Our trip to Maui is a great memory. One of the best things was settling into "island time" with relative ease and forgetting the responsibilities left behind with no real concern. The weather was just what we needed....sun, sun and more sun to get away from the rain, rain, and more rain we face back home this time of year. The goal was to relax and we accomplished that with flying colours!! There was no agenda of things we had to see or do outside of the road to Hana and even that wasn't an absolute. But we're glad we did our journey. This was the type of vacation that we both needed and it's alright that most days we didn't really have a plan.
Traveling with Z is not only a lot of fun, it's usually a great adventure. No serious mishaps to talk about this time and for some that might be a little boring, but I'm grateful that everything went off without a hitch. I guess if I really think about there was one incident where I had a slight panic attack while snorkelling. I was getting tired and couldn't quite get some water out of the snorkel and so I panicked and Z had to help me ashore. I swallowed a little more saltwater than I wanted to but at least I wasn't getting tumbled around the waves like a shirt in a washing machine.
Oh yeah, before I forget, our last two meals on Maui.....we went for a later breakfast to a restaurant called Castaway Cafe which is a short walk the other direction from the Westin villas (left along the walkway instead of right). This place is on the beach which is nice and the food is good, but I thought it very strange that my pancake trio which had banana, pineapple, and macadamia nuts on them would be served with canned pineapple chunks. Seriously?!?!?! Do they not know that fresh pineapples are grown right on the island???!
For dinner we (we really means Z in this case) found a great Thai restaurant called Saeng's in Wailuku. The food was pretty authentic Thai and very reasonable in price. The restaurant has a great open-air seating area and the ambience is fantastic. I highly recommend this place not only because the food is so good, it's located pretty close to the airport so a good place to stop to eat before catching your fight home.
So to sum it all up, Maui once again provided exactly what we needed and went there for....lots of sunshine, warm temperatures, good food, plenty of rest and relaxation whether poolside or on the beach. What more could one ask for?
Until next time.....
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Eateries on Maui and Magic
I got to see a turtle! We were out snorkelling and it was starting to look like this trip would go without me seeing one, but Z with his keen eye spotted one. This turtle was resting under some coral and I'm still not sure how Z spotted it, but there it was. The turtle seemed quite happy just hanging out there, but did look like it was going to go for a swim at one point but changed its mind after seeing us hovering.
Ok now for the actual topic of this post...there are a lot of places to eat on Maui and these are the ones we tried and would recommend. As mentioned in a previous post, we found Cheeseburger in Wailea to be a favourite spot for us. Great happy hour with live entertainment on the weekends. Food here is good and portions are more than enough to satisfy. A couple of my favourite dishes here: beef taco salad and the two burger sliders. We had breakfast at Mala at the Marriott. The breakfast
buffet has plenty of options for everyone ranging from pancakes, waffles, toast, yoghurt, very tasty fresh fruit, and made to order omelettes. Z took a liking to the Hawaiian papaya which is unusual because he usually finds papaya quite stinky. I don't know what he's talking about but it doesn't matter because that means more for me most of the time!
Duke's in Ka'anapali is right on the waterfront and just a short walk from the Westin Villas. We had breakfast here and quite enjoyed the food. Coffee is good as are the banana mac pancakes. Cilantro Mexican Grill in Lahaina is located near the Hilo Hattie store. This place appears to be a little off the beaten track but is worth checking out. The food is fresh, very tasty and reasonably priced. Betty's Beach Cafe was suggested by friends (thanks Mr. M and Ms. W). If you go here for dinner and arrive at the right time you might just get to watch the Luau show which happens on the beach in front of this restaurant as an added bonus. We enjoyed a three course set menu here because unbeknownst to us it was restaurant week on Maui (similar to Dine Out back home). Good food, friendly service, well priced for a set menu, and a free Luau show to boot! Cool Cat Cafe in Lahaina is a second floor restaurant across from the Banyan tree. Burgers are served a la carte and you soon find out why. There really is no need to order anything in addition to that burger. Good live entertainment serenaded us during dinner. Great place, has a bit of a 50's theme going on. Pulehu Italian Grill in the Westin is a nice restaurant but is on the pricier side. We got in early and opted for the three course set sunset menu which saves you about $10-15 per person and is a good way to go. This menu is only available between 5:30 - 6:00pm. The Chianti Braised Short Ribs were pretty good, though mine were a little on the too fatty side. I haven't ever been to an Italian restaurant that doesn't offer cappuccinos so be aware that if you want an after dinner coffee, you'll have to be happy with drip. Anthony's in Pa'ia is a little gem. Restaurant is small so it may be hard to get seating. It's a popular spot for people to stop in for breakfast as they start their journey to Hana. Food is good and service was quick. You can also order fresh made sandwiches for a picnic lunch on your journey, but we had already packed snacks so we were good to go after our big portioned breakie. And a must stop along the journey to Hana is the Halfway to Hana stand for some banana bread....best banana bread that I've ever had!! We had also done a little grocery shopping and ended up having breakfast and lunch a couple times in our room. The Westin has two little markets on site (one in each side of the villas), but I don't recommend buying anything there because it's really pricey; $7 for a loaf of bread!
A must do while in Maui is to go see Warren and Annabelle's Magic show. We were blown away! The show is in Lahaina and the theatre is a small intimate setting. You are up close and personal with the magicians. Warren was not performing the night we went, but the two magicians, John and Chris, were fantastic and put on a phenomenal show! There were a lot of "wow", "whhhaat"'s coming from the audience. A lot of extremely impressive tricks with some great comedy as well!! I was actually a participant in a card trick and it still blows my mind how the magician figured out what card I chose. The deck of cards had two elastic bands around it and I flipped through the corner of the cards selecting the 5 of hearts. Two other people did the same thing. Somehow the magician correctly picked out all three of our cards. I don't want to spoil the show so I won't comment on other tricks, but this is definitely worth checking out while on Maui and is a great night out.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Ok now for the actual topic of this post...there are a lot of places to eat on Maui and these are the ones we tried and would recommend. As mentioned in a previous post, we found Cheeseburger in Wailea to be a favourite spot for us. Great happy hour with live entertainment on the weekends. Food here is good and portions are more than enough to satisfy. A couple of my favourite dishes here: beef taco salad and the two burger sliders. We had breakfast at Mala at the Marriott. The breakfast
buffet has plenty of options for everyone ranging from pancakes, waffles, toast, yoghurt, very tasty fresh fruit, and made to order omelettes. Z took a liking to the Hawaiian papaya which is unusual because he usually finds papaya quite stinky. I don't know what he's talking about but it doesn't matter because that means more for me most of the time!
