SUP! I love surfing. Ok, that may be a lie. I should say, I love surfing in WARM water. If you are like me, than Hawaii is the place to be. Pulling up to the beaches around the islands, you see trucks stacked high with boards, short, long and the mix.

After returning to Hawaii after 5  years, It is amazing to see the new popularity of the Stand Up Paddleboards or SUP’s. As the name implies, you stand on these boards and use a long paddle to navigate the waters. These boards are nice because they enable the paddler to catch small waves that wouldn’t be ridable on a regular surfboard. Hawaii is the birthplace of surfing and after perfecting this sport, they have invented another exemplifying their pull towards the ocean. Leave it up to the Hawaiians to enjoy the waves anyway they can.

Students on both of ARCC’s Hawaii trips will have a chance ride with Hawaiians and catch a few waves themselves on the beautiful beaches on Maui and Kauai!

Humuhumunukunukuapuaa is Hawaiian state fish. No, I still cannot exactly pronounce this, but I can say that I saw this rare beauty yesterday. On my day off, our friend Tara at Boss Frog’s on Maui, set me up with a 6 hour snorkel to Molokini Crater. Molokini is THE place to snorkel off Maui. After a morning of service, students on an ARCC Hawaii Service trip will be lucky enough snorkel here with Boss Frogs.

It really does amaze me how bright tropical fish can be. In their native habitat, these fish glow much more than in the doctor’s office tank! The reef was vibrant with colorful coral and schools of fish. In all, I saw over 20 different kinds of fish and even two turtles. It was time well spent and an awesome opportunity to swim with the fish in crystalline waters.

Now I understand why the Big Island is the place to scuba dive on the Hawaiian Islands. The water is BLUE, BLUE, BLUE and crystal clear.

My first morning on the island of Hawaii, I drove down to a small bay by my hotel and took a quick swim in the ocean. The Big Island is very new compared to the rest of the Hawaiian chain and the evidence is in the lava rock covering the landscape. I threw on my swimming goggles, scrambled over the black rocks and jumped in. The sun was just rising and the water was perfect. Once in the water, the rocks turned to super fine sand. As I swam out, it felt like was not getting any deeper. I went underwater and realized that the depth was about 20 feet. The water was so clear and pure, the ocean floor seemed only feet away when it was really dozens.
It is no surprise why Kona is a world destination for snorkeling and scuba diving.

After my swim, I drove over and met with Angela who organizes our PADI Open Water Course for all of our Hawaii Blue Water Multisport trips. She showed me around Jacks Diving Locker and the awesome facilities. They have classrooms, a store and practice pool a stones throw away from the famous Kailua-Kona beach. In the practice pool, there is even a viewing window to watch your friends dive!

Today I met with Alex - he owns 150 acres of land on the east side of Maui and he is a true Hawaiian host. He lives off the land, lives for his land and is giving with his land. When I arrived at Alex’s farm he welcomed me with an arm full of pineapples, bananas and coconuts that were all harvested on his property. I felt welcomed and as if I had grown up on the land he holds so dear.
Uncle Alex, as the local kids call him, is a steward of Hawaiian culture. In his vast landscape, he has a huge pineapple farm, coconut trees, multiple private beaches, native gardens, trails to connect them all and half a dozen scenic outlooks. The view from his porch that looks out onto the world famous surfing break, Jaws, he humorously calls Al’s Beach.

Throw in three turtles, (Wilma, Fred and Barney), his three dogs (Larry, Mo and Curly) and you have Alex Bodie’s farm. If you are lucky enough to come on ARCC’s Hawaii Service trip, you will be lucky enough to meet Uncle Al. All  of our Hawaii Service trips will camp on his amazing property. He will make your trip through his words of wisdom, stories and Hawaiian enthusiasm for life.

Yesterday I was invited by our friends at Na Pali Explorer to join a tour of the Na Pali Coast! We were given a safety briefing and told that we were going to get wet! We all boarded the boat and took off from the Waimea Harbor and headed for the coast. Along the way we saw a huge pod of spinner dolphins and even a few humpback whales. Once we rounded the north shore and got a glimpse of the Na Pali mountains, it was as awe inspiring. The jagged lush coast looked like something in the movies. In fact, Captain Andy, let us know that hundreds of commercials and movies had been filmed on the Na Pali, including Jurassic Park and King Kong.

Here are a couple pictures taken from our tour. If you join ARCC on our Hawaii Multisport or Hawaii Service Adventure, you will not only have the chance to see the Na Pali Coast, but snorkel in the blue waters of it’s shores.

Another update from Regional Director, Brooke Johnson, as she’s scouting locations for our Hawaii adventures this summer!

