car online and found one at Budget for only $30 a day, which is great.  I would try to find this rate.  I've also heard if you rent a car in town you can find it for $20 a day.  Jesse thinks it's because he made a booking for the next day, and Budget had the cars and wanted to get rid of them.  Who knows.

The next day we drove the southern road, to Hana.  This is a better road.  It does curve a lot, but the road is wide.  There is nowhere to stop after Mama's Fish House.  I've heard that place is good, so stop there before hitting the road!
Do some research on how to get to what you want to see in Hana.  There is a cultural center and museum, a red sand beach (which we went to - a bit of a tricky walk along the cliff, but doable), a black sand beach. The Seven Sacred Pools are very popular, but further down the road and we didn't go. We had to get back to Lahaina because we were having dinner with a friend of a friend.  He and his wife made us a meal! So that was nice!

The next day we flew to the Big Island on a tiny little plane.  Hawaiian Air. It was $80.  We flew into Kona, rented a car, and drove to Hilo.  There is a hostel in Hilo called Hilo Bay Hostel and it was lovely.  Dorm $30, private $69, before taxes.  It's separated into male and female.  Again, an old building.  It's in the middle of town - everything right next to you - coffee, a little breakfast place if you take a right out the front door and then a right onto Keawe Street.  Just two or three doors down.  The coffee place right across the street (it's a renovated gas station) has breakfast sandwiches too.  We ate dinner at Cafe Pesto, and it was really good.   This hostel also had a little mini fridge in our room, so we could buy beer and have some beers at the end of the day.

The drive to Hilo from the airport is about an hour and a half. So probably plan your flight to land at least a few hours before sunset.  You will want to eat probably, before you set out.  Or bring sandwiches with you. There are no places to stop really, once you leave Kona.

Street parking in Hilo is 2 hour limit starting at 8am, but we were told they are very lax about it, and they were!

There are several other hostels, one right across the street from this one.  But these are the most centrally located. So it depends. If you have a car, you may want to be a little more rural! Why not! :)

We drove a bit down the highway 19 on our first day.  We did a lot of driving, because we like to see as much as possible.  And it's free. The parks along the coast are just beautiful.  Pull in the parking lots and hop out to take pictures.

The next day we went north on the 19, take the "scenic drive" when you see the sign for it on the right.  It's about 5 miles, and pops you out onto the 19 again.  Then also drive up to the Akaka Falls.  Park right outside the parking lot for free parking.  It's only a dollar to go in.  You don't need hiking shoes, it's totally paved.  It's a 1 mile circular walk, with the falls half way along.  Totally worth it.

Then we kept going north to the Waipio Lookout.  This is a valley where native Hawaiians lived for hundreds of years before colonials arrived.  It's free to park and beautiful.  The town of Honokaa is really cute, with some places to eat and shop.

Then we kept driving over to the "dry side" to see Hapuna Beach and get a couple hours of beach time.  It was really beautiful.

Then we continued down to Kona.  Kona was pretty touristy, which we were not really into. But it was cute, of course. There is the oldest church in Hawaii there, and an old palace. They were super cool.

Then we drove back to Hilo in the dark!  haha.

The next day we met up with another friend of a friend in the town of Volcano.  He took us in his truck to see the green sand beach in Papakolea.  If you don't have a truck, you will have to park about a mile away from the beach, and walk.  It would be easier with decent shoes. It's a sandy, windy, and gravelly walk over mounds.  It is really worth it, however and most people walked.  It's just so beautiful. And it's free!!!  No food or amenities at all. Completely natural.  There are locals that give rides to the beach and back from the parking area for $10, we heard, and we also saw lots of people in the back of pick ups.  There is quite a steep path down to the beach.  So if you're not into any type of hills, you won't be able to get down to the beach.  However, kids and dogs and people with coolers were doing it.

Then the next day we drove back to Kona, got a flight to Honolulu, and then a flight back to Oakland.  It was ten wonderful days, and I miss Hawaii so much!

