Maui - Wednesday, Thursday

Writing about sitting on the lanai, watching whales and turtles, reading, listening to tunes, or sitting in the sun does not make for the most exciting read. Just know that I have done a lot of all of these things. With great enjoyment.   So for the things we did that did not include the above, here is my last Maui blog.  

Sue and I booked in to attend a luau on Wednesday evening at the Sheraton, down the road from our condo. We were greeting with mai tais as we waited for our seats. The luau was set up outdoors on the waterfront. As we passed through the welcome gates we were all adorned with a lei. These necklaces aer made up of a string of purple and white orchids. We were grouped at tables of 10 people. Coincidentally, all of the people at our table were Canadians. Our host of the evening reminded me of a lounge singer. He told stories, corny jokes, and sang to us.  

After we had all been seated, we were directed to the Black Rock where a ceremony took place. A man stood on the cliff and offered a lei to the four directions before diving off of the cliff. Then we were directed over to a rectangular fire pit, called an imu, that had been dug in the ground. There, a pig had been roasted for 6 hours. The pig was covered in leaves in order to keep the heat in and allow the pig to essentially be steam cooked. We saw the pig lifted out of the pit and brought to a table where it was torn apart for our meal.  

Tables were called up to collect dinner. There were salads, pork, chicken, mahi, poi, pineapple and some delicious desserts including mango bread pudding and a chocolate macnut dessert of which I enjoyed both. I may have also enjoyed a couple of drinks - a pina colada and a Blue Hawaiian. We ate our dinner as the sun set on another glorious day in Maui.  

There was an hour long performance which included hula dancers, dancing from the polynesian culture, and a fire knife dancer who literally twirled flaming sticks around in circles. It was mezmorizing and breathtaking.  

My first luau was delicious, informative, entertaining, with the backdrop of the ocean and a beautiful sunset. So, I would say it was perfect.  

Sue's friend Lavenda, who is a lomi lomi practiciner, and Sue Ann's Reiki Instructor, lives in Kehei, a town about 40 minutes away from where we were staying. Sue had contacted Lavenda and decided to meet up for breakfast on Thursday morning. Another early start to our day, we were out the door by 6. We met Lavenda and enjoyed breakfast at Kehei Cafe, a great place that has only outdoor seating. Customers walk up to the indoor counter to order, give your name in exhange for cutlery, pour your own coffee and then head out to sit and wait for your food. A server brings out your meal and calls your name. Sue and Lavenda spent some time catching up and then we headed to the beach for a beautiful walk in the water. We breathed the fresh Hawaiian air and enjoyed sunshine, sand, and surf. Beautiful.  

Upon returning to our condo, we did a wee bit of browsing in shops and then I suited up and headed to a lounge chair to read, sleep, and soak up the sun.   We bought tickets to see a show called 'Ulalena. I will quote the production's pamphlet as it provides the best description of the show.  
"There is a Wind and Rain Particular to Maui that rises at twilight. It whispers of other places and other times, both mytic and real. It blows between daylight and night, between times and worlds. It is hopeful and cleansing. The ancient Hawaiian name for this wind is 'Ulalena. It is also the name of the newest most amazing stage production to come from Hawaii in decades.  
The power of the production is that it is both universal and intimate. It is born from a mythology populated by beings larger than life representing a natural landscape alive with volcanoes, vast oceans and primeval reainforests. The story begins with the mythical creation of the islands and rolls through successive waves of voyagers who have found their way to these shores. From the first Polynesians to the early European explorers; and finally to us..." - 'Ulalena pamphlet.  

There were 9 scenes that made up this production. There was traditional singing, dancing, Stomp style scenes, and lots of loud and powerful drumming. A couple of the scenes had a Cirque du Soleil style performer. One time she hung and moved around to ribbons suspended from the ceiling. Another time she was spinning in two large hanging hoops.  

This was a powerful performance. Although the entire performance was completed in Hawaiian language, the singing, dancing, and acting allowed the audience to clearly understand what was happening. I love the power of story.  

My bedtime on Thursday came really early. I hit a wall of tiredness that was not to be overcome. So, 8pm - bedtime! I slept the sleep of one who is fortunate to be lulled by the sounds of the waves and the warming ocean breeze.  

And now, it is Friday. The last full day in Maui. I love that my time here and been both busy and relaxed. It had been spend exploring and staying put. Time has travelled but not too quickly for this traveller. I am set to fully enjoy a relaxing day ocean side today. I will pack after the sun has set.  

As I end my first trip to Maui, Hawaii, I will finish with a Hawaiian salutation: A hui hou, Until we meet again.        

Hawaiian Words
Aloha - Love, affection; greeting, salutation; Hello! Good-bye!
Hale - house, building
Hau‘oli - Happy, glad, joy
Hoaloha - friend
Honu - turtle
Hula - the dance of Hawaii
Mahalo - Thank you
Mahalo nui loa - Thank you very much    

Hawaiian Attitude  
The Aloha Spirit - the attitude of friendly acceptance on the Hawaiian islands. In the Hawaiian language, aloha stands for much more than just "hello" or "goodbye" or "love." Its deeper meaning is "the joyful (oha) sharing (alo) of life energy (ha) in the present (alo)." taken, with permission, from http://www.alohainternational.org/html/aspirit1.html  
Hang Loose - to chill or to be laid back. Hang loose is represented by shaka, the hand gesture where the pinky finger and the thumb are extended - the ultimate symbol of aloha.

Maui Day 5 - Rays and Whales

Sue and I had two plans for Tuesday - catch some rays and go on our whale watching tour.  

Our day started off with breakfast on the lanai. I decided to do some writing so, after breakfast, I took my tablet down to the water front and worked on my blog. We sat out until about 10:30 when it was time to get snacks and ready to head to Lahina, a town near us where we would get the boat for whale watching.

Our whale watching tour began at noon. While we were waiting for the boat to dock, we got a true sense of the power of the sun! After a few days with clouds and mist and sun, we were treated to a full day of sun shine. It feels so great to have the sun shining down on my head again but it is very easy to forget that it is January!  

The whale watching lasted two hours. This was one of the best tours that I have been on for the success of seeing whales. During this time of year, humpbacks are very active in this area of the world. They have migrated from the North Pacific in order to mate and give birth to their young. So we were able to view quite a few active humpacks. We mainly saw humpacks in groups of either two or three. We saw them coming to the surface of the water for air, slapping their pectoral fins, and showing their fluke as they headed for deeper waters.  

I chose to stay on the lower deck as I always feel like I am closer to the whales this way. The absolute best part of the day was when, I as was standing at the corner of the back of the deck at the railings, two humpback whales swam directly under the boat. From my vantage point, I was able to see the whitness of their pectoral fins and tail and the darker outline of their enormous bodies as they glided under us. Then the best happened again and they both returned to swim under the boat a second time.  

Our two hour tour went by so quickly and was filled with wonderful sightings. It is so amazing to me to be able to see these massive creatures in their habitat. I will never tire of watching for whales. And that is exactly what I am doing right now as I type this blog!  

After our tour, Sue and I walked around Lahina for a bit. We enjoyed an ice cream! The town is set up for tourists and shopping. I was more interested in catching rays and swimming so I suggested to Sue that we head back to our condo. On the way back, we picked up some groceries and our snorkel rentals from Boss Frogs.  

Around this time too, we were told that we could move ourselves to our ocean view room which was awesome. No complaining about our original room but it wasn't what we had paid for nor expected. One of the main things that I desired out of my Hawaiian vacation was to be able to sit on a deck and watch the ocean. Now I am able to do that!  

Sue and I spent a bit of time snorkeling around the reef in front of the condo. We saw lots of coral, and interesting tropical fish. The water is so clear that it makes the viewing exceptional. There are, what look like, mini volcanos in the sand on the ocean ground. Tiny bubbles of air escape from them and float their way to the surface. Colourful fish are nibbling at the sand at the bottom of the ocean or on the bits of algae on the reef. I saw an interesting yellow-white fish that was basically the shape of a tube. I also saw what looked like a black, white, and yellow angel fish. And, sneaking under a rock, what appeared to me to be a puffer fish before being inflated. It was black with little white dots and was shaped like a lemon. There was also a black and yellow creature that looked like a snake. It was curled in an s-shape which made me think it was ready to attack, so I flipped my way out of his way pretty quickly.  

After our snorkel time, Sue and I quickly packed up our first room and headed to our new room with the goal of being able to watch the sun set from the lanai. We managed to make it on time and it was a beautiful treat to see.  

We had BLTs for dinner as we sat on the lanai for the rest of the evening just enjoying all that this vacation has to offer.  

I have been truly blessed to be able to spend such a long time away from the daily grid. I thank God every day for this opportunity and am so privledged to be afforded time.

Another day in paradise!

Maui Day 3 and 4

Sunday in Maui dawned with some cloud cover and a misty type of rain. Between periods of cloud and rain, the sun shone. That is pretty well how the weather remained for the entire day. What also remained for the entire day was a rainbow. There was a rainbow, sometimes two rainbows in the sky over the ocean for the entire day on Sunday. I took so many photos but really they do the sky no justice.   

Sunday was also a rather lazy day for us. We enjoyed breakfast on the lanai. Then sat on the deck chairs reading by the water's edge for a few hours in the morning. For the afternoon, Sue had been invited to a tour by her time share company, so we walked along the strip of stores toward the hotel where her meeting took place. We grabbed some essentials at the grocery story and I left Sue to attend her meeting.   

Back at the condo, I worked on chopping up veggies for a big stir fry, read, and watched a bit of Coronation Street. I tried to sit by the ocean front again but it was really too rainy for that in the afternoon. Sue's meeting lasted a bit longer than anticipated but she returned for dinner and we enjoyed a few rounds of Uno before bed.   

Monday morning was a very early rise. We were up and out the door by 4:30 as we were heading to Haleakala to greet the sun. Haleakala "is a massive shield volcano that forms more than 75% of the Hawaiian Island of Maui" (Wiki). There are a limited number of roads on Maui. Essentially, there is a track of roads that lead almost all the way around the edge of the island and one road that crosses Maui in the middle. If you imagine a figure 8, that is what the road map would loosely look like from a birds eye view.   So, Sue and I had to travel back to the airport town and then head west toward Haleakala National Park. The road up the volcano is windy and often there are hairpin turns to follow as you make your way to the 10 500 foot elevation. The journey up was completed in the dark. We travelled above the clouds. We got to the top of the volcano by about 6:30. There are Park Rangers and a parking lot (which was full) at the Visitor's Centre. So many people had journeyed to welcome the sun.   

A rocky hill leads higher than the Visitor's Centre and Sue and I climbed up this par a wee bit to grab a spot to observe. As the darkness of the night slowly gives way to the light from the sun, the sky changes from black to gray, purple, to blue, red, orange, and yellow. It is a truly difficult thing to describe and the photographs really do not do the sunrise justice. As the sky gets lighter still, the sun starts to make its silvered appearance. Then, quickly, the sun is rising and it seems like in no time, the sun has joined us for another beautiful day on Maui. As the sun rises, two of the Park Rangers sing a traditional chant to welcome the sun. If you are interested in hearing this beautiful chant, I have linked a YouTube video to the chant on my Blog.   

Now, in the light of morning, we got a wider look around. Sue and I were standing on top of a volcano, looking down on the clouds and the crater that is what remains of the volcano. It was very rocky at the top and the dirt had a reddish brownish tinge to it. We climbed to the top of the rocky hill to enjoy the stunning vista.   

After watching the sunrise and enjoying the view, we tailgated in the back of the Jeep and had our breakfast.   

The journey down the volcano was more scenic as it was full day light by now. The vegetation is sparse at the top of the volcano. There are some low lying shrubs. We saw some Nene, which are birds, that we were cautioned to avoid as the cross the road at will. As we descended, we passed groups of bikers who were participating in the bike the volcano tours. The vegetation got thicker and there were more trees the lower we drove.   

We stopped at a cafe for a cup of coffee at the bottom of the volcano, as we were closer now to highways. I saw a lemon tree on the cafe property! I am fascinated at the amount of fruit trees that are randomly growing here.   

Next on our to do list was to drive the Highway to Hana. This road was snakes along the northern coast of Maui. This highway is 104 km long. It takes about 2.5 hours to travel, without stopping due to its windy, and at times, narrow roadway. There are reportedly 620 curves on the road and it travels through scenic and beautiful tropical rainforest.   

At Boss Frogs, we had been given a CD that acted as a tour guideas we wound our way toward Hana. Each track explained about the history of Maui, its people, and the road and bridges we crossed, or about the different types of trees that we were passing by. As with the sunrise, words can not adequately describe the views on the Highway to Hana. Needless to say, every turn, every bend offered a visual delight. There are hundreds of different shades of green. We say bamboo, banya, Norfolk or cook pine, painted or rainbow eucolyptus, banana trees, palm trees, trees with different fruits growing from them, and so many other interesting species of trees that I do not recognize.   As we crossed over the narrow bridges, we often saw deep, green valleys, and rocky patches. Many times there were beautiful cascading waterfalls. 

  Our main stop along this route was at Black Sands Beach. This turn off of the main road led to a camping area, beach area, black sands, and some caves. It was also a great place to look north east over the Pacific Ocean for miles. And the beach was really made up of black stone and black sand. The contract between the black sand and the lush greenery that was growing by the side of the ocean was stunning.  

 The final leg of the journey took us to Hana. This town is small and considered untouched by too much civilization. It was a good pit stop before we turned around and wound our way back via the Highway to Hana.   

On our return journey, we were delayed by about an hour due to construction on a bridge. Traffic was stopped both ways. