Hawaii - World's Most Breathtaking Wilderness Lies Beneath The Waves

This is our last night in Oahu Hawaii and we wanted to write a post about snorkeling since that is what we have been doing a lot during the last week. There wont be any pics underwater because Emmi's 'waterproof' phone broke while we were hiking in waterfalls in Jamaica. We didn't want the new phone to end up broken as well. Enjoy the post! 

Oahu has some beautiful sunsets. We still prefer Arizona on sunsets over any place so far. 

We are interested in snorkeling and we had a chance to do it first time in Negril in Jamaica. We tried to find a store that sells quality snorkeling gear but they didn't have anything but crappy equipment so we decided to rent the gear in Jamaica and buy our own equipment here in Hawaii. We did some research online and found a good package deal that included all the gear we needed. It had a great quality-price ratio and it had got great reviews on http://www.diverworld.info/the-best-snorkel-gear-mask-fins-reviews/. Poker, sports betting and any kind of gambling is illegal in the state of Hawaii so we can't play poker here. Instead of hitting the tables we have been hiking and snorkeling a lot. 

Emmi's snorkeling gear is of course purple.

HANAUMA BAY, EAST OAHU

Hanauma Bay is located in Southeast Oahu and it is advertised in many local travel magazines and online. It's open daily from 6am-6pm. You should go early to get a parking spot and as a first time visitor prepare to watch a mandatory video about Hanauma Bay and its marine life. The video includes guidelines for snorkeling and safety tips in Hanauma Bay.

In our opinion Hanauma Bay was a tourist trap and 99% its coral had died due to harmfull and selfish behaviour of humans. We saw plenty of fish and only 3 alive corals which were all damaged. This bay is a perfect example of how people destroy nature and even though we had a nice day and learned a lot about the marine ecosystem both of us felt sad about the condition of the reef. We think there is nothing humans can do to save this dying reef since it's almost completely destroyed. We recommend Hanauma Bay for snorkeling rookies but we want to highlight that there aren't healthy living corals left but you will see some fish.

The parking fare is $1 per vehicle and the admission fee is $7,50 per non-resident visitor.

TURTLE BAY, NORTH OAHU

Turtle Bay is a resort located in North Oahu. Usually the word resort means the same as a tourist trap and that's what it was. We saw a review about Turtle Bay and decided to give it a shot, but as soon as we got to the beach we realized we didin't want to go to snorkel with all the noisy kids there were in such a small bay so we dialed our gps to guide us to another beach called Pupukea and ended up spending the rest of the day there.


PUPUKEA, NORTH OAHU 

There is a small bay at Pupukea beach in North Oahu where the parking and entrance is free of charge. There were lot of fish and some living coral to see but like the previous spots that one was crowded too.


KANE POINT, WEST OAHU

We stopped by this place because we found a good review of it online. We only snorkeled there for a while because the waves were a bit too rough and water blurry so we couldn't see a lot of sea life there. This spot is better for more experienced snorkelers.


KO'OLINA LAGOONS, WEST OAHU

Come early because the parking is always full. There are four decent sized lagoons for snorkeling, swimming and sunbathing. The area is really clean and convenient place to snorkel. This is also a resort spot so be prepared for kids and tourists. Good snorkeling spot for beginners and everyone else because there are a lot of fish to see.

One of the lagoons at Ko'olina Resorts. Oahu, Hawaii

There are many snorkeling spots here in Oahu which you can find from this link: http://www.tropicalsnorkeling.com/oahu-snorkeling.html

Countlessmilesandsmiles encourages to find out about sealife in coral reefs in advance. It's good to know the basic information for your own safety before heading to the ocean. It's really important to do some research about sealife and corals so that you wont harm them. We highly recommend to buy your own good quality snorkeling gear since renting a set might cost even a half of the price you'd pay for your own gear. We haven't been lucky enough to get quality rental gear before we bought our own. Most important thing is to have a snorkeling buddy to go with you if something happens at sea. It's also more fun to have a friend sharing the best moments beneath the waves!

Our last night in Hawaii. Tomorrow we are going to have an almost ten hour flight, but where? Barber's Beach Park, Oahu, Hawaii

Mahalo for reading!

