On Tues 8th Feb we flew to Kauai Island on a plane full of people with coughs and colds and discovered that a bad strain of the flu, has been laying people up for 3 weeks or so.
 
We found our hostel had all nationalities and ages and was full to overflowing - a great atmosphere. The next day Rebecca Hall (was McBride), a wonderful West Australian living in the North Shore of Kauai picked us up for a day out, enjoying the lush beauty of the island, which is often referred to as the garden island. We had 4 seasons in one day and went snorkeling, hiking (up Bali Hai from the movie South Pacific) and touring. We finished the day with a lovely dinner at a restaurant close to our hostel. The following day Bec came and picked us up again, we had a leisurely lunch and we snuck in for a swim at the swanky Marriott Hotel surrounded by high green mountains and the ocean.

Friday it was back to Oahu Island but instead of staying in Honolulu we caught local buses that eventually deposited us at a backpackers on the north shore where there is world famous surf breaks. There were 12 people in our cabin - 4 in each room in bunk beds and all were surfers from around the globe, including a pro Japanese female body border. The lifestyle was pretty much party at night and surfing in the day. The waves were not performing at their peak but were still pretty amazing.

Then It was back to Honolulu again, for a few nights in a high rise better class hotel, 34th floor at Waikiki with views to die for. The last day before we flew out we found a camera repairer who did a temporary fix it job on out digital camera and we also went to Pearl Harbour and particularly to the Arizona Memorial, which was a moving experience. When Pearl Harbour was hit the Arizona went down with all hands, some 1,200 men, and while they raised the other ships that went down, they left the Arizona where it sunk and recovered no bodies. There is a interactive museum and a boat trip out to look down on the ship to pay respects. All this was free too, which is amazing for the good old USA. Bidding Hawaii a very fond farewell it is now on to Mexico City...........