Jews, Communists, and other uplifting stories

While not intentional, I planned a real whopper of a day. First up, the Great Synagogue. This is the largest synagogue in Europe, and the 2nd largest in the world after NYC. It’s truly a miracle that it survived WWII and life behind the Iron Curtain.

In the courtyard, over 2200 victims of WWII are buried in 24 mass graves. All of these victims were given proper Jewish funerals, many of whom had originally been hastily buried and then later exhumed.

Sadly, 2200 is a tiny fraction of those who died. The greater Budapest area saw over 400,000 people murdered, sent to labor/concentration camps, or dead from starvation, disease, or lack of clean drinking water. A tasteful Tree of Life memorial honors many of the other victims whose bodies were never identified.

On the synagogue grounds, there was also a really informative gallery about the Budapest ghetto. After a depressing tour, we went inside the temple. What a sight! I can see why this is sometimes called the Jewish Cathedral.

Other uplifting sights in the Jewish quarter included a monument to Carl Lutz, a Swiss official who helped countless Jews get false papers and who prevented the destruction of the ghetto, and street markers signaling the edge of the former Budapest ghetto.

We stopped for a quick lunch (excellent semi-fast food falafel), and then meandered our way over to the House of Terror museum. This building was used by fascists in WWII and the Arrow Cross and other communist officials for detaining, torturing, and executing opposition members.

It was an interesting multi-media museum, although it jumped from the 1950s to 1991 in a somewhat jarring manner. There’s apparently some controversy around its portrayal of Hungary as a helpless pawn in the games played by Nazi fascists and Soviet-backed communists that I wasn’t aware of before (I can see their point, based off the tone of the material in the museum). Still, it was informative and did a good job of making visitors feel uncomfortable, which war crime themed museums should certainly do.

Standing cell – too small to permit prisoners to sit or crouch

With heavy hearts, we turned our sights on more uplifting evening activities, starting with a walk along Andrássy út, a gorgeous boulevard on the UNESCO world heritage list. Each building had a different architectural style, and it was a beautiful walk.

At the end of the boulevard, visitors enter Heroes’ Square. This marks the start of City Park, a vast green space with all manner of interesting buildings (including a castle!), an ice skating rink, and a massive hot bath facility.

Vajdahunyad Castle, inspiration for the Disney Castle

The Széchenyi baths have over a dozen tubs. Most are in the ideal 38 degree Celsius range. The water was truly lovely, but the clientele here runs a lot younger and so the vibe wasn’t quite our scene (on weekend nights, they bring in DJs and turn the place into a water-based club for events called sparties).

After much debate, we ended up at a Lebanese restaurant for dinner. A very nice Lebanese restaurant. It was absolutely delicious, and still under $100 including a bottle of very nice Hungarian wine.

Tomorrow’s docket is substantially less morbid, thankfully. Nevertheless, we had a really wonderful day on what’s been a consistently wonderful trip!

Hello, Hungary!

Bratislava was vastly more enjoyable than any of us expected. On our way to the train station, the city seemed to beckon me to stay or plan a return trip soon by presenting me with what might be the single greatest thing I’ve ever seen: a cheese vending machine!

Despite the temptation to stay, Budapest was calling and so we found our way to the train station. The train was 10 minutes late, which was apparently a big deal based on the frequency of announcements about it (the T has to be at least 100% slower than normal for anybody to make an announcement). We boarded, settled in for the 2.5 hour ride, and then my companions all fell asleep.

After dropping off our bags in what turned out to be another A-level accommodation (reminds me of the place I always stay at in Barcelona), we headed out to the suburbs to see Momento Park. This is an outdoor museum filled with propaganda and memorials from Hungary’s communist past. I knew Luke would love this place, and I was right.

One shortfall of the US educational system: I do not know my communist figureheads. Lenin, Stalin, Engels…sure, but who led the Communist party in Hungary? In Slovakia? Not a clue. Well, at least until today. I still may not know their names, but I got to see them in 20 foot-tall bronze sculpture format.

After mastering the bus and subway systems to make it back to town, we made our way over to the Gellért neighborhood. Since we hadn’t had lunch, we stopped at a bakery. OH MY GOSH!!!!! I read that bakeries were good here, but this was so much better than good. Makes the Italian pastries in my neighborhood seem pretty trashy. I will dream of that fresh cheese danish forever.