Emmi & Henkka

Money Is Flat And Meant To be Piled Up!

It's obvious that you have to have money to travel and do things you like. So, 'How can you afford traveling many months in a row?' It's actually surprising how rarely this question is asked from us, but we know that's something many of you are wondering.

In this blog we tell you what kind of changes we've had to make in our daily life back in Finland to save the money. You'll also find out what kind of life hacks we use on our trip to make this all decent for our wallets.

Life is full of choices when it comes to saving money. We got married in July 2014 and have spent time and effort on our honeymoon ever since. We were sure it wouldn't last two weeks on a luxury cruise in the Caribbean and we didn't want to pick up just one paradise resort and pay thousands of euros per person since it would have been a struggle to choose only one destination among many interesting ones. There were way too many options and nothing could hold us from not leaving for months. 

How we saved money before our trip?

We reduced eating out and cooked at home. Henkka cooked a lot of vegetarian food which is cheaper than food that includes meat. When we bought chicken or meat it was always at night when it was at least -30% off regular price. We didn't go out to drink. Henkka started to instruct Les Mills classes because he would go to the classes anyway and now he would get paid to do so. We also sold a lot of our useless and left over stuff such as furniture, clothes, fragrances, sports equipment and kitchen ware. We rode bikes and walked anywhere we could and used our car less. All in all there were a lot of small acts of saving that combined into a huge amount of money.

Hawaii is an expensive place to visit but there is a lot to do for free. This picture is from the top of the Koko Head Trail. Oahu, Hawaii

Here you can find tips how to reduce your travel costs.

1. This one is where you can save the most money - Travel during the off season! For example if you are going to a beach destination travel in the late summer or early fall. When booking flights be as flexible as possible and fly midweek instead of the weekend; fly with stops instead of direct. 

2. There is a coupon for almost everything and anything especially in the US. You just have to make an effort to find it. Always check Groupon!

3. Compare hotel/accommodation deals. Countlessmilesandsmiles uses hotwire.com, priceline.com, Airbnb and Couchsurfing to find a place to crash in. Ask yourself do you have to stay in the city center or could you walk or take a bus to a cheaper stay. 

4. In the US shop at ROSS Dress for Less, TJMAXX and Marshall's to get quality clothes and goods for less money.

5. There is always free stuff to do you just have to put effort to find the options. Here are some activities we have done for free: hiking, snorkeling (we have our own gear), swimming, sightseeing and street workout. Some museums, historic sights and galleries are free on specific times or weekdays. Check online!

Every day the first 1300 visitors get these tickets to USS Arizona Memorial for free. Otherwise these would have been $7,5 per person. Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

6. Walk around! That's how you get to know the area but if that's not your thing always try to use public transportation but if it's not possible look for Uber or Lyft. Take overnight buses and trains when you can. To get around download free HereWeGo app which has a gps that works offline. 

Sightseeing by yourself is always free! Kaena Point, Oahu, Hawaii

7. Get local currency from ATMs. The exchange rate is usually best that way. 

8. Bring your own snacks for the time at the airport and on flight. When you fly with budget airlines they don't include meal in the basic fares. Some airlines charge you extra for using their headphones, pillows and blankets so better have your own. 

9. Always check your receipt for coupons and deals. Many companies offer discounts if you give them feedback online. You should also make an e-mail address to give when asked at the counter because you might get discount on your purchase. That way your personal e-mail won't receive junk mail from every place where you sign up for discounts. 

With deals like this you will save a lot of money in the long run.

10. Avoid eating in a tourist area or right in the city center. Just walk a few blocks and find much cheaper local places to eat. If you are not sure about the place where you might eat there is one simple way to find out if it is worth trying: if there is a line it is prolly a good place.

Countlessmilesandsmiles thinks that saving is an everyday act which is good to keep in mind at all times when planning a trip and during the trip. 

Free hike, free sight! Makapuu Lookout, Oahu, Hawaii

Mahalo for reading!

See you soon!

