THE BUILD UP

10 May

In the last post I said that I was firmly ensconced in my room at the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel. This is true but not after a lengthy walk back to the reception desk to have my key card activated This is something I hate and it never happens when you are in a room close to reception.

Which bed do I use first?

Anyhoo, the room is indeed grand and has a decent view over the ocean. I wouldn't say an unrestricted view and I will find out later in the trip that there is very little difference between an ocean view and a partial ocean view other than lots of dollars!

Yes, I can see the ocean

I decide that, no matter how swish my room is, it is no place to be so I head down to the beach, which has made World Top 10 lists in one or more publications that decide on these things. It certainly is impressive and not overcrowded.

World's Top 10 standard

Satisfied that the beach comes up to scratch and, having let my tootsies sample its effects, my stomach overrules everything and reminds me that I am hungry. I also realise that I still need to sort out transport to the snorkel excursion in the morning. It was $90 taxi fare from the airport and the place where the trip starts is another 10 miles+ other side of the airport. Sarah Lavender Smith, a G2G tent mate is already on the island with her husband and I have been offered a one way trip (they are going on to Kona to meet a friend afterwards) in their hire car but I will still need to get back. I am now slightly regretting not hiring a car. In times of need such as these, there is always Facebook and, one message on the M2M group later, I am sorted for a taxi with Cecile (another G2G 2014 alumnus) Tomasz, Moustapha and Gregory. Phew!!

Back to the hunger, I recall that I am isolated. For whatever reason, I always had imagined that the hotel would be on the outskirts of a town or village that I could pop down to a local bar and have a nice piece of tuna or something washed down with a local beer. You know, just like on holiday! The hire car regret is now complete and overwhelming. There is a small shop in the hotel complex and I satisfy myself with a sandwich a bottle of Gatorade and decide to head back to palatial suite to consume them.

Whether it is due to jetlag or dehydration, I suddenly feel very tired and have a massive headache with no motivation to move or do anything. I crash out, first on the floor and then later crawl on top of the bed. I awake at midnight and decide that Haribos are the answer. I fight the urge to scoff the entire packet but have enough to make me happy again and, having set an alarm for 06:00, get properly under the covers and settle back down to sleep.

11 May

I am awake before the alarm. Not really surprising after the amount of rest I have had the previous evening. I am showered and dressed and down in the lobby in plenty of time for the 07:00 taxi that Cecile has booked.

Breakfast has been promised on the boat but I decided that I cannot wait until then so I head down to the breakfast buffet and help myself to a sausage muffin. I don't realise it at the time, as I think that my room rate includes breakfast, but I am a food thief on a par with Aladdin and Abu!! No matter, my stomach is silenced for a while and I move back to the lobby. Tomasz is first to show and we introduce ourselves. He is surprised that I guess he is Polish! I explain my Holmes-like deduction prowess that his name couple with East European looks and a t-shirt advertising Polish wares pretty much gives things away. He is impressed but admits that the t-shirt is merely a coincidence and is a race sponsor goody bag gift!

Cecile is next to arrive but is sans Gregory. He has decided against the trip and a substitute in the shape of Mike Julien will now join us. I am aware of Mike from Facebook posts but have yet to meet him. Moustapha then arrives and replies to my introduction by telling me that I am famous!! This is a surprise but a comment that will become more common in the days to come. It was not obvious to me at the time but my elaborate training stories on the M2M page have caused some raised eyebrows. They will all be quite shocked when they realise how inadequate I actually am!

The taxi is late. Cecile returns to the reception desk who are quite apologetic and "cannot understand how this could have happened...". The cab company are contacted again and we wait at the front door for arrival. Sarah and Morgan show up on their way to collect their car and we exchange a quick reunion and introduction and then they are off with a promise to stop the boat from sailing at all costs.

Gaaarrr, she be a fine craft!

The taxi arrives just after 07:30 and just short of 1 hour and $150 later we arrive at Keauhou Bay to check in for the excursion with Fair Wind Cruises. We collect our snorkels and masks and I am now regretting bringing my own as I cannot seem to get a seal on my mask. We queue by the side of the boat for a general brief and also a sales pitch for the activity of Snuba diving, which is similar to SCUBA but without the tank. The ultimate aim of the pitch is to get us to part with a further $74. It has been delivered at such a pace that Cecile can only utter "Quoi??"