Before heading to the thermal baths, we climbed up a hill that was much steeper than I had hoped/planned to see the Citadel and the Liberty Statue (aka Freedom Statue). After climbing nearly 500 feet up, we get to the top to find a sign explaining that the sights are closed for renovation. As Luke noted, that sign would’ve been a whole lot more helpful at the bottom of the hill than at the top!

After the climb up that hill, we were ready to hit Gellért Baths, a spa/pool/thermal bath complex. It’s absolutely stunning, and the water was at the perfect 36-40 degree Celsius range to relieve all stress and sore muscles.

We spent 90 minutes enjoying all of the tubs and pools. After changing, we crossed the Liberty Bridge and headed back toward our side of town for dinner.

Dinner was at a traditional Hungarian restaurant. Kiddo had duck breast and Luke had a garlic-marinated and grilled pork cutlet. I was desperate for veggies so I got a salad (without meat, which seemed to baffle the server).

We ended the night with something called a chimney cake. It’s a yeasty, raised dough (like a doughnut) that’s cut into strips and then baked around a cylindrical mold over charcoal. It’s coated in butter and sugar so it gets a caramelized crust, then it’s rolled in a topping while it’s still warm. Amazing!

Bratislava isn’t what you think

I was thinking Prague, circa 2002. Communist block housing, hustlers trying to sell you a hotel room/food/merchandise of questionable origin, a complete lack of vegetables or food that I can eat…

Bratislava is definitely the cleanest city I’ve ever been to. It’s got a stunning architectural mix of Art Nouveau, Gothic, Renaissance, plus the Socialist realism and Communist brutalism that you’d expect. I’ve had exactly zero people try to sell me things, pickpocket me, or scam me in any way. Walking around at night feels easy and safe.

We started the day with a 10:30 tour of 20th Century Bratislava. Having lived through the fall of the U.S.S.R. and the Iron Curtain, Luke and I were particularly interested in this part of the area’s history.

We learned about the city’s Jewish history. Of the 85,000 Jews in Slovakia, fewer than 10,000 survived WWII, and fewer than 500 stayed in Slovakia when it transitioned to Communist Czechoslovakia. The city has only 1 remaining synagogue to serve the remaining population.

Throughout the past 70 years, Slovakian architecture also featured public art as part of a law requiring 2 pieces of art with every building development.

Periodic table outside the technical university

TV building, voted one of the ugliest buildings in the world (Boston City Hall is worse, if you ask me)

Slovakia recently elected a female president, something I’m not confident I’ll see in the US in my lifetime. She’s opted not to live in the Presidential Palace, although she still goes there to work. We watched the changing of the guard and all agreed that having to stand completely still for an hour would be miserable.

We wrapped up the tour at the memorial commemorating the Velvet Revolution, where our guide outlined the breakup of Czechoslovakia (a velvet divorce, as he called it).

As we set out on our own, we set our sights on the Blue Church. It seems all of Bratislava has weird hours and all of those weird hours exclude Mondays, so we couldn’t go inside, but it was super cool on the outside. This looks nothing like any cathedral I’ve ever seen. It’s a sort of mix of big cathedral, soft Art Nouveau curves, and pastel coloring of nothing I’ve never seen in a cathedral before.

Lunch was at a place that was originally built to house a monastery and public hospital in the 16th century, but is now a brewery and restaurant. Food was traditional Slovakian, which apparently means absolutely no green veggies of any kind, but plenty of potatoes, cheese, and meat. Thankfully, they seem to be totally OK with vegetarians as long as cheese and potato are ok. That’s ok with me!

Michael’s Gate, built in 1300 and reconstructed in 1758

We meandered our way up to Bratislava Castle. This has a strong Bavarian castle feel, with the symmetrical walls and turrets on the corners. It’s on top of a hill (of course), so we had quite the workout getting up there!

No idea what this statue is of, but we all agreed it was pretty cool!

Since the castle wasn’t open, we explored the exterior and then left to see two more sights. First up was St. Martin’s Cathedral. This was a quaint cathedral by most standards, and I appreciated the modest scale as compared to a cathedral in Spain, France, or Italy.

Last event for the day was the observation tower on the UFO bridge. On a really clear day, you can see Hungary and Austria from up here. It wasn’t quite that clear, but the views were still fabulous.

We leaned hard into the tourist angle and had a drink in the rooftop bar while the sun set over the city.

