Week 2 - The Island of Maui

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July 15th - Travel Day #2 . . .We Move to Maui

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Each Saturday was our designated travel day. A day we packed up our stuff and moved to the next island on our adventure. We had to exit the condo by 10:00 am and since we had to beat the airport by 11:00 it was pretty much perfect timing. We got packed, loaded everything in the van and took off. You should have seen the van. We were stuffed in amongst the bags which were loaded everywhere. I mean it was really interesting! Mike and Ruth were moving with us to Maui but on a different airline, so they dropped us off at Hawaiian Air and then Sherrie and Crystal dropped Mike and Ruth at Island Air. Sherrie and Crystal then headed for Hilo where they were scheduled to fly back home to Sacramento tomorrow.

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We boarded our plane for the 20-minute hop to Maui without incident. However, when we got to the terminal, we were greeted with a phone call that Mike & Ruth's flight had been delayed and they were not scheduled to leave until 2:30 pm. They were supposed to be about 30 minutes behind us and now it was over an hour. We decided to pick up the van ahead of their arrival and while I was signing the papers, they were landing in Maui. When I got back to the terminal, Mike, Ruth & Dot were waiting patiently for their ride. We loaded up the van and the three of us headed for Kaanapali and our next home at the Papakea Resort.

In place  of  Sherrie & Crystal, we added Marla. She had started her trip in San Francisco on Northwest Airlines and had a very uneventful flight. By the time she arrived in Maui it was 7:30 PM and we all were hungry. We had spent the afternoon unpacking and even had time for a small nap. We greeted Marla who had also received a lei from us . . . and her new boy friend, Mark and so she was surrounded by orchids with a fragrance to match!  We headed out to dinner and then back to the condo to crash. Week 2 was underway and tomorrow was Sunday! It would be a special day, indeed!

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July 16th - It’s the Lord’s Day in Maui too!

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We woke up this morning to the most beautiful weather we have had to date. The sky was blue, the clouds distant, and the temperature a balmy 81 degrees . . . and that was at 8:30 this morning!  Marla, (also single, like Sherrie and Crystal), made a great suggestion that we all attend church today. A friend she has known for a while and who comes to Maui annually suggested a small church called Kings Chapel, just down the road and so we all went. The sermon was great and was preceded by nearly an hour of pure praise and worship, our favorite part of the service since we all sing in the choir back home. The day just got better from there. We must be doing something right!

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I decided that I needed a day off and opted to stay at the condo and ice down my ankle. I haven't said much about it since I sprained it but it was not looking too good by the time I got home from church. Over the last few days I have tried to stay off it as much as possible and ice it whenever I can, but I can walk on it and so have tried to mingle with the gang and go along on the drives. I have propped my leg up on the dashboard and let the air conditioning ice it down while on the road but even after several days, my entire foot is still swollen and several wonderful shades blue, red, black, & purple. So today I stayed home and propped it up above my heart and iced it nearly all day. It really did help!  Anyway, the rest of the gang, Marla, Dot, Mike & Ruth, headed out north of here and drove around highway 30 which circles the “head” of the island, checking out the sites and stopping at the Iao Valley State Park and hiking to the Iao Needle and back.  They also stopped by the Olivine Pools but the weather wasn’t very cooperative as it was pretty windy.

 

The day ended at a restaurant called the Aloha Grill. It is small, with patio only seating but they have the best food I have had so far. It is a mix of Hawaiian, Japanese, & Tahitian with rice. They explained that when the foreign workers would stop to have lunch they would sit together and share their food with one another. The Japanese would bring teriyaki beef, the Tahitians, teriyaki chicken, and the Hawaiians, teriyaki mahi mahi (fish). The place sits right near the ocean looking into the harbor with Molokai in the background and we enjoyed one of the most spectacular sunsets we have seen to date. Knowing God put all this together just for our enjoyment made it even better!  Tomorrow, we will drive the Hana Highway!