Duke's in Ka'anapali is right on the waterfront and just a short walk from the Westin Villas. We had breakfast here and quite enjoyed the food. Coffee is good as are the banana mac pancakes. Cilantro Mexican Grill in Lahaina is located near the Hilo Hattie store. This place appears to be a little off the beaten track but is worth checking out. The food is fresh, very tasty and reasonably priced. Betty's Beach Cafe was suggested by friends (thanks Mr. M and Ms. W). If you go here for dinner and arrive at the right time you might just get to watch the Luau show which happens on the beach in front of this restaurant as an added bonus. We enjoyed a three course set menu here because unbeknownst to us it was restaurant week on Maui (similar to Dine Out back home). Good food, friendly service, well priced for a set menu, and a free Luau show to boot! Cool Cat Cafe in Lahaina is a second floor restaurant across from the Banyan tree. Burgers are served a la carte and you soon find out why. There really is no need to order anything in addition to that burger. Good live entertainment serenaded us during dinner. Great place, has a bit of a 50's theme going on. Pulehu Italian Grill in the Westin is a nice restaurant but is on the pricier side. We got in early and opted for the three course set sunset menu which saves you about $10-15 per person and is a good way to go. This menu is only available between 5:30 - 6:00pm. The Chianti Braised Short Ribs were pretty good, though mine were a little on the too fatty side. I haven't ever been to an Italian restaurant that doesn't offer cappuccinos so be aware that if you want an after dinner coffee, you'll have to be happy with drip. Anthony's in Pa'ia is a little gem. Restaurant is small so it may be hard to get seating. It's a popular spot for people to stop in for breakfast as they start their journey to Hana. Food is good and service was quick. You can also order fresh made sandwiches for a picnic lunch on your journey, but we had already packed snacks so we were good to go after our big portioned breakie. And a must stop along the journey to Hana is the Halfway to Hana stand for some banana bread....best banana bread that I've ever had!! We had also done a little grocery shopping and ended up having breakfast and lunch a couple times in our room. The Westin has two little markets on site (one in each side of the villas), but I don't recommend buying anything there because it's really pricey; $7 for a loaf of bread!
A must do while in Maui is to go see Warren and Annabelle's Magic show. We were blown away! The show is in Lahaina and the theatre is a small intimate setting. You are up close and personal with the magicians. Warren was not performing the night we went, but the two magicians, John and Chris, were fantastic and put on a phenomenal show! There were a lot of "wow", "whhhaat"'s coming from the audience. A lot of extremely impressive tricks with some great comedy as well!! I was actually a participant in a card trick and it still blows my mind how the magician figured out what card I chose. The deck of cards had two elastic bands around it and I flipped through the corner of the cards selecting the 5 of hearts. Two other people did the same thing. Somehow the magician correctly picked out all three of our cards. I don't want to spoil the show so I won't comment on other tricks, but this is definitely worth checking out while on Maui and is a great night out.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Friday, November 16, 2012
The road to Hana and Haleakala
People say not to attempt both these on the same day...probably good advice. Z has never experienced the road to Hana and so we thought it would be a good idea to experience this adventure this time around. Not only did he get to experience the journey - because it's all about the journey not the destination - but he got to do all the driving. If you've done the road to Hana before you know what I'm referring to....if not, keep reading!
We decided to follow the suggestions found in Maui Revealed (have I mentioned this is a must have guide book?) and started our journey after a breakfast stop in Pa'ia. I'll cover our different eateries in another post. The day started off cloudy with a few shattered showers here and there. Nothing too bad and probably kept a lot of people off the road which was a good thing because there is nothing worse than doing the road to Hana when it's terrible crowded. The drive is a very scenic winding road through very lush tropical forests with lots of bamboo trees. The road is generally a two-way road with many one lane bridges, many other spots where the two-way road is only wide enough for one car one way, many semi-blind hairpin turns, and countless switchbacks. Our trusty guidebook says that tourist info says there are 600 turns along the way....I didn't count but would not doubt that number and perhaps suggest there could be more! The drive is a tropical paradise with many breathtaking views of the coastline and the magnificent Pacific Ocean. Along the way are many beautiful waterfalls and again we only stopped at the ones that intrigued us in our guidebook, which gives a brutal but honest opinion about things on Maui and we have yet to really disagree with their take. As you reach about 2/3 the way to Hana, you come upon a little stand called Half Way to Hana and here you can buy the most delicious tasting banana bread. This is a must stop. We bought banana bread that was so fresh it was still warm as the lovely lady was placing it out on display.
Along the way we also stopped at Wai'anapanapa Park. Here you find not only incredible views but a black sand beach. I can't recall ever being on a black sand beach before so this was real neat. There is a cool cave you can access from the beach but have to beware of the tides because water will come into this cave. Several trails take you along the volcanic rock cliff side and in one area there is a blowhole, but no activity while we were there....I guess the tide wasn't high enough.
Back on the road, we drove through Hana without stopping because everything we read says there isn't much to see there. Instead we made our way to Ohe'o Hulch aka Seven Sacred Pools. The pools were off limits for swimming while we were there because the waters were high and it had been raining. Not a big deal, we could still view them and get some good pictures. From here we were pretty much done with our stops and drove the back way around which provides for some extra interesting driving. Before I explain, the road to Hana is about the journey, everyone will have different interests for stops and some will stop at every site possible. This does make for an extra long day. Our journey time start to finish was about 8 hours.
The back way around offers some more incredible breathtaking views that are not to be missed, but also provides for some more challenging areas to navigate. The vegetation here is noticeably different past Hana, less lush and more arid. This side of the island gets a lot less rain. Parts of the roadway here is merely gravel with some good bumps along the way. More often than not parts are truly one lane and caution is required when oncoming traffic approaches. Besides this, the drive is fun and exhilarating and Z had an awesome time negotiating the roads and particularly all those turns.