Bratislava Castle, seen from the UFO tower rooftop bar

Anybody who knows me knows that I never leave a bar or restaurant without using the bathroom. These facilities were hilarious! They are all glass with some strategically placed frosting. While I’m confident the street is too far away for anybody to see anything, the glass certainly makes you think about how you pull your pants up. 🙂

Dinner was at a little pub near the hotel. They had soccer on the projection TV, but then switched to hockey. I’ve never traveled someplace that appreciated hockey (other than Canada and the US), so it hadn’t crossed my mind that the Czech and Slovakian Republics would watch NHL hockey. In hindsight, of course they would like hockey – a huge percent of NHL players come from this region. Some hockey, Pilsner Urquell on tap, some excellent fries, and the best companions wrapped up a great day!

Pilsner Urquell on tap is one of this world’s great wonders

Tomorrow we are off to Budapest. I think one day here was OK, but a 2nd day wouldn’t be a bad thing (3 seems excessive – the city is small). I was expecting a grey, boxy, somewhat soul-less city, but I was so incredibly wrong! This was one of the most surprising cities I’ve ever been to. It surpassed my expectations in every possible manner. Budapest, you have BIG shoes to fill!

Perils of travel

We have had our fair share of thrilling experiences and been to our fair share of somewhat dangerous locations over the years. Great White Shark cage diving in South Africa, a face-to-face encounter with a wild hyena in Botswana, exploring Medellin and Nairobi…all things others might see in a guide book and skip. Yet of all the experiences that may result in my demise, I believe the red-eye flight is the most dangerous/miserable.

We left Boston at 6:00pm. We landed in Dublin at 11:45pm Boston time. That math just doesn’t add up if you try to include sleep in the equation. We checked in to our flight to Bratislava, then kiddo and I slept on the airport floor for 80 minutes. I am too old to sleep on the floor, but MUCH too old for 80 minutes to count as a night’s sleep. I tried sleeping on the flight to Bratislava, too, but the man next to me woke me a few times, first to help him open the bottle of vodka he brought on board, and again when we were landing because he was so incredibly drunk that he couldn’t understand how to buckle his seatbelt.

Anyway, we got a taxi, dragged our exhausted husks up to our penthouse room, and barely said goodnight before enjoying the best 3-hour nap in the history of humankind.

First floor of our hotel room, with a king bed upstairs for the adults

This hotel is stunning. Hotel Arcadia. It’s quite old, with ancient Roman artifacts regularly turning up on the property, and architectural and decorative elements from the Renaissance, Austro-Hungarian, and Habsburg eras. Like most places we go, finding a room for 3 was tricky so we ended up at one of the nicest hotels in the city (yet reasonably priced!). No complaints! It’s comfortable, spacious, and has a cool multi-century history.

After our life-saving nap, we went out for coffee, a walk, and dinner. Bratislava calls itself the “biggest little city” and I can see why. It’s got a tiny footprint, but packs a lot into that space. And Old Town is so gorgeous. So gorgeous that I was recreating the scene from Despicable Me where Agnes grabs the stuffed unicorn and squeals “It’s so fluffy” as she struggles to contain her joy, except I swapped fluffy for adorable.

We took a walk through Old Town (so cute!!!) and then over the UFO bridge. It’s sad that 2/3 of Old Town and the Jewish quarter were destroyed in the 60s and 70s to make way for this bridge, but at least there are nice views from it.

We stopped for dinner at a place near the hotel and sampled Slovakian wine (not bad, but I would suggest the rose over the red). Although my guide book says nobody speaks English, we’ve had no trouble finding English-speakers (of course, we are in Old Town which is the main tourist center). Our server at dinner was asking where we are from and why we chose Bratislava, which makes me think American tourists are not that common (wouldn’t surprise me, since most American tourists prefer more mainstream destinations). He was friendly and spoke excellent English, so we are giving a five-star review for our first evening here.

Two American yahoos at dinner in Bratislava

After what I expect will be an amazing night’s sleep, we will hit all the sights tomorrow!

Whales!!!

Today was the big whale watching day! We had to be up incredibly early to meet the boat at 7:30 (thankfully, we have been keeping an early schedule so being in bed by 9 has not been challenging).