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July 17th - Monday, Monday . . . I left my Heart in Hana, Maui

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Today, the five of us left around 9:00pm for Hana, Maui. The drive is about 2-3 hours long, one way but probably the most beautiful drive you will ever experience. Dot and I last did this drive during our short 3 day stay in Maui in 1986, the year we celebrated our 10th anniversary and our first trip to the Islands.  The Road To Hana has been completely repaved (and even widened in some spots) but the one lane bridges are still the same and the traffic has changed . . . a lot! There is more plant life along the road. In some spots where we could see the ocean 20 years ago, you can no longer see any of the coastline. You have to pull off the side of the road at a turnout built just for the view you used to get just driving along the road. Sure, it is safer, but you lose some of the adventure.

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I have to say that what they say about people driving off the road is true. All along the road there is evidence of cars & trucks going off the side into the gorges. The plants are all laid flat and occasionally you would see the remains of a vehicle at the bottom. Some even on the side of the road all rusted out but never moved. I think they leave them there to warn others of what can happen if you don't watch the road.  Anyway, our trip took about 3 1/2 hours because we stopped several times along the way. We had purchased a CD of the drive and you could play it at points along the map and get a wonderful description of the area and some Hawaiian history also. In all the trip was as beautiful as seen on TV, at times even better. We had mostly good weather, though it did get a little misty at times but that is normal for the area.

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We ended our drive t the Hana Beach Park where Marla went swimming, Dot and Ruth and I got our feet wet, and Mike disappeared but showed up wet as he had been swimming at a different place on the beach.  The drive back was a lot shorter since we didn't stop but once. It was at a small fruit stand where we  bought some apples and bananas and were treated to slices of sugar cane which you bite off the inside, chew it, sucking out the sweet juices, and then toss the chewed roughage.  We ended our day at a place called Mama's Fish House where we dined on some of the best food on the island. It was really pricey but at that point we didn't care as we were really hungry. Tomorrow, we snorkel . . . or at least try!

 

July 18th - By the Sea, By the Sea, In the Beautiful Sea!

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Tuesday morning came really early. We had to leave the condo at 5:50 am to get to our boat which was moored at the Maalaea Harbor about a half hour from where we were staying. There were only 16 people signed up for this snorkel/dive trip. The four of us (Mike, Ruth, Dot & I were the only snorkelers, the rest divers. Three of those were doing introductory dives which allow uncertified persons to try the sport of diving.  We took our time getting to our first destination, Molokini Crater. It is a small partially submerged crater about three miles off the southern coast of Maui. It is unique in that several species of fish make their home there and have gotten quite tame due to the past practice of allowing snorkelers to feed the fish. That practice has been discontinued but the fish are still a bit more curious than the divers.

Our snorkel leader, Fernando, was from Argentina, and was an accomplished “Free Diver”; which means that he can hold his breath for long periods of time and dive down to 50 - 60 feet without the aid of a breathing apparatus.

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They gave Fernando the job of taking all the photos during our snorkel trip. He got some great shots. We saw the usual black spiny sea urchins and brain coral we saw on our last dive on the Big Island but there were many more species here in the crater. We saw angel fish, a blue parrot fish, a pink tail triggerfish, a needle fish, and a slate-pencil sea   urchin. Near the end of our tour we saw a large zebra moray eel. What a trip it was. Visibility was near 100 ft.

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It took about an hour to reach Turtle Town. This is a place near Wailea, Maui on the south end of the west coast. We got there and the trade winds had already picked up so the swells were about 3 to 4 feet, making it hard to snorkel without drinking some of the sea water. Our tour there was much shorter as the visibility was down to less than 50 ft.  The highlight was a long lava wall that was near the surface and we saw several of the same fish we saw at Molokini. The big surprise was a large turtle that was making its way toward Dot as she snorkeled, and just before they collided, the turtle did an abrupt U-turn and swam away toward the surface. We did see another turtle surface near the boat as we were eating lunch but because of the murkiness of the water we were not able to see as many as we should have. The trip back to the harbor took about an hour and a half and the ride was very choppy, due to the trade winds. Nobody, to my knowledge, got sick but we were bounced around the whole trip home and were pretty exhausted when we reached port.

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We treated ourselves to stuffed salmon and lobster tail for dinner. Marla is an excellent chef and made a dynamite salad to go with the fare. She also got flowers from her new beau! Tomorrow, we go up Haleakala (the main volcano) to do an Eco-Adventure called Zipline!

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July 19th - I Can See Clearly Now, The Clouds Are Gone!