We decided as we finished our journey to Hana to try and make it to the summit of Haleakala in time for sunset. Sunset was at 5:49 and so we had just over 2 hours to get there and it took us pretty much all that time to get there. The summit of Haleakala is at 10,023 feet...needless to say it's COLD up there and if you haven't prepared properly you'll be freezing in a manner of seconds. The drive up
from the base to the summit is 21 miles and as you travel along the switchback road, you start below the clouds, in the clouds and then above the clouds. It's hard to describe the feeling of being above the clouds. Certainly a great view from up there and watching the sunset from above the clouds is truly an amazing experience and sight. I've been fortunate to watch some pretty beautiful sunsets but this vantage point definitely raises the bar for beautiful.
All said this incredible day of journey and breathtaking sights was worth every minute of this 12 hour day, but we probably should have heeded the advice not to do both on the same day.
Waterfall along road to Hana
Volcanic rock formations
Just after sunset Haleakala
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
We decided to follow the suggestions found in Maui Revealed (have I mentioned this is a must have guide book?) and started our journey after a breakfast stop in Pa'ia. I'll cover our different eateries in another post. The day started off cloudy with a few shattered showers here and there. Nothing too bad and probably kept a lot of people off the road which was a good thing because there is nothing worse than doing the road to Hana when it's terrible crowded. The drive is a very scenic winding road through very lush tropical forests with lots of bamboo trees. The road is generally a two-way road with many one lane bridges, many other spots where the two-way road is only wide enough for one car one way, many semi-blind hairpin turns, and countless switchbacks. Our trusty guidebook says that tourist info says there are 600 turns along the way....I didn't count but would not doubt that number and perhaps suggest there could be more! The drive is a tropical paradise with many breathtaking views of the coastline and the magnificent Pacific Ocean. Along the way are many beautiful waterfalls and again we only stopped at the ones that intrigued us in our guidebook, which gives a brutal but honest opinion about things on Maui and we have yet to really disagree with their take. As you reach about 2/3 the way to Hana, you come upon a little stand called Half Way to Hana and here you can buy the most delicious tasting banana bread. This is a must stop. We bought banana bread that was so fresh it was still warm as the lovely lady was placing it out on display.
Along the way we also stopped at Wai'anapanapa Park. Here you find not only incredible views but a black sand beach. I can't recall ever being on a black sand beach before so this was real neat. There is a cool cave you can access from the beach but have to beware of the tides because water will come into this cave. Several trails take you along the volcanic rock cliff side and in one area there is a blowhole, but no activity while we were there....I guess the tide wasn't high enough.
Back on the road, we drove through Hana without stopping because everything we read says there isn't much to see there. Instead we made our way to Ohe'o Hulch aka Seven Sacred Pools. The pools were off limits for swimming while we were there because the waters were high and it had been raining. Not a big deal, we could still view them and get some good pictures. From here we were pretty much done with our stops and drove the back way around which provides for some extra interesting driving. Before I explain, the road to Hana is about the journey, everyone will have different interests for stops and some will stop at every site possible. This does make for an extra long day. Our journey time start to finish was about 8 hours.
The back way around offers some more incredible breathtaking views that are not to be missed, but also provides for some more challenging areas to navigate. The vegetation here is noticeably different past Hana, less lush and more arid. This side of the island gets a lot less rain. Parts of the roadway here is merely gravel with some good bumps along the way. More often than not parts are truly one lane and caution is required when oncoming traffic approaches. Besides this, the drive is fun and exhilarating and Z had an awesome time negotiating the roads and particularly all those turns.
We decided as we finished our journey to Hana to try and make it to the summit of Haleakala in time for sunset. Sunset was at 5:49 and so we had just over 2 hours to get there and it took us pretty much all that time to get there. The summit of Haleakala is at 10,023 feet...needless to say it's COLD up there and if you haven't prepared properly you'll be freezing in a manner of seconds. The drive up
from the base to the summit is 21 miles and as you travel along the switchback road, you start below the clouds, in the clouds and then above the clouds. It's hard to describe the feeling of being above the clouds. Certainly a great view from up there and watching the sunset from above the clouds is truly an amazing experience and sight. I've been fortunate to watch some pretty beautiful sunsets but this vantage point definitely raises the bar for beautiful.
All said this incredible day of journey and breathtaking sights was worth every minute of this 12 hour day, but we probably should have heeded the advice not to do both on the same day.
Waterfall along road to Hana
Volcanic rock formations
Just after sunset Haleakala
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Back to Ka'anapali
Just over one year later we find ourselves back at the Westin Villas in Ka'anapali. This time we are staying in the north villas in a studio with ocean view. The difference between the north and south villas is that the studios in the north have full walk out balconies compared to the Juliet balconies in the south. The room has all the comforts you could want away from home - full small kitchen area, washer/dryer, jacuzzi tub, sitting area, and of course the heavenly bed. Our stay here was just as fun as last year minus our friends.
The weather has been great but it's been a little windy since moving to the northwest part of the island. Not complaining though because this is far better than back home!! We've been hanging out at Kahekili beach snorkelling before heading to the pool area in the afternoon, once we are tired of being sandblasted, to spend the rest of the day reading, snoozing and soaking up vitamin D. We've seen some cool fish which are plentiful and Z even got to see two turtles. I wasn't snorkelling at the time. Have to say the snorkelling right outside our resort is probably some of the best snorkelling on the island.
Staying true to our commitment to work out, Z has gone for a run along the boardwalk outside our hotel while I decided to use the try out the fitness centre and used one of their bikes; a 10k ride later I was feeling good but a little sore. I guess it takes a little time for the body to adjust after not having been to the gym for just over a month. The fitness centre here has everything one could need and while it's not quite the same as exercising outside you have a lovely view of the tranquil meditation area with lovely trees to look at.
Island life has been easy to get accustomed to. The pace here is slower and laid back. It's been great to have not a care in the world and the few times work has drifted into my thoughts, I've been able to quickly rid myself of those thoughts. In my world that's the perfect state of being when on vacation.
Rainbow seen from our room
Hot tub by pools at Westin
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The weather has been great but it's been a little windy since moving to the northwest part of the island. Not complaining though because this is far better than back home!! We've been hanging out at Kahekili beach snorkelling before heading to the pool area in the afternoon, once we are tired of being sandblasted, to spend the rest of the day reading, snoozing and soaking up vitamin D. We've seen some cool fish which are plentiful and Z even got to see two turtles. I wasn't snorkelling at the time. Have to say the snorkelling right outside our resort is probably some of the best snorkelling on the island.