Memi & Henkka

Hawaii - Kiertelyä Oahulla ja visiitti Pearl Harborissa

Viikko takana Hawaijilla ja kolme päivää ollaan kierretty Oahun etelä- ja länsiosia vuokracitymaasturilla, joka on myös toiminut meidän majoituksena tuon ajan. Yritimme etsiä siedettävän hintaisia hotelleja, hostelleja, Airbnb-majoituksia sekä couchsurffaus-paikkoja, mutta tulimme siihen tulokseen, että kannattavin vaihtoehto sekä liikkumisen, nukkumisen ja kukkaron kannalta, on vuokrata auto, jossa voi nukkua.

Yöpyminen Hawaijin saarien leirintäalueilla on tehty mahdollisimman hankalaksi, sillä matkailijan on varattava leirintäpaikka netistä etukäteen, ei kuitenkaan yli 30 päivää ennen saapumista, yhdellä leirintäalueella saa yöpyä korkeintaan 5 peräkkäistä yötä ja osa leirintäalueista on auki ainoastaan viikonloppuisin tai vain osan aikaa viikkoa. Oahulla on 3 ja 5 yön leirintäalueita, joista lyötyy lista netistä. (http://www.to-hawaii.com/oahu/camping/) 
Vaikka yöpyisit leirintäalueella vain yhden yön, joudut silti maksamaan leirintäpaikkamaksun koko ajalta. Kaiken tämän lisäksi täytyy vielä hakea erikseen leirintälupa netistä. 

Aluksi ihmettelimme ihannesijainnilla sijaitsevien leirintäalueiden asiakaskatoa, mutta kun tutustuimme tarkemmin miten leirintäaluebusiness pyörii Hawaijin osavaltiossa ja tarkemmin ottaen Oahun saarella, ymmärrämme täysin, että byrokratian kankeat rattaat työntävät luotaan potentiaaliset telttailijat muihin majoituksiin. Camping on ehdottomasti halvin majoitusvaihtoehto, jos jaksaa nähdä vaivaa lupien ja kaiken maailman sääntöjen läpikäyntiin. 

Huonoja puolia autossa elämisessä on muun muassa puhelinten, tietokoneen ja muiden laitteiden laattamisen hankaluus, sillä meillä on vain yksi USB-portti käytössä, eikä ollenkaan autolaturia. Hiljaisen nukkumapaikan löytäminen saattaa olla vaikeaa, WiFin perässä ravaaminen on joskus rasittavaa sekä sen faktan hyväksyminen, että aina ei pääse suihkuun kun haluaisi tai olisi tarvetta, mutta onneksi Oahulla lähes joka rannalla on suihku, joita voi vapaasti käyttää.

Ko'olina Beach, Hawaii

Löysimme erittäin siistin ja viihtyisän rannan, jota ylläpitää Ko'Olina Resorts. Ainoita miinuksia kyseisessä rannassa on, että jos sinne haluaa mennä autolla, ilmaiset parkkispotit ovat aina täynnä ja niihin saattaa joutua jonottamaan, rannalla on erittäin paljon lapsiperheitä ja siellä on kielletty uimista lukuunottamatta lähes kaikki muut hauskat ranta-aktiviteetit.

Not much to do here then, huh?

Harkitsimme salikorttien ostamista, että pääsisimme tyydyttämään jumppahimoamme, mutta se ei ollut kannattavaa huonon Les Mills - tarjonnan vuoksi. Onneksi Grit Cardio - treeniä pystyy tekemään hotellihuoneessa ja oikeastaan missä vain puistossa tai nurmialueella. Sitä olemmekin hinkanneet erilaisissa ympäristöissä kieli poskella. 

Henkka after our morning Grit Cardio.

The park where we did our morning workout.

TIISTAI 10.1.2017, PEARL HARBOR 

Ehdottomasti yksi vaikuttavimmista sekä mielenkiintoisimmista kokemuksista tähän mennessä on ollut Pearl Harbor -armeijatukikohdassa vierailu. Sisäänpääsy alueelle on ilmainen ja lisämaksusta asiakkaan on mahdollisuus valita erilaisia opastettuja kierroksia. Ilmaista tekemistä ja nähtävää oli sen verran, että emme kokeneet tarpeelliseksi maksaa tällä kertaa kierroksista, vaikka ne vaikuttivat mielenkiintoisilta. Pääsimme näkemään muun muassa museon, jossa pyöri lyhyt dokumentti Pearl Harborin 7.12.1941 tapahtumista, saimme kokeilla oikeaa koodinmurtajalaitetta, näimme rähähtäneen torpedon, pienoismalleja laivoista ja lentotukialuksista ja useita räjähtämättömiä ammuksia.

Joka päivä 1300 ensimmäistä halukasta pääsee ilmaiseksi vierailemaan USS Arizona hylyn muistomerkillä, joka on rakennettu uponneen laivan päälle. Itse olimme sen verran myöhään liikkeellä, ettemme päässeet näkemään kyseistä paikkaa lähemmin. 

Vierailu Pearl Harborissa oli erittäin positiivinen, mielenkiintoinen, sivistävä sekä pysäyttävä. Countlessmilesandsmiles suosittelee lämpimästi Pearl Harbor - visiittiä kaikille historiasta kiinnostuneille yläasteiän saavuttaneille.

USS Arizona memorial is built above the sunken ship.

Huomioonotettavia seikkoja Pearl Harborissa: 

* Ilmaisiinkin aktiviteetteihin menee helposti 2-3h, eli jos haluaa käydä myös maksullisilla kierroksilla on hyvä varata aikaa reilusti. 

* Alueelle ei saa viedä laukkuja eikä reppuja. Ne voi jättää $3 maksavaan narikkaan alueen ulkopuolelle. 

* Parkkeeraaminen on ilmaista, mutta siihen kannattaa varata aikaa, sillä kohde on suosittu nähtävyys ympäri vuoden. 

* Ei sovellu lapsille.

Henkka in front of the fleet attack submarine USS Bowfin. 

Breaking the encrypted messages in the museum at Pearl Harbor.

Exploded torpedo at the museum.

Japanese Kaiten which is a one man suicide torpedo.

USS Bowfin at Pearl Harbor.

Viikon Oahulla pyörittyämme kaipaamme edelleen WOW-elämystä, jota varmasti moni lähtee Hawaijilta hakemaan. Täällä saisi poltettua koko reissubudjetin kahdessa viikossa, jos haluaisi tehdä ja kokea pää märkänä kaiken sen, mitä Hawaijin saarilla on tarjottavaa. Meidän on kuitenkin huomioitava reissumme kesto, tulevat muut kohteet ja kulut, joten kokemuksemme Hawaijista jää ohueksi huippuaktiviteettien osalta. 

Oahun etelä- ja länsiosa muistuttavat hyvin paljon Floridaa pois lukien Waikikin alue Honolulussa, joka on eliittituristeille räätälöity ostoskeskusparatiisi, jossa on maailman upeimpia kauppakeskuksia. Länsirannikon auringonlaskut ovat kuin matkaesitteistä ja näkymä merelle rantateiltä on huikea.

Sunset at Ko'Olina Beach, Hawaii

Seuraavassa blogissa kerromme säästövinkkejä ennen matkaa ja matkan aikana.  

Mahalo for reading! 

Emmi & Henkka 

Hawaii - Aloha!

Hawaiji on ollut kauan aikaa varsinkin Emmin must visit - listalla ja päätimme kesällä reissua suunnitellessamme buukata lennot sen kautta seuraavaan kohteeseemme. Vietämme täällä yhteensä 2 viikkoa, jonka arvioimme riittävän hyvin tämän kokoisessa ja hintatasoisessa paikassa. 

Not even one hour in Hawaii and we already saw why one of its nicknames is rainbow state.

 

Olemme nyt olleet Honolulussa 4 yötä 2 tähden hotellissa, jossa WiFi toimii ainoastaan aulassa ja siinäkin tosi heikosti. Reissun suunnittelu on vaivalloista huonolla netillä, eikä tosiaan tee mieli istua hotellin aulassa koko päivää kytäten vähäisiä istumapaikkoja kuunnellen muiden matkalijoiden valituksia surkeasta netistä. 