Known as the Garden Isle, thoughts of Kauai bring to mind lush tropical forests and white sand beaches. Knowing this, you may think that I took a quick side trip to Arizona and the Grand Canyon to capture this shot. This shot was actually taken from the rim of Kauai’s Waimea Canyon. Although Waimea Canyon is only a fraction of the size of the Grand Canyon (it is only 10 miles long and 1 mile wide) it certainly rivals its beauty.

See a photo on Facebook.

Here is a report from Brooke Johnson, an ARCC Regional Director, from her Hawaii scouting trip:

I have to say, I am not a newcomer to beach camping. Having spent the last 6 years traveling throughout Central America, Australia and Hawaii, I have seen my fair share of beach campsites. While some have million dollar views, nice breezes, grassy sites and flat ground, it’s rare to find a plot with all of the above. Needless to say, when my Hawaiian host, Lea, showed me to my site at Waipa, I was speechless. 

“Do you need to borrow a tent?” she asked and I responded, “This is spectacular!”

“Can I show you the bathroom?” Lea asked. “Wow. What a view!” is all I could say.

“Let me know if you need anything.” “Ok… this is incredible,” I said thinking I could sit on the picnic table for the rest of the day and stare out into the deep blue Hawaiian sea.

As the Regional Director for our two Hawaii Trips, I am spending the next 10 days putting some finishing touches on our ARCC summer plans. We are very lucky to have the chance to camp at the Waipa Foundation on the north shore of Kauai. Yesterday, I was told that ARCC is one the few non-Hawaiian groups that has permission to camp on this native reserve. Both Hawaii Blue and Hawaii Service trips will camp at this idyllic campground sitting right on the famous Hanalei Bay during their time on Kauai.

Here are a few views of Waipa posted on our Facebook page.

I love walled cities…especially those along the water.  I’ve visited many around the world and I’ve even lived in one…but the best walled city I’ve ever seen is Rhodes, Greece.

If you picture Pirates of the Caribbean meets Disney World you’ll get a sense of Rhodes.  Narrow, cobblestones streets wind their way through the 600 year old town.  Every turn brings a stunning new alleyway or street.

The entire city is surrounded by either the Aegean Sea on one side or a double walled 25 foot deep moat on the other.   There is even a palace at the top of the hill within the city.

You enter the city by one of 5 arched gateways each with the equivalent of a drawbridge over the moat. There are loads of great restaurants, small hotels and shops. Best of all, it is pristine…not a spec of trash to be found anywhere.

The ARCC students will use Rhodes as their launching point for the sailing section of their Turkey Greece trip.

Every scouting trips has one of those “I can’t believe I’m actually here doing this” moments.  Ours happened today. 

The scene:  Sarah and I are in a huge tent on Turkey’s southern coast, on one of the most beautiful beaches we have ever seen.  The nearest town is miles away. Inside the tent are huge tanks housing injured Loggerhead and Green sea turtles.

Outside the wind is howling, the sides of the tent beating a steady rhythm.  A newly installed (last 2 hours) wood burning stove sits in the middle of the room, ostensibly to heat the turtle water, but we are grateful for the added warmth.  In the background, we hear periodic gasps as the turtles surface for air.

We are sharing supper with 5 people dedicated to protecting Turkey’s endangered sea turtles.  Included among them are a veterinarian, a graduate student and Turkey’s foremost sea turtle expert.  We feel honored to be here with them.

Together, we are planning how the ARCC students can help out this summer when they come here to work.  The turtles return to this beach every May to September to lay their eggs.  Over time, the beach is covered with hatchlings, all trying to make their way safely to the sea.  Our job will be to help them get there.

Central to the Istanbul experience, both literally and figuratively, is the famed Blue Mosque.  You really can’t visit Istanbul without going in.  Sarah and I didn’t really know what to expect upon our visit to the mosque.  Would we be welcomed?  Ignored? Escorted out?  What about pictures?  Shoes off or shoes on? Head covered or not? Would we be expected to kneel?  To pray?

Turns out our visit to the Blue Mosque was a fascinating experience.  It was all a finely tuned process….plastic bags for your shoes, headscarves if women didn’t have, one, pictures ok, visitors remain in the back.  We knew we weren’t going to stand out much when a large group of Japanese tourists rolled through behind us, clicking away on their Nikons, seemingly oblivious to the sacredness of the place.

The building itself is HUGE….and stunning inside.  It is decorated with stained glass and 20,000 special blue tiles which line the 130 foot high domes.  Religious relics were surprisingly absent.  Other than the lack of seating, with a quick glance you could easily mistake it for one of the great cathedrals of Italy or synagogues of Israel. All in all, a fascinating stop.