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Wednesday was another early day. We had scheduled this day to be on Maui's main volcano, Haleakala. At just over 10,000 ft it is Hawaii's third largest behind Mauna Kea & Mauna Loa which are both on the big island of Hawaii. We left just a little past 6 am and were scheduled to do a Zip Line at about the 4500 elevation of the mountain. The woods were a large stand of eucalyptus trees which are not native to Hawaii, but are kind of like a weed to the islands. The tree requires a lot of water and saps the nutrients out of the soil so that nothing else can grow there. Anyway, we got all geared up and donned our helmets and proceeded to our first zipline. There were 5 in all and each one was a little longer and the canyon a little deeper. The first was only about 100 ft long and the depth was only 50 ft. Easy! Well, maybe. Dot had been up most of the night worrying about doing this, so she was a little hesitant about the first hook up. She ended up being the last to hook up on this first cable but after she got across, she was all fired up about doing the rest.

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We had two leaders. One was responsible for getting us hooked to the cable correctly, the other for catching us and getting us unhooked. The catch was the really important part because if he didn't catch us, we would roll back across the cable and end up just hanging there about halfway across!  Each zipline was across the same canyon. The second was about 150 ft, the depth about 75 ft., and so it went until after number 4. Our 5th crossing was a bridge made out of 2x6 lumber and cable. Kind of like a monkey bridge. The lumber created a platform for walking across and 3 cables paralleled with two being the hand grips and one being where we hooked up our pulleys. That was really fun because as you started across, the next person would begin and so you had as many as 3 at one time on this bridge making it sway and spring up & down so you really had to watch your footing. Of course, that meant you had to look down, and the canyon at that point was over 100 ft deep. I wonder what the last crossing was going to be like?

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Well, we found out all too soon. Our last crossing was across the widest point in the canyon and its deepest. There was a lot of overgrowth at the bottom which our leader said was 250 ft down. The cable was over 750 ft long and was connected to a telephone pole way at the other end. The first to cross was this 12 year old boy. The leader had to use a pulley system winch to get the cable low enough to hook up to. Then we were instructed to just run like mad until we just ran off the end of the platform! The boy ran with all his might and just flew off the end of the platform and into the space below. The cable sagged and he nearly dropped out of site as he zipped along the cable.

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His ride seemed to go on forever. We first thought that he would stop at what appeared to be the landing area but the leader who was supposed to catch the boy was not there and he just flew right on past almost to the telephone pole at the other end. He stopped there briefly and then proceeded to travel back toward us while picking up speed and right past the landing area again. The leader showed up just as he passed the landing area. The boy proceeded out to nearly the middle of the cable stopped for the longest time and then slowly started back the other way where he was finally caught and placed on what looked like one of those ladders you find in a warehouse hardware store.  That ride on the last cable was by far the best of all. Even Dot, who flew across initially with her eyes shut tight, was able to holler out her best imitation of Tarzan as she flew by us waiting below! 

 

Once we got back to the starting point, we got back into the van and headed up to the top of Haleakala. What a view. You can see the entire island of Maui below. You are above the clouds which makes the view even more dramatic. The drive up is a series of tight hairpin turns and narrow lanes and weirdest thing . . . most of the highway had no guardrails except at the steeper points.  As we entered the National Park and reached the top we were treated to some spectacular views. We could see the Big Island of Hawaii to the south, Molokai & Lanai to the north, and the entire valley between the mountain and the west Maui mountains (the head). Finally, we were able to see a fully in bloom silver sword plant. These plants only grow on Haleakala and bloom once then die. As we ove down the mountain we saw a couple more.   The trip down was much faster, and we all had to keep equalizing the pressure in our ears while dropping. By now the trade winds had come up and we were buffeted all over the highway on the way home. Tomorrow, we will kayak along the coast of Maui . . .

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July 20th - Paddle Left . . . No, Right . . . No, Left!

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Today is Thursday.  It is our kayak adventure day. Dot and I have never kayaked before so this should be interesting.  All five of us participated in this activity. Up until now Marla chose to hang at the condo to save a little money as she leaves here this Saturday for San Francisco and then leaves SF on Monday for 3 weeks in Australia. Today was her first real activity other than the trip to Iao Needle on Sunday which I had stayed home for. She has gotten caught up on her reading and has taken long walks along the beach. AND she was a dynamite cook!