Olemme vertailleet erilaisia majoitusvaihtoehtoja ja tulleet siihen tulokseen, että tämä on ehdottomasti kallein kohteemme tähän mennessä ja huonostakin yösijasta saa maksaa pitkän pennin. Yllätyimme tosin siitä, että ruoka täällä on kohtuuhintaista, sillä jenkkituttumme varoittelivat, että Hawaiji on törkyhintainen. Honolulu on ainakin toistaiseksi osoittautunut kalleimmaksi jenkkikohteeksi, jossa olemme käyneet. 

Ensivaikutelmamme Honolulusta on siisti turistirysä, jossa lomailee paljon rikkaita lapsiperheitä ja aasialaisia. Yleisesti ottaen Honolulu on erittäin positiivinen kokemus Jamaikaan, sen likaisuuteen, rasismiin ja turvattomuuteen verrattuna.

Surfing is a huge deal in Hawaii.

 

Ensimmäisenä kokonaisena päivänämme kävelimme Diamond Head kraaterille, jota oli suositeltu monessa eri lähteessä. Sisäänpääsy kävellen oli huokeat $1 / henkilö, joka menee reitin ylläpitoon. Itse vaellus ei juuri sykettä nostanut, mutta suosittelemme silti varustautumaan hyvillä kengillä sekä riittävällä määrällä nestettä vaikkakin enemmän erottuu massasta, jos varusteet vastaavat aktiviteettia, sillä näimme reitillä enemmän hameita, suoria housuja ja sandaaleja kuin urheiluun tarkoitettuja asusteita. Aikaa koko suoritukseen menee 1-2h ja mikäli Honolulussa tulee vietettyä pidemmän aikaa, kannattaa ehdottomasti käydä ihailemassa maisemia huipun reunalta.

 

Inside the crater at Diamond Head.

A view from the top of the Diamond Head crater. Honolulu, Hawaii

Got these stamps when we finished the climb to the top.

Olemme huomanneet pari kuukautta reissattuamme, että tykkäämme viettää päivät erilaisten aktiviteettien parissa kuten treenaten ja uusia paikkoja tutkien ja iltaisin suunnata casinolle pelaamaan pokeria. Pidämme molemmat tietyllä tapaa rutiineista ja reissaaminen tuntuu paljon mukavammalta ja ansaitummalta kun teemme töitä sen eteen matkan varrella. Hawaijilla ei ole ainuttakaan casinoa ja laki kieltää kaikenlaisen uhkapelaamisen ja vedonlyönnin, joten täytyy toivoa ettei aika täällä käy pitkäksi, kun ei päästä grindaamaan. 

With this bike you can cycle to the casino in Honolulu.

  

FAKTOJA HAWAIJISTA:

* Yhdysvalloille kuuluva Hawaijin saariryhmä sijaitsee Tyynellä valtamerellä, johon kuuluu 8 pääsaarta. 

* Hawaijin alkuperäisasukkaat ovat polynesialaisia, jotka saapuivat saarille ilmeisesti Marquesassaarilta jo 300 eaa tienoilla.

* Pääkaupunki Honolulu sijaitsee Oahun saarella, joka oli ensimmäinen Hawaijin saarin, jonka eurooppalainen James Cook havaitsi ollessaan tutkimusmatkalla Tyynellä merellä 1778. 

* Oahulla vierailee vuosittain yli 5 miljoonaa matkailijaa. 

* Hawaijista tuli Yhdysvaltojen 50. osavaltio heinäkuussa 1959.

Sunset at Waikiki Beach, Honolulu, Hawaii

Varasimme vuokra-auton loppuajaksi täällä Oahulla, jolla pääsemme huristelemaan saarta ympäri omaan tahtiimme. 

Mahalo! 

Emmi & Henkka 

California - Hope to see you soon again

At first we want to apologize for not updating our blog as often as before. It has been a struggle to cope with only one phone since Emmi's phone broke in Jamaica. The camera on Henkka's phone isn't that good so we don't have many pictures about our trip in California. The few photos we have you can see in this post and find out how we spent 1,5 weeks in California. 