Staying true to our commitment to work out, Z has gone for a run along the boardwalk outside our hotel while I decided to use the try out the fitness centre and used one of their bikes; a 10k ride later I was feeling good but a little sore. I guess it takes a little time for the body to adjust after not having been to the gym for just over a month. The fitness centre here has everything one could need and while it's not quite the same as exercising outside you have a lovely view of the tranquil meditation area with lovely trees to look at.
Island life has been easy to get accustomed to. The pace here is slower and laid back. It's been great to have not a care in the world and the few times work has drifted into my thoughts, I've been able to quickly rid myself of those thoughts. In my world that's the perfect state of being when on vacation.
Rainbow seen from our room
Hot tub by pools at Westin
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Wailea
I'm not overly keen on running so my attempts at avoidance are quite successful....but, when Z suggested that we work out on this trip I thought it was a good idea. When he suggested we could go for a run one morning along the boulevard in Wailea I reluctantly agreed. It turned out to be the most scenic run I've ever done with the ocean waves crashing on the volcanic rocks beside me and seeing the beautiful sandy Wailea beach.
Our stay at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa included a buffet breakfast so each morning we made our leisurely way to Mala restaurant, waited for an outdoor table and had great breakfasts overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean.
This resort had everything we needed for our stay and so we didn't actually venture too far from the resort. It gave us everything we were looking for - great beaches on either side, three pools, a fitness centre (didn't get around to using it though), restaurant, plenty of places to lounge, and a shopping centre a quick 2 minute walk away. This resort was really a great place to stay and provided a scenic, relaxing place for us to start out our vacation.
The Shops at Wailea is an upscale shopping centre where you can find stores like Gucci, Tiffany and other high-end brands that I couldn't be bothered with, but also located here is our favourite restaurant in Wailea - Cheeseburger. Great food with live entertainment on the weekends and great happy hour specials, this is a family friendly restaurant worth checking out. You can also find a great ice cream store called Lappert's in the shopping centre. Lappert's makes their waffle cones fresh on site and you can smell them as you get close. In fact we were having dinner at Cheeseburger which is about four storefronts away and we could smell the waffles from there.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Our stay at the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa included a buffet breakfast so each morning we made our leisurely way to Mala restaurant, waited for an outdoor table and had great breakfasts overlooking the vast Pacific Ocean.
This resort had everything we needed for our stay and so we didn't actually venture too far from the resort. It gave us everything we were looking for - great beaches on either side, three pools, a fitness centre (didn't get around to using it though), restaurant, plenty of places to lounge, and a shopping centre a quick 2 minute walk away. This resort was really a great place to stay and provided a scenic, relaxing place for us to start out our vacation.
The Shops at Wailea is an upscale shopping centre where you can find stores like Gucci, Tiffany and other high-end brands that I couldn't be bothered with, but also located here is our favourite restaurant in Wailea - Cheeseburger. Great food with live entertainment on the weekends and great happy hour specials, this is a family friendly restaurant worth checking out. You can also find a great ice cream store called Lappert's in the shopping centre. Lappert's makes their waffle cones fresh on site and you can smell them as you get close. In fact we were having dinner at Cheeseburger which is about four storefronts away and we could smell the waffles from there.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Monday, November 12, 2012
Amazing Race connection in Maui
One of my favourite shows is the Amazing Race...wonder why? Could it have anything to do with traveling around the world? Sunday night we watched the show in our room and to our surprise at the end when the first team made it to the pit stop and won the leg, Phil announced they had won a trip to Maui....and no less to the same resort we were staying at....the Wailea Beach Marriott Resort & Spa. That was pretty cool seeing the shots of the resort on the show which we were in the middle of experiencing.
The Marriott is not actually beachfront, there is a beach one either side of the property which are easily accessible. Wailea beach is to the left and Ulua beach is to the right. We spent one day at each and it's hard to say which was my preferred beach. The surf was pretty choppy the day we spent at Ulua beach which brought some pretty large waves in and so I didn't stand in the water too long but it would be a great beach for swimming when the water is a little calmer. This beach wasn't too busy and there was plenty of space to park oneself and soak up the rays.
Wailea beach is ranked as one of the best beaches in America, we found this out in
Maui Revealed - a must have guide book. This beach has amazing fine grain sand and is about a 1/3 mile long. The water was quite calm the day we spent there and I really enjoyed swimming around.
We spent the later part of the afternoons sitting and enjoying the Serenity pool at the resort. This is the resort's infinity pool overlooking the ocean. It's for guests 18 years and older so it really does provide some serenity.
We had the pleasure of seeing some marine life as well. Little did I know that i
a colony of green sea turtles that hangs out in front of the resort. We also got to see a Hawaiian monk seal who decided to sunbath on the volcanic rocks outside of the resort. It was quite the sight to see as he made himself comfortable so he could take in the sun. We discovered quickly as a volunteer monk seal response team member arrived that this little seal had to be something special. Thanks to the wonderful world of Google and Wikipedia we discovered that the monk seal is on the critically endangered list and there are only about 1100 remaining.
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Ulua beach
Chillin' in the infinity pool
Hawaiian sunset
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
The Marriott is not actually beachfront, there is a beach one either side of the property which are easily accessible. Wailea beach is to the left and Ulua beach is to the right. We spent one day at each and it's hard to say which was my preferred beach. The surf was pretty choppy the day we spent at Ulua beach which brought some pretty large waves in and so I didn't stand in the water too long but it would be a great beach for swimming when the water is a little calmer. This beach wasn't too busy and there was plenty of space to park oneself and soak up the rays.
Wailea beach is ranked as one of the best beaches in America, we found this out in
Maui Revealed - a must have guide book. This beach has amazing fine grain sand and is about a 1/3 mile long. The water was quite calm the day we spent there and I really enjoyed swimming around.
We spent the later part of the afternoons sitting and enjoying the Serenity pool at the resort. This is the resort's infinity pool overlooking the ocean. It's for guests 18 years and older so it really does provide some serenity.