We met our boat at the island’s public beach. This “beach” reaffirmed my belief that French Polynesia simply doesn’t believe in beaches the way we think of them in the States. There was maybe 8’ of sand between the retaining wall and the water, and in some places, there was no land between ocean and wall. At home, there would be 40’ of sand, dotted with countless umbrellas, beach chairs, and other items. Here, a few people sitting on towels. Nothing more.

We weren’t half an hour from shore when we saw whales. At this time of year, most males and single females have left for the South Pole. Mothers with calves will stay a bit longer in the warm Polynesian waters to gather strength and gain weight before beginning their migration, so there was no surprise that the whales we saw were a mother and calf.

We had been warned that we would be swimming a fair distance in open ocean. I was shocked to learn that they have no life jackets, so I got in and figured I’d do my best. The swim was really hard, and I wasn’t able to see the whales from in the water.

Our second whale encounter was better. Melissa and I opted to stay on the boat rather than do the grueling swim again, and our choice paid off. The mother whale swam within 10’ of our boat.

Southern hemisphere humpbacks have white underbellies, unlike their northern hemisphere cousins which are almost all grey-black

One guy in our party got a great underwater video of the whales, so I am looking forward to getting a copy of that video.

We tried one more time to whales, but they were moving around a lot which suggested that they were not receptive to boat encounters today. Our captain did a great job of pivoting and identifying other opportunities on the water. First, we stopped to snorkel at a place that has these cool conch shells called Lambis Robusta, or fake spider conchs.

Bottom center of the photo is a Lambis Robusta shell

Underside is a soft pink color, smooth as glass

We also saw turtles, rays, sharks, and did more snorkeling.

The shark didn’t impress, as previously noted. This was a small one, and it was alone. I was the one to spot it, as I did twice yesterday after being told there are no sharks in the area. I’m pretty sure if there are fish, there are likely sharks!

The last creatures we saw were a pack of spotted eagle rays. These are my favorites! They flap their wings gently, gliding around the ocean almost effortlessly. They seem peaceful, graceful, and very elegant.

Water was quite deep and murky, unfortunately

We got back to shore around noon, had lunch, and were falling asleep at the table. Our taxi driver picked us up and we went to the hotel and took long naps. Looooong naps. Dinner was at Rudy’s again, and it was delicious, again.

Tomorrow we have an 11am check-out and a 12:30 ferry to Tahiti. I pray to all gods that the water is smoother tomorrow than it was on the ferry crossing out here!

Aquatic endeavors

As a non-swimmer, I am spending a LOT of time on the water this week. It’s hard not to when the water looks like this:

Wednesday’s outing was an outrigger canoe trip through the lagoons. Our first stop was an opportunity to meet stingrays, see some black-tipped reef sharks, and do some snorkeling. I’ve never seen a stingray up close, so it was really amazing to get so close with them.

They have large, golden eyes that seem to seek out your own eyes. As they swim near the surface, they suck in air and water, making gurgling noises unbecoming of a creature who moves so gracefully through the water. We were able to touch these magnificent creatures, and it was amazing to feel their smooth, almost calfskin-leather-like skin. Under that soft skin, you can feel their strong muscles working as the glide around, flapping their wings.

Sting rays have gorgeous honey-colored eyes

I developed a love of rays in Belize when the spotted eagle rays would gather outside the hotel restaurant at night, flapping their wings all together as in doing some synchronized swim routine. Sting rays are much larger, much less timid, and also a bit more intimidating given their large size and long tails. Nevertheless, I found them to be majestic, graceful, and very peaceful to watch, like their spotted cousins.

There were also sharks in the water. I was not as impressed with the sharks because they were tiny. These guys are maybe 3-4’ long, compared to the 8’ long nurse sharks we swam with in Belize and the massive Great Whites we did a cage dive with in South Africa. These guys were cute, but not scary.

After we had our fill of rays and sharks, we went snorkeling for a while in the coral garden. As Melissa noted, we saw many familiar faces there. This wasn’t bad snorkeling by any means, but we had been spoiled by Huahine with its pristine waters and unreasonably abundant fish.

We spent the next few hours on land, learning a number of Polynesian skills. We learned how to identify a good coconut and how to open it (a lot of work!)

Then we used those coconuts to made our own Poisson cru. OMG, this was so delicious. mix fresh, raw white tuna with some carrots, cucumber, and green onion, then toss it all with freshly-squeezed coconut milk and lime juice.