We booked a room through Airbnb in Torrance which is near LA and Santa Monica. We didn't have any big plans for California since we knew 1,5 weeks won't be enough time to see and do a fraction of all interesting things we would like. We even tried to re-schedule our flights to Hawaii so we would have more time in California but it would have cost $200/person so didn't make any sense. We booked the flights to Hawaii six months ago and that time we didn't have any plans for the weeks after visiting Jamaica. Sometimes it's hard to estimate how much time you are willing to spend in each destination if your trip has many of them. 

View in Santa Monica, California

Because we love working out and especially Les Mills group fitness classes we wanted to try their new immersive THE TRIP class which is available only in a few cities around the world. Santa Monica, CA is one of those so we paid our asses of for week passes to 24 Hour Fitness center.We miss Les Mills classes in Finland because the quality of instructors is superb because of the high standards of Les Mills Nordic.

"THE TRIP is a fully immersive workout experience that combines a 40-minute multi-peak cycling workout with a journey through digitally-created worlds. With its cinema-scale screen and sound system, THE TRIP takes motivation and energy output to the next level, burning serious calories." -LesMills.com

In our opinion THE TRIP was a great experience and a hard workout although we both expected more from the graphics. Instructor has to be clear about the instructions because the room is dark and the he is facing the same way with the customers. In our first class the instructor was a rookie and she kept repeating same phrases through the whole workout. In the second class we took the instructor was more experienced, inspiring, funny and kept challenging the team.

With the expensive week passes we got 6 Les Mills classes (would have gone to 8, but 2 were cancelled without notice). Bodypump classes were held in a dusty and dirty class room and the overall quality of the instructors was quite low except John who was a great THE TRIP coach. Week passes are only valid in the fitness center where you purchase them even though 24 Hour Fitness is a chain company. That fact we figured out by ourselves when we tried to go to another facility to train. No-one had mentioned anything about that when we were discussing the prices.

The service and a steam room was nice and the fitness center in Santa Monica has a free towel service and parking for 2 hours which is practical.

All in all it was great to go to Les Mills classes after two months not attending any but we wouldn't recommend 24 Hour Fitness for that rip off price.

We rented a car for the whole time we spent in California because the distances are quite long and using Uber everyday would cost a lot more so a rental car is a must have.
The rush hours in LA roads are terrible so prepare to double your estimated driving if you want to be somewhere on time. We recommend asking for a car that has Sirius Satellite radio in it or you'll be hearing the same 10 songs from all channels all over again.

We drove to Phoenix to get Emmi's new phone which she ordered to our friend's place. It took 6,5 hours to get there from our Airbnb place in Torrance. We were lucky to stay over night at our friend's house and took on the second 6,5 hours the next day.

Sunset in Arizona.

In California we worked out daily, played poker, walked at Santa Monica beach and went to explore Hollywood and Beverly Hills. It feels the time flew way too fast and we didn't want to hoard every possible attraction so we will definitely go California again for at least a few weeks. Our Airbnb host was so lovely that we wanted to stay the whole period at her place in Torrance and not even look for another options.

More sessions like these please!

Henkka at the Walk of Fame.

View from Beverly Hills, California

Santa Monica, California

Thanks for reading, see you soon!

Emmi & Henkka

Jamaica - The wrap up

Two and a half weeks in Jamaica have been relaxing, fun and warm. We have been traveling the coast of Jamaica from place to place by local minibuses. We have visited Port Antonio, Treasure Beach, Negril and Ocho Rios which have all been places worth visiting. Although we can't recommend Kingston due to its filthyness, dirtyness and dangerousness. There are two international airports which are in the two biggest cities Kingston and Montego Bay and you should only land and take off from them and spend the rest of the time somewhere else. 

A stunning sunset in Negril, Jamaica

Here are some notes that we've pointed out during our trip in Jamaica: 

1. The smaller the place where you go the kinder and hospitable people you're more likely to meet. 

2. Walking outside after dark in big cities isn't recommended especially alone due to the high risk of getting robbed. If you are a white woman you will get a lot of attention from the men here especially if you are alone. You are lucky If they leave you alone if you say no. 