 

We drove to a small turnout along the highway at mile marker 11. Mile markers are how everyone in Hawaii gives directions. We are near mile marker so & so; drive to mile marker so & so and make the next right; and so on. Anyway, we stopped and met our kayak guide Aaron who helped introduce us to the art of paddling a kayak, about its shape and how to get in and out of a kayak (not as easy as it looks). We donned our life jackets, tied everything to the kayak, adjusted our back pads and away we went! by the way the company providing the fun was Kelii's Kayak Tours, and I highly recommend them if you ever come to Maui. A simple yet fun, no frills tour.

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Dot and I were in one, she up front, me in the back. Mike had his own, and Ruth &; Marla shared a third. A couple of teenage boys joined us in the fourth kayak as Aaron led the way.

Kayaking in the ocean is interesting. The boats are easy to maneuver but there is some resistance due to the waves & currents. Overall, though, after just a few minutes out at sea we got the hang of it and moved south along the Maui shoreline just a couple of miles south of Lahaina. We paddled for nearly an hour before Aaron anchored, just off-shore in a small cove. Peering through the water I could tell we were in about 20 to 30 ft of water. It was crystal clear and was a great place to stop and snorkel. Everyone jumped into the water except me. I chose to hang in the kayak because my foot (yes, that foot) had gotten quite a workout the day before and was quite tender today. The rest really did me good. I just slathered myself with sun block hung my foot in the water and took a nap while the others frolicked and snorkeled around the boats for about 45 minutes. Then Aaron pulled up anchor and we started paddling back to our starting point. Along the way we saw several cars that had obviously gone over the embankment and had landed on the lava below just beyond the waterline. They looked as if they had been there for some time as they had little color left and were mostly just rusted hulks of a car. You couldn't tell what type they were. Aaron says there is a lot of that here in Maui. We saw evidence of that on the road to Hana if you remember in my previous posts.

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Aaron said we had traveled about 2 miles down the coast. The current would make the trip back a little longer then going down and just about two bends before we got to our destination, Aaron again dropped anchor and let us snorkel for another 30 minutes. I again took a nap (with sun block of course). What a way to get a tan.  We finally landed at the beach where our trip had begun. The tide had come in while we were touring and a couple of waves were pretty big hitting the shore. One of those waves caught one of the kayaks and they surfed all the way to shore. That was exciting. Dot and I had to paddle in. We ended our tour with a lunch of veggies, pineapple, sandwiches, chips and soda & water. 

 

Tomorrow, we have an off day and plan to ride on the “Sugar Cane Train” from Kaanapali'i to Lahaina and back and will end our day at the Royal Lahaina Luau. We also have to pack for our travel on Saturday to our next destination while the rest of the gang heads back to the mainland. Tomorrow is our last day on Maui.

 

July 21st - Friday on Maui . . . Sunrise, Sunset

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Well, here we are at the end of our week on Maui. Mike & Ruth decided they wanted the see the Sunrise at Haleakala and so got up really early in the morning (2:00 am) and left quietly for the highest point on the island. They were picked up at the condo by the company that would take them to the top and then they would mount bicycles and ride down the mountain all the way to the ocean some 32 miles away. They didn't get back until around 12:30 and all they could say is WOW!

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Marla, Dot & I motored down to Lahaina and boarded the Lahaina, Kaanapali Railroad (otherwise known as the Sugar Cane Train and took a short ride from Lahaina to Kaanapali and got some interesting facts about both places and some neat views of the ocean and the surrounding properties. The train travels right through the Kaanapali Golf Club's South Course. We then all got together to go to our last evening meal together. Just like last week we went to a Luau.

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The Royal Lahaina Luau to be exact. Everyone was comparing the food and show with last week’s luau and pretty much we all agreed that last week’s luau was better. Not that it was disappointing. We all ate tons of food and the show was entertaining and ended with the Samoan Fire Dancers. Where last week’s show had one dancer, this week’s show had several which really got the crowd into it.  We ended the day exhausted, having had a really busy week and we had to be on the road tomorrow, by 9:00 am. 

 

So, click on the " Week 3 - Molokini" map at the top to continue on to our next island.