Us-made Poisson cru served in a fresh coconut

We also learned about herbal medicines available in Polynesia and our guide wove hats from palm leaves (3 minutes and 10 seconds!)

We got back to shore around 3, and spent the rest of the evening at our hotel. Early day tomorrow!

Polynesian poverty

French Polynesia has not (so far) been what I think most Americans think it is like. Americans imagine overwater bungalows, lush white sand, and vast beach spaces for spreading out under umbrellas (likely with a coconut themed cocktail in hand). Bora Bora might be like that, but Huahine and Mo’Orea have not been like that at all.

Like most Caribbean islands I’ve been to, these islands embrace a mentality of using what’s available, not valuing consumerism, and of enjoying nature as presented without meddling. Beaches are small (where they exist at all), technology is kept quiet and out of sight, and the surroundings almost suggest an air of poverty. I don’t mean to say that this is a poverty-ridden place, but more that people don’t necessarily think that they need to run out and buy a new whatever so long as their current whatever is working. Cars are old, and having a replaced panel of a different color or some strategically-applied duct tape is not unusual. Locals pay no mind to such things. Their approach is entirely based on “what’s mine is yours” and not part of “you eat what you kill.” Everybody knows everybody, and folks look out for each other. This rich patchwork of social connections makes me realize how poor Americans are in social connections.

After breakfast Monday, we drove down to the southern island where this “waste not” lifestyle was continued. We stopped at a vanilla plantation (Tahitian vanilla has an intoxicating aroma), then headed over to Anini Mara’e, another of the archaeological sites. This one had all 4 sides enclosed by vertical stones. No idea what they are for, but they are cool!

The rest of the day was supposed to be for the beaches of Huahine Iti. We got a little beach time in, plus some snorkeling. And then it started raining.

These crabs dig their holes in the sand, coming up to dump building debris.

We found shelter (and lunch!) at the hotel restaurant. Like the day before, this rain was completely insane. We accepted the fact that it wasn’t going to be a great beach day, so we went home after eating.

Thankfully, the sky was more cooperative by evening, so we went out for dinner at the Yacht Club restaurant. It did not fail to disappoint a second time!

We changed our Tuesday flight out of Huahine to a morning flight, so the next morning we were again up early (hard not to be with so many roosters around). This flight was blissfully less turbulent. I wish I could say that about the ferry ride from Tahiti to Mo’Orea! 🤢

We made it to the hotel in Mo’Orea, had lunch at the fabulous overwater restaurant, and then took a walk to buy water and pearls.

After enjoying the beach for ~2 hours, we showered and set out for dinner at Rudy’s. This was phenomenal! Their specialty is parrotfish, and as curious as I was, I do not believe it was worth the risk trying it since it was served with crab.

Not the most exciting day, but it is the definition of a relaxing day in paradise!

And the award for best timing goes to…

Us, for sure.

I had tried to reach one highly-rated lagoon tour operator for days with no luck. Saturday afternoon I found a different one who was very responsive so we booked with them. They noted that the weather looked spotty, and that they let us know in the morning if they had to reschedule.

We woke up to rain, but the tour manager said they were going out. We returned the rental car and then got picked up. Thankfully, the boat had a roof and an adequate supply of rain jackets. As we left shore, the rain slowly let up, and thankfully, it stayed clear for the entire time we were on the boat. While on land, it rained in a biblical fashion.

First stop: a pearl farm. Super interesting to learn how pearls are made!

After reaching the western side of the small island, we got out to snorkel. With water this clear, snorkeling is engaging and exciting. There are big fish, little fish, pretty fish, and some pretty boring fish, all in massive quantities.

After the first snorkel stop, we headed to Hana Iti beach. At one point, there was a hotel there, but it was destroyed (twice!) by storms.

Our guide and the beach guardian set up a coconut on a pole ~12 feet up in the air and then showed us how to throw javelin-like spears at the coconut. While I can throw a javelin (overhand throw), this was underhand and not at all intuitive for me.

Off we went, this time to Motu Murimahora. This water was the clearest water I’ve ever seen. With pristine what sand underneath, it was absolutely the stuff Tahitian dreams are made of.

Our guide, plus two yahoos in the background

In the lagoon between the motu and mainland, the current can be quite strong. Our guide dropped us off in the middle of the lagoon and then motored a few hundred feet ahead, letting us snorkel and have the current carry us to the boat.