We set sail and then breakfast is served. I am instantly grateful for the stolen muffin as I would not have survived until lunch on fruit and cake, no matter how tasty. The journey time is scheduled for an hour during which time we get to know each other a little better. There is an interesting and engaging conversation between Tomasz and Moustapha who are both in the insurance business. However, whilst Tomasz works in an area familiar to most of us, Moustapha is kept busy in war torn Africa concentrating on what he terms 'Political Violence'. It is fascinating and is a fine example of the diversity of events such as M2M.

Captain Cook Monument

We soon arrive at Kealakekua Bay which, apart from being our snorkelling location, is the home to the Captain Cook monument. Our captain (whose name escapes me) gave us a short lecture on the ultimate death of Captain Cook at the hands of the natives.

Kealakekua Bay

Following the lecture and quick safety brief we are let loose upon the ocean. Being in close proximity, I am first on the slide and into the clear blue Pacific waters. It is warm and refreshing in equal measures and, after a quick splash about I climb back on board to retrieve my snorkel and mask to view the undersea cabaret of colour. It is slightly disappointing as, besides the seal on my mask letting in water, there is little that I haven't seen snorkelling in Croatia.

Someone spots a turtle and there is an instant thrash of the water in an attempt to see the little fellow. I spot him / her as he / she makes a break for it away from its unwanted audience and then, just like that, he / she is gone. I stick with it for a bit and then decide I have had enough snorkelling and it is time to let the sun see my pasty white body.

Gilets - not for sunbathing

It is at this point that I make a couple of errors of judgement. Firstly I decide that, as it is still morning, I don't need sunscreen other than on my nose! Secondly it is a little chilly in the stiffening sea breeze so I don my gilet. The result, I will later view in the mirror, is red arms and legs and a still pasty, white body.

Cheeseburger please :)

Good news is that the barbeque has been sizzling away and we can now feast. Tuna or red snapper steaks? Strange Hawai'ian fruits? Nope - cheesburgers!! No matter, food is food and I am peckish so happily devour the goodies on offer. Beer will not be available until we set sail again so I continue on the fruit punch.

Ultimately we set sail once more. The captain issues a warning that the wind has picked up a little so the return journey may be a tad choppy. He also issues the more welcoming statement that the bar is now open and I waste no time in heading down for my first beers on Big Island soil (so to speak!). 2 cans of local IPA are welcome at $5 each and I head back to the upper deck to quaff and relax.

We are soon back on shore having enjoyed a decent morning and our taxi driver from earlier has returned to pick us up. Another $150 later and we are back in the Hapuna Beach Prince and head our separate ways for the afternoon.

I decide that, although I am 2 cans into a bender, I should actually do a spot of acclimation training. I don my running kit and head out the door in the general direction of Waikoloa Village where I am informed there are a number of shops. What I am actually going to buy I am not sure but it promises a glimpse of something other than Hapuna Beach and civilisation. I am already starting to feel like Number 6!!

My chosen route ultimately comes up short as the road is closed to everyone except members of the Holoholokai Beach Park. Google maps never spotted this flaw in my plan but I am grateful for the forced turnaround as it is absolutely melting and I still have to make the return journey.

I don't know why but I am always surprised how different conditions are in other countries to Anglesey. Being an island and therefore having a sea front location is about as common as it gets to Big Island. The heat from the asphalt is unbearable and, if the wind drops, there is very little air even at sea level. I get an idea of how hard it is going to be later in the week when we hit altitude and the humidity of the rain forest.

Back in my room I immediately hit the floor and try to recover. I do this enough to have the energy to crawl onto the bed and decide that this is a good time to watch Dr Josh's YouTube medical brief. It is interesting and informative but I find myself drifting in and out of consciousness. I think I have managed to be awake for the salient points and, satisfied that I am now medically informed, I drift off to sleep.

12 May

I awake at 05:00 but have no motivation to get up so I lie there until 06:30 mulling over my experience so far. The snorkelling trip was nice but I realise I could have seen just as much snorkelling off Hapuna Beach using the equipment that is included in the resort charge. I am thinking that all my experiences so far are tinged with some form of regret and I am wondering if I have made a mistake spending a great deal of time, effort and money in the process.

Eventually, after a shower, I head down for breakfast. My misdemeanour from the previous day becomes apparent as I am asked if I have a voucher for breakfast or will I be charging to my room. Oops! After my first plate the check arrives and, as I see the subtotal of $34 before gratuity, I decide to kick the arse out of it and have a couple more platefuls of the goodies on offer!

Misery Guts!!