We had the pleasure of seeing some marine life as well. Little did I know that i
a colony of green sea turtles that hangs out in front of the resort. We also got to see a Hawaiian monk seal who decided to sunbath on the volcanic rocks outside of the resort. It was quite the sight to see as he made himself comfortable so he could take in the sun. We discovered quickly as a volunteer monk seal response team member arrived that this little seal had to be something special. Thanks to the wonderful world of Google and Wikipedia we discovered that the monk seal is on the critically endangered list and there are only about 1100 remaining.
Hawaiian Monk Seal
Ulua beach
Chillin' in the infinity pool
Hawaiian sunset
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Return to Maui
I have always wanted to explore as many different places that I can in my lifetime and have said many times that I don't want to go back to the same place time and time again. But what does one do when they are offered a great deal at a resort that you visited the year before, it's fall but already feels like winter at home with temperatures only reaching a high of 10 Celsius and lows hitting below freezing, it's been raining for 3 weeks and you know it won't really improve until May if you're lucky but probably not until June or July? Well in Z and my case we book a trip back to sunny Maui.
I need to start off by voicing a little frustration with Air Canada and their "pineapple express" flight. It's really time to retrofit these planes to the modern age and while they are at it perhaps get some happier flight attendants. The biggest problem I had with the flight was that it was so incredibly cold. The AC was blowing and despite several people, including me, sitting in our area asking for the heat to be turned up there was nothing that could be done because other areas of the plane were warm. These old planes don't have proper climate controls capabilities. When we asked for a blanket the flight attendant shrugged and said they didn't have any on board unless we wanted to pay $5. Seriously?!?!
We arrived after our 6 hour freezing flight to a warm night in Maui. Our first few days take us to Wailea. There's something so freeing about being in a tropical location with not a care in the world. I've gone dark from work meaning the Blackberry is sitting at home and its red flashing light can't stress me out till I get back. The biggest decisions on day one were should we get up now? What should I eat for breakfast and should we hang out at the beach or pool for the day?
Our first day was just perfect. Ocean view breakfast outside on the hotel restaurant lanai, chillin' out in a hammock listening to the ocean waves crashing ashore, bobbing and frolicking in the ocean, swimming in the infinity pool overlooking the ocean, topped off with relaxing in the very warm sunshine.
Now all I need to figure out is a way for us to stay indefinitely.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
I need to start off by voicing a little frustration with Air Canada and their "pineapple express" flight. It's really time to retrofit these planes to the modern age and while they are at it perhaps get some happier flight attendants. The biggest problem I had with the flight was that it was so incredibly cold. The AC was blowing and despite several people, including me, sitting in our area asking for the heat to be turned up there was nothing that could be done because other areas of the plane were warm. These old planes don't have proper climate controls capabilities. When we asked for a blanket the flight attendant shrugged and said they didn't have any on board unless we wanted to pay $5. Seriously?!?!
We arrived after our 6 hour freezing flight to a warm night in Maui. Our first few days take us to Wailea. There's something so freeing about being in a tropical location with not a care in the world. I've gone dark from work meaning the Blackberry is sitting at home and its red flashing light can't stress me out till I get back. The biggest decisions on day one were should we get up now? What should I eat for breakfast and should we hang out at the beach or pool for the day?
Our first day was just perfect. Ocean view breakfast outside on the hotel restaurant lanai, chillin' out in a hammock listening to the ocean waves crashing ashore, bobbing and frolicking in the ocean, swimming in the infinity pool overlooking the ocean, topped off with relaxing in the very warm sunshine.
Now all I need to figure out is a way for us to stay indefinitely.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Okanagan photos
 |
| Kettle Valley trestles |
 |
| Myra Canyon forest fire scars |
 |
| Hanging out by the trestles |
 |
| Close up of one of the trestles |
 |
| Quails' Gate wine celler |
 |
| Wine with lunch at Quails' Gate |
 |
| View of Okanagan Lake at Quails' Gate |
 |
| Double rainbow after the lightening storm |
 |
| Okanagan Lake beach front |
Okanagan getaway
A year ago in July I started a new lifelong adventure with my best friend Z. What better way for us to celebrate this first year than taking a trip to BC's wine country - the Okanagan. We spent a day in Kelowna before heading a little south to Summerland. How can you not get excited about a place called Summerland? The name itself promises so much and it did not disappoint.
When we originally planned this trip, we had not realized that the Okanagan wine festival was going on. It's rather strange that planners like us don't always find out what festivals might be going on at the time we're travelling to a certain destination. Anyway, it was an added bonus to find out the wine festival was happening and it helped us determine some of the wineries we'd visit.
A relatively new winery called Volcanic Hills Estate Winery happened to be having a free tasting and BBQ lunch the day we arrived in Kelowna. So off to Volcanic we went...this winery had a nice tasting room and store and we found out during our tour that a lot of their grapes are actually grown in offsite vineyards. If I remember correctly, this family run business previously owned another vineyard before starting Volcanic and is now third generation owned.
In 2003 a forest fire devastated Kelowna and consumed over 25000 hectares of forest and park land south of the city. 239 homes were destroyed and more than 30000 people were evacuated from their homes. The fire started on August 16 by a lightening strike, spread like wildfire in the desert dry conditions and was 90% contained by middle of September. Needless to say the area was devastated and the forest still shows her scars.
We visited Myra Canyon, an area consumed by the 2003 fire. We hiked part of a trail called Kettle Valley Trail which is along the abandoned Kettle Valley Railway bed. This corridor boasts some very incredible scenery and views. One of the casualties of the forest fire in the canyon were 12 of the wooden trail trestles. Since then great efforts were made to repair, restore and rebuild the trestles and it's worth a visit for anyone planning a trip to Kelowna.
We also visited Quails' Gate Estate Winery while in Kelowna. Here we did a tour and tasting before having a lovely lunch on the patio at the winery's restaurant. This winery is very picturesque as it overlooks Okanagan lake. Our tour guide was most pleasant and very informative making it well worth it. Lunch was fabulous with a great wine pairing of a wine I tried at the tasting that I really liked.