The key to budget traveling is doing a lot of research, evaluating and reading.  Read the reviews, google map things, and see if you can find blogs like these about other people's experiences.  Use the local city buses, buy sandwiches, etc. Ask the locals questions, they are always happy to help!  Pack light, pack some Cliff Bars, and look for cheap and free stuff like hiking to do.  You don't need to be doing all sorts of activities to experience a place.  On the contrary.  Just walking around is the best way.  And that's free!  There is no need to skydive, water ski, surf, zip line.  Those are nice, yes, but you're in Hawaii!  Looking around is the best thing to do!

I'm estimating, each of us spent about $2300 each.  $1500 on flights, cars, rooms.  And $800 on food, drink, gifts, gas for the car, entertainment.  This is just my guess. I haven't calculated closely. So you could do 10 days on 3 islands for about $4000 - $5000 as a couple, WITH a car for 2 islands! We definitely spent more on food then we needed to, because we are gluttons and love to eat and drink. :)

Please feel free to ask any questions below!

MACHU PICHU ON THE CHEAP

We went to Machu Picchu in the middle of April, 2012.

We had read in the Lonely Planet there was a bus route to Santa Maria, which would get you close to the train station on the western side of MP. The bus leaves from the Santiago station in Cusco, which you can easily walk to from Plaza de Armas. We got a ticket for the Salva Sur bus company, and the bus was scheduled to leave at 8am, but true to Latin American style, it left at 8:30. It was a really shitty, dirty bus, and there was a guy with a live chicken sitting behind us (which wasn't bad, it was a very well behaved chicken.) The buses leave all morning, but if you want to get to Agua Caliente before dark, I'd take one at 7am. The other bus company is Ampay, which we took on the way back, and although it was a nicer bus, there was a small roach crawling on the wall next to me. So, take your pick! The Ampay bus left at the same times from the Santiago station. They were also the same price, which was 15 Soles (about $6). This is a 5 – 6 hour bus ride, so it's pretty cheap.

The bus doesn't stop for potty or food purchasing, really. It did stop, I'm not sure if it was to let people pee, but it was not at a bathroom, so if you peed, it would have to be in the woods/nature surrounding. People do get on the bus to sell food, however. I got a snack, which was a boiled egg surrounded in mash potato and deep fried. Really good.

The drive is beautiful. It winds slowly up a huge mountain, and it also goes through a very cute town.... If you have time and want to be leisurely, you could even get off here and spend the night if you want. It's touristy, with hostels and lots of restaurants.

Then you go on to Santa Maria, which is a dusty, ugly town. They will announce it when you get there, since a lot of people get off. When you get off, taxi drivers will surround you and want to take you to the next town, Santa Teresa, or the Hydro station, which is where the train station is too, and is about 8km past Santa Teresa. The last train to Agua Caliente is at 4:30pm and costs $18 USD one way, so if you want to catch that, then tell your taxi driver you want to leave now. If you want to walk from the Hydro station, it's about a 2.5 – 3 hour walk. This is why you have to start as early as possible, because walking in the dark sucked. We did it. Sunset is around 5:45 in April. We paid 15 Soles to take a taxi straight to the Hydro station from Santa Maria. If you are going to do the same, and walk up to Agua Caliente from there, you should get something to eat in Santa Maria, so you have energy. The walk isn't hard, just long. But if you want you can stay the night in Santa Teresa. It's got several hostels and restaurants, and is a nicer town then Santa Maria. The ride to Santa Teresa should only be 10 Soles. Also, we wanted to leave right away, because we thought we might want to catch the train. At the time we didn't know the train to Agua Caliente was $18 USD. Our driver was lagging, trying to get more people in the cab (they will PACK it in) and so we got out and took another driver. The drive is on the edge of a mountain, and is not paved, and goes through rivers, so it's a bit freaky, but the drivers seem very competent. Our driver stopped briefly in Santa Teresa and put 3 more people in the car, so there was a total of 7 passengers (2 in the trunk, it was a station wagon).

