The Kalalau Trail

The Kalalau Trail... The experience is one that I will never, ever forget. It just so happens that the Kalalau Trail was the second hike I had every done in my life (that I can remember). The views are breath-taking and simply indescribable. I would definitely say that the Kalalau Trail is a bucket-list-worthy type of deal where you are rewarded with the most incredible views in the world. At the end of the 11-mile Kalalau Trail is Kalalau Beach where people camp for the night. Since we only had one day left in Kauai, we hiked half of the Kalalau trail to Hanakapiai Falls and then turned around for a total of 13 miles.

In terms of physical fitness level required, I wouldn't say more than average is needed, though you obviously have to be able to hike 11 miles before the sun goes down if you want to get to the finish line at Kalalau Beach. The actual trail isn't too strenuous. It's just plain dangerous haha. Sheer cliffs with long drops, very narrow paths (at several points, you could only put one foot in front of the other), loose rocks and pebbles, slippery logs, etc. I almost lost my boyfriend twice because he lost his footing and fell!

The trail is also very intimate, which I really liked. We probably saw a handful of other people during the duration of our hike. Most of the time, it really felt like it was just the two of us out there. At Hanakapiai Falls, it was me, Ignas, and nature in the purest state I've seen it. The trail was so overgrown that I felt like we were just forging our own (someone had left pink ribbon markers but still, the trail was invisible). At the falls, there was not a single sign of civilization. Just spiders, frogs (both alive and dead), and the waterfall, which was absolutely beautiful. Since the waterfall was so tall, we couldn't get a good picture but check this one out that I found online.

Yup, gorgeous. From Alexo Photography: http://www.alexo-photography.com/Best_of/Best_of_Foto_Hawaii_ALLE.html

By the end of the day, I was deliriously exhausted. A warning: as much as you might be tempted to wash off at the neighboring Tunnels Beach, don't. The waves there are mean and I was so physically fatigued that one of the waves picked me up and slammed me on the sand, lower back first and my head on the ricochet. I was completely immobilized and I thought I would die when the next wave came but my Superman Ignas saved me. He literally saw me in distress, ran to me, picked me up and carried me away. <3 Looking back, it was romantic but at the time, he was convinced that I had suffered a concussion and I threw up shortly after...

The Kalalau Trail left me feeling very humbled and blessed. I felt so fortunate to have seen such untouched natural beauty and thankful to have been able to revel in all of it in solitude. I would definitely recommend some sort of training prior to taking on the trail and make sure to bring enough water! The Kalalau Trail is a MUST and it's free (unless you pay the permit fee to camp at Kalalau Beach).

Click here to see more pictures from our Kalalau Trail trek.

Snapshot Saturday: Hanauma Bay

Hanauma Bay is beautiful, relaxing and fun. We swam, snorkeled (Ignas swam with a sea turtle), napped and tanned. The water is crystal clear and there is so much sea life to observe. It's a decently large bay too so we spent a lot of time exploring, or at least Ignas did ha. It was a wonderful place to spend our day!

Snapshot Saturday: Lanikai, Oahu, HI

Lanikai is the most beautiful beach I have ever been to. The sand is very fine and white and the water is a clear, turquoise green.  It's definitely a swimming/snorkel beach because of the lack of waves.  Lanikai is in the Kailua area on Oahu and parking is free in the neighborhood. We bought Hawaiian plate lunches and ate on the sand. A small warning: it's not actually an official state or county beach so there are no bathrooms or showers. We ended up using the free showers in Waikiki before jumping on our flight back home.

Snapshot Saturday: Na Pali Coast

This picture is from the Kalalau Trail on Kauai, Hawaii. The trail is a tough one but well worth the stunningly breathtaking views. Taken with the S95.

Magisto: An Automatic Online Video Editor

I've loved making movies ever since I was a kid and I always envision the perfect video/slideshow/montage all the while I'm on a trip. Between the both of us, me and Ignas have 5 cameras:

• His Canon PowerShot S95
• His GoPro HD Hero 2
• His Canon EOS Rebel T3i Digital SLR
• My iPhone 4S
• My GE E1486TW

We always have at least one of these whenever we go anywhere (obviously, my phone is permanently equipped). But when we go on a trip, we bring at least 3 cameras and take tons of photo/video. Back in the day, I edited videos using two VCR's. Luckily, technology's come a little further since then.

For those of you with plenty of footage and little time to tinker with a video editing program, let me introduce you to Magisto. Magisto says that it's a video editor but it's more like a video maker, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Here's how it works.

After signing up for a free account, making a video is extremely easy. All you have to do is select the footage you want Magisto to make a video from, give the movie a title and then add a soundtrack. After your videos are uploaded, Magisto will automatically detect the "good" footage and edit them to make a movie. That's it! And the best part is that it's free!

I've made quite a few videos using Magisto but this one is definitely my favorite. It literally took me 2 minutes to create this video. The footage is from our Hawaii trip in September 2011 and I think the video does well to show how awesome Magisto can be. (Other info: videos were taken with the S95 and the song is called "Sunshine Girl" by J BOOG.)

After watching that amazing video, you may be thinking that Magisto is a dream come true. Unfortunately, there are several limitations.

First of all, you can only upload up to 600 MB or 16 video files, whichever limit you hit first. With footage from an S95 camera, I always hit the 600 MB which is about 4-5 videos.  Second, it takes forever and a day to upload your videos to Magisto. The Magisto website says that there are several reasons for this, mainly your own internet connection. But I've used Magisto for both home and work purposes and it's been painfully slow on both connections. So yes, it took me 2 minutes and a few clicks to make the video above but I literally had to wait a few hours for the videos to be uploaded and then processed into a final movie. (I always make Magisto videos right before bed so that I could watch the final movies first thing in the morning.)

There's another limitation to Magisto that I want to point out but this one can actually be fixed with a little extra effort. As I said, you choose the videos Magisto takes footage from but that's the extent of your power. After that, it's out of your hands and let me tell you, Magisto's definition of "good footage" is not always good. One time, I uploaded a relatively long video of Ignas swimming in a river. Somewhere in the middle of this clip, a random photographer guy also gets in the frame as he enters the river. Well, Magisto thought this was award-winning footage and decided to include this stranger for a majority of the final movie. After waiting hours for uploading and processing, I was definitely not happy after seeing the final result.

Fortunately, you can easily avoid this problem by screening your footage and removing the clips that you do not want Magisto to use. Trimming your footage with a simple video editor will ensure that only "good" footage, with "good" being defined by both you and Magisto, is included in your final movie.

In conclusion, I would definitely recommend Magisto for a fun and easy way to make short videos but it will never make the perfect video/slideshow/montage that I always envision during a trip.

P.S. Use the Magisto website and not the iPhone app - the quality is drastically reduced when using the app!