From Kelowna we drove south to Summerland and stayed at the Summerland Waterfront Resort. This little gem was great! We stayed in a studio room which came equipped with a full kitchen. The resort had a small beachfront, but was only a short walk away from a much larger park/beachfront area. The resort had good amenities including a pool and gym area, both of which we didn't end up using. The deal we booked on included a voucher for the resort cafe and so we used that for breakfast for two of the days. The breakfast was really good with fresh fruit and home baked cinnamon buns, great coffee and toast. The deal also included a wine tasting and tour at Sumac Ridge Estate Winery and so on our official anniversary we went to Sumac Ridge for tour/tasting. How fitting we chose our anniversary because Sumac Ridge sparkling wine was part of our special day.
The weather was extremely hot and the lake was refreshing. We decided to go for a run one afternoon and as we were about half way through the sky started getting dark with some rain clouds. That evening we got to watch a lightening storm while enjoying a nice dinner overlooking the lake.
We stopped at one last winery as our trip came to an end. This winery is much different that the others we visited. Rustico Farm & Cellars was our last stop. This ranch features not only a vineyard, but also has horses. Going on the ranch theme the wine tasting is served by the owner decked out as a cowboy.
All in all this was a wonderful quick getaway for the both of us. It was great to finally get around to visiting BC's wine country and being able to celebrate our anniversary over several days was really special. The Okanagan is a very beautiful place and we are fortunate to be able to visit. Life is good.
When we originally planned this trip, we had not realized that the Okanagan wine festival was going on. It's rather strange that planners like us don't always find out what festivals might be going on at the time we're travelling to a certain destination. Anyway, it was an added bonus to find out the wine festival was happening and it helped us determine some of the wineries we'd visit.
A relatively new winery called Volcanic Hills Estate Winery happened to be having a free tasting and BBQ lunch the day we arrived in Kelowna. So off to Volcanic we went...this winery had a nice tasting room and store and we found out during our tour that a lot of their grapes are actually grown in offsite vineyards. If I remember correctly, this family run business previously owned another vineyard before starting Volcanic and is now third generation owned.
In 2003 a forest fire devastated Kelowna and consumed over 25000 hectares of forest and park land south of the city. 239 homes were destroyed and more than 30000 people were evacuated from their homes. The fire started on August 16 by a lightening strike, spread like wildfire in the desert dry conditions and was 90% contained by middle of September. Needless to say the area was devastated and the forest still shows her scars.
We visited Myra Canyon, an area consumed by the 2003 fire. We hiked part of a trail called Kettle Valley Trail which is along the abandoned Kettle Valley Railway bed. This corridor boasts some very incredible scenery and views. One of the casualties of the forest fire in the canyon were 12 of the wooden trail trestles. Since then great efforts were made to repair, restore and rebuild the trestles and it's worth a visit for anyone planning a trip to Kelowna.
We also visited Quails' Gate Estate Winery while in Kelowna. Here we did a tour and tasting before having a lovely lunch on the patio at the winery's restaurant. This winery is very picturesque as it overlooks Okanagan lake. Our tour guide was most pleasant and very informative making it well worth it. Lunch was fabulous with a great wine pairing of a wine I tried at the tasting that I really liked.
From Kelowna we drove south to Summerland and stayed at the Summerland Waterfront Resort. This little gem was great! We stayed in a studio room which came equipped with a full kitchen. The resort had a small beachfront, but was only a short walk away from a much larger park/beachfront area. The resort had good amenities including a pool and gym area, both of which we didn't end up using. The deal we booked on included a voucher for the resort cafe and so we used that for breakfast for two of the days. The breakfast was really good with fresh fruit and home baked cinnamon buns, great coffee and toast. The deal also included a wine tasting and tour at Sumac Ridge Estate Winery and so on our official anniversary we went to Sumac Ridge for tour/tasting. How fitting we chose our anniversary because Sumac Ridge sparkling wine was part of our special day.
The weather was extremely hot and the lake was refreshing. We decided to go for a run one afternoon and as we were about half way through the sky started getting dark with some rain clouds. That evening we got to watch a lightening storm while enjoying a nice dinner overlooking the lake.
We stopped at one last winery as our trip came to an end. This winery is much different that the others we visited. Rustico Farm & Cellars was our last stop. This ranch features not only a vineyard, but also has horses. Going on the ranch theme the wine tasting is served by the owner decked out as a cowboy.
All in all this was a wonderful quick getaway for the both of us. It was great to finally get around to visiting BC's wine country and being able to celebrate our anniversary over several days was really special. The Okanagan is a very beautiful place and we are fortunate to be able to visit. Life is good.
Reflections of Thailand.....finally
It sure is strange how quickly life and all its responsibilities take over after you come back from a vacation, whether that vacation is long or short. So here I am, four months after returning from Thailand, finally getting around to posting my final thoughts and reflections. And for this to even happen I had to take a weeklong stay-cation and put it on my long list of things I must complete.
Thankfully the memories remain fresh. That's the sweet part of travelling, always having the memories to take me back to the places I've been so fortunate to visit. Our Thailand trip was a truly amazing experience. My only regret was that we couldn't stay longer. The people are absolutely amazing, so friendly and always smiling. The food was fantastic and so flavourful. I really need to get on trying to recreate some of the Thai dishes we learned to make at our cooking class in Chiang Mai. The weather was hot, but not totally unbearable. Air-conditioning is a definite must for any accommodations. The sights we got to see are unforgettable and our week long stay on Samui was one of the best weeks I've ever had. The beach outside our resort was not busy and the water was so warm. It was all so tranquil. Besides a week long beach break, which would usually be my top experience, on this trip our adventure in being elephant owners for a day takes top prize. This experience was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. To be able to get up and interact with the elephants and know that the elephants were not being mistreated for the sake of entertaining tourists made it even that much more special. And of course being able to share all these experiences with Z!!
Life is an adventure in itself. I have been very fortunate to travel as much as I have, but I'm not done yet. There is a new adventure waiting for me somewhere. So until this globetrotter sets out again, I'll enjoy life's daily adventures until the bug bites again.