We got to the Hydro station at 4:30 on the dot, and when we found out it was $18 USD to ride the train to Agua Caliente, we decided to walk. It was drizzling, so we bought ponchos for 2 Soles as the station, and Jesse bought a couple beers. There is food and drink there too, as well as a hostel that looked pretty decent.

To walk up to Agua, you literally follow the train tracks. You can cut up the hill at a couple places. There is a red, dubious looking metal bridge, and there are several bridges over rivers that you have to walk over the wood slabs of the tracks, which was slightly freaky, especially in the dark. If you don't want to walk in the dark, I'd suggest checking what time the sunset is and planning accordingly. After a couple hours you will get to a shabby looking “train station,” but you need to keep walking along the tracks another 20 minutes to get to the town of Agua Caliente. You will walk through 2 tunnels and over the tracks over several small rivers. The tracks will take you right to the middle of the town. There are nice restaurants and hotels everywhere. We stayed at the first hotel on the right of the tracks as you walk into town, something Pichu. It was only 20 soles a person, and it was clean, with warm water. Of course, it's pretty loud due to the train.

It's such a touristy town and over-priced, so the restaurants are all stupid expensive. Our hotel didn't have a kitchen, so we had to eat out. There wasn't much in the way of a grocery store anyway. We found a place deep in the town on the right side of the tracks, that had a soup and main course for 7 soles. Everything else was around 20 for a set lunch, and of course, went much higher then that.

When you get to town, go and buy your Machu Pichu tickets right away, since they only let 2,500 people in a day. I'd check the weather before you leave Cusco, just to make sure it won't rain, although on the day we went it wasn't supposed to rain, but it started raining at about noon. So bring your raincoats anyway!

We took the bus up from Agua to MP. It's $9 each way, and a bit more for only one way, so if there are two of you, get one round trip ticket and use the return trip as your other one way. They don't look at the tickets.

We didn't get a guide at MP, but there are tons of them at the gate. We had read about it before hand, but a guide would have been nice to explain some of the details of the rocks. There are tons of tours though, so we listened in on them.

The ticket to MP says you can't bring food or plastic bottles inside, but there were people everywhere with both...

We took the stairs back down to Agua. It was pretty painful, after walking the day before and all around MP for a few hours. But it was also cool. When you get to the bridge at the bottom of the hill there is a little restaurant. We had a beer, before continuing along the road to Agua. But we hitch hiked almost immediately, which was nice, since it was raining!

The next morning we left to walk back along the tracks to the Hydro at 7:30am. We weren't sure how it was all going to work out regarding taxi's and buses. We knew a train left Agua for the Hydro at 8:30, so there would be taxi's waiting for those passengers at about 9:30, and another train left Agua at 12:30. We got to the Hydro station and there was a mini bus waiting which was going to a town ten minutes walk from Santa Teresa, and cost us 4 soles each. So we took it. We saw people along the road walking from Santa Teresa to the Hydro, which seemed a bit crazy, as it's about 8km and it's not as nice a walk as along the tracks to Agua.

We got out of the mini bus down the road from Santa Teresa, and walked a few minutes, then up a huge staircase, then to the right, and we were in the town. We walked down to the main square. At first we couldn't figure out where to get a cab. There were three empty ones lined up, and we waited by them, but nothing happened. Jesse went to ask some random people where to go, and they directed us to a street connected to the main square that had hostels and restaurants on it. There was a cab hanging out, who said he'd take us to Santa Maria for 10 soles. When we got to Santa Maria, the cabby told us we could buy a mini bus ticket for 30 soles, Salva Sur bus for 15, or Ampay for 15. The ticket offices are right on the main strip that the buses and cabs stop at. The Ampay place has a sign out front and is a restaurant/shop. We got the next Ampay bus, which was at 2:30, which meant waiting over 2 hours. The bus didn't come until 3pm, however.

We got into Cusco at about 8:30pm.

We had left our big bags at our hotel, and just booked a room for that night at the hotel as well.

Peru... the last country.

We got a bus out of Copa the next day to go to Puno, in Peru. In Puno there are “floating islands,” which are literally made out of mud and reeds and kind of float in shallow water. When the Inca showed up they pushed the local people out, and they made these islands. It was pretty cool, and we bought a couple hand made things. We met a couple from Louisiana on the boat who had just graduated from med school at Tulane, and were on a 3 week vacation before they went to their residencies in Sonoma, California. We had dinner with them that night. The next day my stomach wasn't great, and we were a bit hung over, so we just lounged around and watched TV. Then the next day we went to Cusco, so we could get to Machu Pichu.

We got a pretty good hotel in Cusco, only 50 soles for a room a night, including breakfast. My stomach got really bad the next day, and I couldn't walk around town much. It is a really really cool town. There are tons of old colonial churches, but what makes them cool is that a lot of them are built using Inca foundations and bottom stones, so you can see them along the bottom of a lot of buildings. Cusco was a major Inca city before the Spanish came and pillaged it. The Inca used gold as decoration, and there were whole plazas in gold with gold statues. Yeah, those got stolen. The huge Inca stones are incredible. They cut them so exactly to fit together so they didn't have to use mud or any other type of sticking substance. It's amazing how they did it.

The next morning we were planning to go to Machu Pichu, but we found out too late that the buses only left in the early morning. Which was fine with me, to have another day to recover from my stomach. We went to another museum, the indigenous art museum, and it was really good. Then we ate lunch at this super cool British pub. I had fish and chips of course! With mushy peas! Jesse had bangers and mash.Both really good. It was strange to be in such modern, comfortable surroundings like Cusco (even though Cusco is the most colonial looking place I've probab

We left early the next morning on an adventurous adventure to get to Machu Pichu for $28. This involved a 6 hour dirty bus ride up to the top of what felt like the tallest mountain in the world, winding around back and forth for hours, a cramped taxi ride along the edge of another mountain, but on an unpaved road, and then a 3 hour walk along train tracks, over bridges and under tunnels, half of which was in the dark and all of which was in drizzly rain.

BOLIVIA PART II

After our tour, we took the 1am train from Uyuni to Oruo (yes, AM). We stayed there a night, before we went to La Paz, because we were couchsurfing in La Paz, and couchsuring is pretty tiring, because you have to be polite and tidy and sociable, even when you're exhausted. So, we wanted to rest. But when we got to La Paz the next day, our host showed us to an apartment on the 9^th floor of a downtown building and said, “This is your apartment, ours is one floor up.” I almost cried with joy! We hadn't had access to our own private bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen in 5 months. I was so excited. The view was amazing as well. La Paz is entwined in a deep valley with hills and mountains. We could see the whole of one face of a mountain, with all the houses on it.

The first day there, our hosts, Martin and his wife Sisi, took us to their country home, where they made us an amazing asado. Martin brought his parents domestic assistant and their spaniel, who was actually named Mini Me! I was also so grateful for a good meal, because Bolivian food is not something someone from San Francisco can easily adapt to. It's mostly chicken and rice, pork chop and rice, or some variation. Martin made us barbeque chicken and sausage. There was an avacado salad, a cheesy rice dish, and potatoes. It was amazing! Then the clouds rolled in, and we went home. That evening Martin and Sisi drove us around town so we could see it at night. Then they took us to the mall and we had coffee.

We spent our days in La Paz walking around, visiting a couple museums, eating, etc. We also had internet in the apartment, so we spent time uploading pictures, emailing, etc. I tried to call Mom, but as always, the connection was bad.

In La Paz there is a jail where a British man was jailed for five years for trying to smuggle cocaine out of the country in 2000 and wrote a book about his experience.. He became a “tour guide” at this very, very strange jail, where prisoners lived in apartments which they had to purchase when they entered the jail, with their entire families. There were restaurants and shops in the jail as well, because the prisoners needed to make money. The Lonely Planet guide book used to list this jail as a thing to do in La Paz, because the British man was running tours. However, today, Lonely Planet does not advise it. But Jesse and I had both read the book and wanted to at least see the outside. The jail is on a square, so we just sat in the square and watched as women and children walked in and out of the door. There were other backpackers there watching too! The book is going to be a movie with Brad Pitt, apparently, if it's made.