With a full and satisfied belly I decide it is time to stop sulking and start to make the most of it. I head down to the beach and stretch out in the shade on a sun lounger where I scribble these very notes and then take a walk along the beach to soak up the ambience and get a few snaps. Admittedly in the selfies I still look a miserable bugger but I am starting to enjoy myself.

I return to the room to pack my stuff and check out of one room and, hopefully, straight into another. This cannot yet happen but I can leave my bags with the bell hop and I am registered as checked in to save time later.

On a previous drift past the pool bar menu I have spotted a pastrami sandwich that sounds very tasty and at $14 sounds like good value. I head that way and am soon sat in front of the aforementioned sandwich and pint of, not so good value, Overboard IPA. At $11 it is certainly not the same value as the sandwich but the importance of this will become inversely proportional to the number of pints I throw down.

I keep my tab open and move to the bar to sample some more beer and to watch the Cleveland Cavaliers take on the Boston Celtics in the NBA play offs. It s not a game loaded with skill as a large number of shots fail to make the basket even from the free throw line and there is not a single slam dunk moment worthy of mention. The Overboard continues to flow, however, which more than makes up for the lack of excitement on the TV.

A random comment apropos of nothing leads to chatting with a young couple, Steph and Kris, from Pennsylvania. We soon learn that we have a shared love of travelling so spend a good couple of hours sharing experiences. They are due to go to Croatia in the coming weeks so I am happy to relate mine and Claire's Euro trip of the previous year and they are more than happy to listen.

Eventually conversation steers itself to the upcoming race, They are very interested in the race and want to know how they can follow progress. The obvious answer is Facebook and I now have one more friend (Kris doesn't do social media at all!)

The accumulation of Overboards has had the obvious effect and it is now well past 16:00 so I decide the time has come to go and check in whilst I am still capable. I arrive at my new room to find my roomie - JB - already settled. He has a good amount of kit which is already fairly spread around the place. He is my kind of guy!! The room is advertised as a partial ocean view but, as far as I can see, it is not especially different to the ocean view room I checked out of this morning. The ocean is still the same one and there are still a few obstructions between us and it. The only difference I can say is that it is farther to walk!!

After greetings and general exchanges of conversation, JB and I head down to the event welcome dinner. This passes pretty uneventfully; we eat some, we chat some and Colin gives a short speech plus a few need to knows for the following morning. The event concludes and we head down to the pool bar to see out the evening. An initial seat by the bar quickly transforms in to a mass huddle of about 15 M2Mers around some pulled together tables and the evening continues in the time honoured tradition.

I have little recollection of going to bed but awake at 04:00 in a slight panic wondering where my phone is. JB is already stirring so calls my number and a ringing is heard from under a chair. JB then heads off to send a few emails and I decide to stay up for a while and chat to Claire on WhatsApp before settling down again.

13 May

I finally awake at 07:45 and head down to the breakfast buffet. As we are now under the organisation, there is a separate arrangement for breakfast which, unfortunately, does not mean filling 3 plates to overflow. Instead we make do with fruit and cake. I chat with a few more racers and Colin and Tess fill us in on the trials and tribulations of setting up this event which has been over 3 years in the making. The biggest and most recent issue to deal with has been the withdrawal of permission to use part of the intended course, the result of which is a course amendment which is now shown in our road books. I suspect this was always a threat and a contingent course was planned as the issue came to a head only 2 weeks ago but our course book maps are date stamped February!! No matter, a course is still a course and as Colin cheerfully points out, we now have an additional 6,000ft of ascent at no extra charge!

Coaches are scheduled to leave at 12:30 so I head back to the room for some last minute kit tweaks and a more detailed look at the course book. The initial route has been turned on its head and we are now looking at a bit of a beast. The long day now has 10,000ft of ascent on its own!!

Packed and ready to go

I head to check out from the room a little earlier as breakfast has not filled me and I am already famished. Packed lunches are supplied for the coach but I can't wait until then so I head to the shop and pick out a nice sushi platter plus a boiled egg as recommended by Sarah.

There is one more issue to deal with before we depart for the Volcano National Park and our first camp site. The bus companies have got in a bit of a muddle and cannot now accommodate all of us on the scenic route to the campsite. There are 50 spaces available for a shorter route which are snapped up immediately. I somehow get the feeling that no-one really wants to see what they'll be facing over the coming week.

So with kit and packed lunches on our knees, we squeeze into the mini buses and are soon on our way to begin the inaugural Mauna to Mauna Ultra.

Aloha