Thankfully the memories remain fresh. That's the sweet part of travelling, always having the memories to take me back to the places I've been so fortunate to visit. Our Thailand trip was a truly amazing experience. My only regret was that we couldn't stay longer. The people are absolutely amazing, so friendly and always smiling. The food was fantastic and so flavourful. I really need to get on trying to recreate some of the Thai dishes we learned to make at our cooking class in Chiang Mai. The weather was hot, but not totally unbearable. Air-conditioning is a definite must for any accommodations. The sights we got to see are unforgettable and our week long stay on Samui was one of the best weeks I've ever had. The beach outside our resort was not busy and the water was so warm. It was all so tranquil. Besides a week long beach break, which would usually be my top experience, on this trip our adventure in being elephant owners for a day takes top prize. This experience was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity. To be able to get up and interact with the elephants and know that the elephants were not being mistreated for the sake of entertaining tourists made it even that much more special. And of course being able to share all these experiences with Z!!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
Koh Samui pictures
Namuang Waterfall
The Big Buddha
Thongtakian Beach and cove (by our bungalow)
Sunset at Taling Ngam
Taling Ngam
Chaweng Beach
Samui coast
Birds at breakfast
Sunrise
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Exploring Samui
We rented a car while on Samui which gave us a nice dry ride in on Songkran and also gave us the freedom to explore the island at our leisure. Z still had his International Driver's License so all driving responsibility was his. I don't think even if I could have driven would have wanted to. First off you drive on the opposite side of the road and well driving is a little crazy as scooters will pass on the right or left of you and cars pass on the right and sometimes oncoming traffic needs to move a little left to make room. Too stressful in my opinion.
We had a good chuckle every day when we looked at the weather forecast. Everyday the report would say a thunder shower or two. The weather was great, it was sunny with the occasional cloud cover which actually provided much needed reprieve from the hot sun. The temperature with humidity was in the high 40's C. If you were not careful you could get sun burnt before you could recite the alphabet. Our air conditioner in our bungalow was set at 23C.
We chose to explore different areas of the island on different days. To the south of our resort is Lamai which we read has a Sunday night market. The market spanned many blocks and offered a large variety of items for sale including a lot of "brand-named" items. An entire section was dedicated to food and drink. Lamai also has a Tesco which is a big super store similar to a Walmart where you can buy household items, clothes, groceries, etc. Also in the Tesco Z discovered a DQ which helped satisfy his mango blizzard craving. :)
We made our way to Namuang Waterfall 2 which required us to hike about 25 minutes through jungle before getting to the waterfall which has a 80 meter drop and is the largest on Samui. After the waterfall we stopped in at the Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom. This park provides an imitation natural habitat for the butterflies in their enclosed beautifully landscaped gardens. The park also houses some not so beautiful insects such as scorpions, millipedes, a tarantula, and bees. I wasn't too keen on these creatures.
Being on an island means lots of beaches. We had a wonderful sunset beach dinner at I-Talay restaurant in Taling Ngam, known as the virgin coast. We also explored an area on the north side called Mae Nam. This area isn't yet as popular as others so the beautiful beach was practically deserted. We spent a lovely morning here after having rented a couple beach chairs and wasted the time away reading, swimming and listening to the surf. The water here gets deeper faster and the sea floor is a lovely fine sand making it all the more enjoyable bobbing up and down.
Next to Mae Nam is Bo Phut. It is in Bo Phut where you'll find Wat Phra Yai and the big Buddha. I'll post a picture in a picture blog, but this Buddha is massive!
The biggest and most busy beach and town is Chaweng. The beach here is very long and the sand quite nice. The beach was much busier than we had experienced at our other beach visits. The main street in the town is lined with shops and restaurants. I found the hustle and bustle of the town a little much and preferred the quieter, less busy areas of Samui. We did have a lovely dinner here though.
Koh Samui is a beautiful island filled with lots of gorgeous beaches, tropical jungle, and extremely friendly and hospitable people. Everyone we encountered was friendly and smiling. I guess when you live on a tropical paradise such as this it would be relatively easy to always be smiling.
All in all I'd have to say that the beach by our resort was my most favourite place to be. It was so tranquil and relaxing and being there with Z made it all that much better.
Our sunset dinner in Taling Ngam
We had a good chuckle every day when we looked at the weather forecast. Everyday the report would say a thunder shower or two. The weather was great, it was sunny with the occasional cloud cover which actually provided much needed reprieve from the hot sun. The temperature with humidity was in the high 40's C. If you were not careful you could get sun burnt before you could recite the alphabet. Our air conditioner in our bungalow was set at 23C.
We chose to explore different areas of the island on different days. To the south of our resort is Lamai which we read has a Sunday night market. The market spanned many blocks and offered a large variety of items for sale including a lot of "brand-named" items. An entire section was dedicated to food and drink. Lamai also has a Tesco which is a big super store similar to a Walmart where you can buy household items, clothes, groceries, etc. Also in the Tesco Z discovered a DQ which helped satisfy his mango blizzard craving. :)
We made our way to Namuang Waterfall 2 which required us to hike about 25 minutes through jungle before getting to the waterfall which has a 80 meter drop and is the largest on Samui. After the waterfall we stopped in at the Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom. This park provides an imitation natural habitat for the butterflies in their enclosed beautifully landscaped gardens. The park also houses some not so beautiful insects such as scorpions, millipedes, a tarantula, and bees. I wasn't too keen on these creatures.
Being on an island means lots of beaches. We had a wonderful sunset beach dinner at I-Talay restaurant in Taling Ngam, known as the virgin coast. We also explored an area on the north side called Mae Nam. This area isn't yet as popular as others so the beautiful beach was practically deserted. We spent a lovely morning here after having rented a couple beach chairs and wasted the time away reading, swimming and listening to the surf. The water here gets deeper faster and the sea floor is a lovely fine sand making it all the more enjoyable bobbing up and down.
Next to Mae Nam is Bo Phut. It is in Bo Phut where you'll find Wat Phra Yai and the big Buddha. I'll post a picture in a picture blog, but this Buddha is massive!
The biggest and most busy beach and town is Chaweng. The beach here is very long and the sand quite nice. The beach was much busier than we had experienced at our other beach visits. The main street in the town is lined with shops and restaurants. I found the hustle and bustle of the town a little much and preferred the quieter, less busy areas of Samui. We did have a lovely dinner here though.
Koh Samui is a beautiful island filled with lots of gorgeous beaches, tropical jungle, and extremely friendly and hospitable people. Everyone we encountered was friendly and smiling. I guess when you live on a tropical paradise such as this it would be relatively easy to always be smiling.
All in all I'd have to say that the beach by our resort was my most favourite place to be. It was so tranquil and relaxing and being there with Z made it all that much better.
Our sunset dinner in Taling Ngam
Our Island Oasis
After much research, we booked our island getaway on Koh Samui at Promtsuk Buri Resort located on Thongtakian Beach on the southeast side of Samui. This resort provided us with just what we were looking for...a quiet oasis to relax and unwind. The resort offers individual bungalows for their guests and we were upgraded to a sea view bungalow when we arrived. Each bungalow has an open air shower which was a neat experience. In fact the whole bathroom is outside. The bungalow also came with a good sized deck and two wooden beach chairs allowed for a great place to sit and read or just relax. There was even a wooden bucket filled with water and ladle at the bottom of the stairs leading to the deck so that you could rinse off your feet before entering your bungalow. How smart is that? Every morning we were woken up by the beautiful birds chirping and the glorious early morning sunshine.
The grounds of the resort were stunning and well kept with tropical plants and flowers everywhere. There were even banana trees and I'm sure the bananas were picked for part of the fresh fruit offered at breakfast. There was a hammock tied between two palm trees providing another spot for some R&R.
Breakfast was included in the price and the selection was quite extensive. You could order a la carte if you chose to or from two set breakfast options. We chose a la carte. The food was very good and the staff super friendly. My favorite was the banana pancakes. Breakfast was served at the beachside restaurant which also served a delicious mango shake and coconut milk using the coconut as the "cup". This restaurant did not have a dinner service so we went to the resort next door a couple times for dinner and on our last night here were having dinner on the beach when some of the European guests at our resort had a fireworks show put on for them on the beach. So we had dinner on the beach amongst fireworks. Pretty neat and unexpected experience I'd say!
Now the best part of staying here, our bungalow was literally 20 steps from the beach. The beach was for the most part fine white sand and felt so lovely between the toes. Thongtakian Beach is a secluded beach for the five resorts that are situated in this cove. None of these resorts are huge and so the beach wasn't overly busy. There was never a problem finding a good spot except for perhaps the shady area. The water was crystal clear and as warm as a bath. It wasn't very deep and you could go pretty far out and still touch the bottom. For the most part it was sandy but there was a portion that was a little rocky and we found snorkeling this area quite interesting. There weren't a whole lot of fish, but definitely some we hadn't seen on our snorkeling tours.
Staying here was just what the doctor ordered, a tranquil serene beach oasis where your only care was whether to frolic in the water or sit on the beach and listen to the gentle waves crash.
Koh Tao pictures
I would have labeled this pictures but I don't know the names of the fish. I'll have to study some books before I snorkel again.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Koh Tao Day Trip
'Koh' means island in Thai and we read about some great snorkeling to be experienced around Koh Tao, a small island about 90 minutes away by speedboat from our base on Koh Samui. We decided to book with the same great dive outfit that took us to Angthong Marine Park and again we were super well taken care of.
P.S. this blog entry is being guest written by me, Z to give Lory a blogging break and to give me a chance to rave about amazing Thailand and Koh Tao! :)
The day started with an early wake up and 7:15am pickup. Breakfast at our bungalow resort does not begin until 8am so we planned ahead and picked up some banana bread, yoghurt and drinks from Tesco Lotus (a big grocery-supercentre store) the night before and had a quick bite before heading out. Having a car to get around, explore and make pitstops like this is great - once you get accustomed to driving on the left in crazy Koh Samui traffic!
It turns out that a mother and daughter from Wales and staying at an adjoining resort to ours were also on our tour so we all got picked up together and made our way to the 100 Degrees East dive shop.
Koh Tao is renowned for diving so this tour had 6 other folks who were set to dive while we snorkeled. I was very tempted to dive myself as I have my license but it has been a while and I really enjoy the freedom of snorkeling, plus, by snorkeling, I would be able to experience this together with Lory which made the decision an easy one :)
The first snorkeling spot was located off a quiet beach where we entered the warm water with our great snorkeling guide Nuwin. As soon as we popped our faces into the clear water, you could see fish everywhere! Yellow fish, black fish, long tail fish, rainbow fish, all kinds of fish! The water was calm and we spent over an hour snorkeling around the beach cove which was surrounded by rocks near the outer edges. It was nice having Nuwin as our guide but to be honest the fish were so plentiful that it was easy to just swim around on your own.
We used the underwater camera case that we picked up right before leaving Vancouver on this trip and this time I made sure to keep the lens clear as we discovered our previous photos came out with smudges in the middle probably from fingerprints and sunscreen. The case is great and fits our Canon camera perfectly! It allowed me to take photos like the one above and many more including some amazing 1080p videos!
An amazing Thai curry lunch with cold sodas followed on the boat and then we were off to the second stop. This time we anchored just off a secluded shallow reef area surrounded completely by rocks and quickly made our way into the water to snorkel some more. This area had even more fish, some of the same and some new ones like a school of big grouper fish and angel fish that Nuwin pointed out. We also saw some great coral, including brain coral, leather coral, table coral and tree coral. Colourful clams around the coral were everywhere and they would open and close as we were snorkeling by. Nuwin also took us out into some deeper ocean and Lory who is now becoming snorkeling junkie was comfortable making her way around in some deep water. Out here, Nuwin showed us an old car that has been submerged for divers/snorkelers to check out. He claimed it was his car and proceeded to free dive down into the drivers seat :)
Snorkeling done, we headed back to our resort, had another mango shake (pure mango heaven) and spent the rest of the afternoon in the water and on our beach reading and chilling. Quick shower before we headed to dinner at a place called Dr. Froggs which overlooks the ocean. After 10 days of eating delicious Thai food, I decided to have a pizza at Dr. Froggs since they were known to make tasty pies...and it was delicious! Lory had an interesting version of chicken with cashew nut which was super spicy and required her to cool down with two more mango shakes!
I have to say that Koh Tao definitely ranks as one of the best snorkel spots I have been to and would definitely recommend as a stop in the Gulf of Thailand!
Monday, April 16, 2012
Pictures from Angthong
Leaving Koh Samui
Rock formation jetting out over snorkeling route
Snorkeling
Some of the colourful fish
Clam
Jellyfish
Rock formations/islands in the Marine Park
More rock formations
Emerald Lake
Lunch on the beach
Monkey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)