Apparently there are Moray eels in the lagoon. I didn’t see them, and I’m ok with that. I did see tons of fish (of course), sea cucumbers, a vibrant purple sea urchin, and something that was either a pufferfish or a boxfish.

What we found most breathtaking were the clams. In photos, they are plain beige. In real life, they are a dark grey with electric blue or purple right around the edges of their shells. They open and close, as if having a private conversation among themselves. Totally mesmerizing!

Our tour manager lives on the motu, and we headed over there for lunch. The sky looked threatening and that was clearly for a reason. It started raining, then rained harder, then poured, then poured harder. Think New England thunderstorm in August, then take that rain and double it. It was insane!

We had a soggy trip back to the mainland. Our tour driver was super nice and dropped us off at the doorstep of our AirBnB. After much-needed showers, we decided to dig into the bread and cheese we bought at the grocery store for dinner and not try to go out in the rain (plus, there is nothing open on Sunday nights). The sky eventually cleared just in time for the sun to go down (and we were so tired from a day in the sun and water that we didn’t make it much past sunset ourselves).

50 shades of turquoise

We had a very nice dinner at the rooftop bar at our hotel (the idea of trying to go anywhere further was beyond our capacities). A white pizza with goat cheese and honey plus a beer and some water. We managed to stay awake for that, and then went off to bed. I’m confident so was asleep within 30 seconds of turning out my light. Possibly 15 seconds.

We both are a bit off on time zones so we were up before our alarm. Showered and dressed, we sat down for a cup of coffee at 6:10 when we noticed that our 7:50am flight landed at 8:30, despite being 1.5 hours long. That didn’t seem right. Probably because I had transposed a number somewhere along the way and our flight was actually at 7:05! By some miracle, we managed to make it to the airport and board our flight in under 30 minutes. Phew!

After another turbulence-filled flight, we arrived in Huahine. Getting a rental car was tricky. I had emailed the agency, but apparently I didn’t get all the way to a confirmation because nobody was at the airport waiting for us. A baggage handler ended up calling the rental agency for us and we got it sorted out. Must remember…island time.

Today was an on-and-off rainy day, but we decided to make the best of it and so we headed out for Maeva – an archeological sight that resembles a smaller, waterfront Stonehenge.

Next up we’re some fish traps. These were fascinating! Stones were piled up underwater in a strategic manner as to drive fish into a catchment area. This is such a simple yet effective design! We spent a fair amount of time watching the fish and marveling at home we didn’t even have to leave shore to see cool fish.

Some pretty big fish swim right along the shore!

Further along the road, we came to Marae Manunu, another archaeological site. It was a large rectangular structure with more vertical stones adorning it. They really liked vertical stones, didn’t they???

What was more captivating was the shore and breaking waves just opposite. We spent a while watching the fish dart in and out of the rocks.

Tiny fish in a stunningly vibrant blue color

Lunch was at the Huahine Yacht Club. To be clear, they do not mean yacht club literally – this place is barely more than a roadside stand – but the food (and scenery) was amazing! Poisson cru au lait de coco (raw fish marinated in coconut milk and lime juice – effectively Polynesian ceviche) is absolutely delicious.

Tropical waters are turquoise. This is something we all know. What we tend to forget is that turquoise is a spectrum of colors, from glassy pale green-blue to a robin’s egg blue to a deep and moody blue. Every one of these shades is present in the waters here.

We wrapped up the day snorkeling at Le Jardin de Corail. This small bay was the former site of the Sofitel hotel until it was destroyed in a monsoon. It’s a little dystopian feeling with the sidewalks, pool, and some decor still present but no hotel. Regardless, the coral reefs are healthy, the fish are gorgeous, and the water is warm, so it was wonderful!

Welcome to Tahiti!

I am blessed to have a generous friend. An extremely generous friend. A friend who is so generous that she used her miles to fly both of us to Tahiti.

4187 miles, and that’s only for the last of my 3 flights

We just landed at 7:25 in the evening. It’s dark and slightly rainy here so I have no first impressions, other than the fact that the flight was long and bumpy. Like green-in-the-face turbulence, but I survived.

We are off to our hotel for the night. Another early flight tomorrow and then we will get this party started! Snorkeling, beaches, hiking, pearl shopping, and swimming with humpback whales. Sounds tough!