We finally left La Paz after 5 days and headed to a small mountain town called Coroico. To get to it, you have to take the road that replaced the famed “death road.” The replacement road was pretty freaky too, as it's really really high, with lots of corners. There were three little girls sitting in front of me on the minibus, and one of them had a black and white cat in her back pack. The cat sat on their lap sleeping the entire trip. And when we got to Coroico, she zipped it up entirely in her backpack!

In Coroico, we stayed at a resort/hostel on the side of the mountain. We were camping. The campsite was pretty nice, with a nice fire pit and covered table. There were two German guys camping next to us, who we ended up hanging out with the next two nights, cooking meat on the fire and drinking rum and cokes. They had purchased motorcycles in Sucre, and so they took us on the back of their bikes to see some nearby waterfalls. It was pretty freaky at first, but I got used to it. They are planning on riding all the way up through California with the bikes. They are both mechanical engineers, so were able to work on them when they broke down.

There were horrible sand flies in Coroico, and we got bitten up. And the bites itch and leave awful marks.

We were in Coroico over Easter weekend, which, for Latins, is a week long celebration called “Semana Santa.” Trying to leave town on Monday to go back to La Paz was not easy. Everyone had left the city to go to the towns for a getaway weekend. During our efforts, we met a couple from New Zealand who we joined forces with to hire a taxi to get to La Paz. It was a mini van. We went back along the same road, and after a couple hours we were back in La Paz. Sophie and Oliver took us to the hostel they had stayed at, and it was pretty nice. We booked a tourist bus for early the next morning to take us to Copacabana, on the border with Peru. Then we went out for dinner, and they took us to a great restaurant they knew, where we got a massive leg of lamb for about $6 USD. It was amazing!

We were up early and the bus picked us up at our hostel (such luxury!) and it took us a few hours to get to Copacabana. At one point we had to cross part of lake Titicaca. We had to get out and buy tickets for the boat, ride this tiny boat across, while our bus was put onto a barge and ferried across.

We got into Copa, and the four of us found a decent hostel and went to eat. We were there to see Isla de Sol, which is an island in Lake Titicaca that the Inca believed the sun god was born on. We booked our tickets for the next day, but it was pouring and pouring, so we decided not to go. Sophie and Oliver just left town, but Jesse and I wanted to see the island, so we waited until the next day, which was beautiful. While we were on the island we saw the two German guys from Coroico! We knew they were going there, we just didn't know when.

We had planned to stay the night on the island, but because of the weather we didn't get to. So the tour was kind of rushed. We went to the north part and took a walking tour of the ruins. We walked along an old Ampaya-laid stone pathway. The Ampaya were living on the island before the Inca showed up. Then we got to the rock, where the Inca believed the sun was born. There were ruins of an old temple there too. And under the water, near the island, were the remains of another temple, which Jacque Custeau had discovered. The lake had risen over the years and buried the temple. Then we had to sprint back down to dock and take the boat to the south part of the island, where we climbed up some huge Inca steps, which the villagers still used as a functional part of their city.

We got back to the mainland, had dinner, then got a drink with the German guys. They told us their crazy story about trying to get to Copacabana. Their GPS had them go through Peru. When then entered, they didn't do the paperwork for their bikes, so they thought they'd just sneak back into Bolivia, then do the paperwork when they went to go back into Peru. Seriously. This is what they thought. So when they went around the chain to get into Bolivia, of course they were caught by the cops, who kept them waiting and waiting in customs, until finally, they hinted that they would let them go if they gave them money. They wanted $100 USD, and since there was a sign on the wall that said “No Corruption Here,” the German boys were not having it. They got away with 40 bolivianos. So crazy.