3. You will hear gospel EVERYWHERE! There are most churches per square mile in the world in Jamaica but the rules of the Bible are bent so that people can take advantage of them. 

Seems legit, Port Antonio, Portland

4. People eat chicken A LOT here in Jamaica. The quality of the chicken is mostly bad and the portions come with bones almost everytime. So prepare to find bones and joints in each traditional order you purchase. 

5. People are helpful especially with anything related to transportation. If you need to find something or need a ride somewhere you get the answer if you ask locals. Some information for example local bus schedules you can't even find online so people are your Google.

6. Trash, trash, trash... You see it everywhere. Locals eat their takeaway and throw the trash on the ground. Smaller cities and tourist traps are usually cleaner. 

7. There is no rush in Jamaica so you can forget your tight schedule before entering the country. If someone gives you an estimated time you can always at least double that to get the real time. 

8. There is no need for jackets or trousers since it's warm around the year in Jamaica. 

9. In Negril you can usually pay with US dollars also but we don't recommend it because you get a really bad exchange rate.

10. If you go to some waterfalls or other attractions you should always hire a local guide instead of taking a package deal from some travel agency because they have good knowledge of the places and they take good care of you and your stuff during the trip and it's also cheaper to hire a local guide.

11. There are different prices for travelers and locals on taxis, entrance fees and tours. It's always wise to ask locals what do they pay for route taxi ride so the driver won't fool you when discussing the price. Otherwise the fare can be 3-6 times the amount locals pay. In some cases you can't help the fact that being non-local pays a lot more that Jamaican residents. We had planned to go to Dunn's River Falls in Ocho Rios to see what is it like there and to write a blog about it but when we checked the prices they were 600JMD for Jamaican residents and 2800JMD for travelers so we decided not to support that kind of rip off and ended up going to Blue Hole which we heard to be a much better place. 

12. Countlessmilesandsmiles doesn't recommend renting a car in Jamaica because the traffic is quite aggressive and it's cheap and easy to use taxis, route taxis and local buses. 

13. Don't carry a lot of cash with you when roaming around Jamaica in case you get robbed. The poorer you look the better. 

14. Openly homosexual behaviour is not well tolerated. You would at least get rude comments, staring and might even get your ass kicked. The same things might happen if you are white and somehow wander into a bad area in big cities.

15. If you are into smoking weed it is really easy to get it here. In every corner there is someone who asks if you want to buy ganja. It is legal to have a small amount of it with you but not in a vehicle.

Negril, Jamaica

PLACES WORTH VISITING

 - Treasure Beach and especially Pelican Bar 
 - Negril which has a lot of good snorkeling spots and stunning sunsets
 - Blue Hole in Ocho Rios
 - Reach Falls and Frenchman's Cove in Port Antonio

You can easily explore these places in this order traveling the coast of Jamaica by local buses and route taxis. 

At the beginning of our trip in Jamaica our Airbnb host told us that in every situation someone would try to take advantage of us because we are white because it's a common thing here to believe that white people have a lot of money. Now when we think back of our trip it is very true even the host that warned us did the same thing to us on our last two days here. She said that we could stay at her place for the last night before our flight back to Fort Lauderdale since we had booked her place for a week and only stayed there for 4 days in the beginning of our trip. When we got to her place at the end she said that it would cost $23 to stay there even though she never mentioned it before. The same thing happened when she offered us a ride to the airport. When we were about to leave she said that it would cost $18 and the taxi would be way more expensive. In both situations she wanted to help us and eventually told that it would cost us. We both felt she wasn't being honest about the details so we wouldn't even consider other options. 

Countlessmilesandsmiles wants to point out that you should always make sure what everything costs for you here in Jamaica so you won't get ugly surprises. We also that 2 weeks is enough to see and experience everything worth doing here in Jamaica. When we encountered some racism towards us on Jamaica it was so disrespectful and hurtful. We think that every racist person should be sent to a place where someone is racist towards them and really feel how racism hurts and how pointless and absurd it is.

This is something you'll never forget. Negril, Jamaica

Negril, Jamaica

In the next blog you'll hear about our first experiences of Los Angeles. 

Thanks for reading & see you soon! 

Emmi & Henkka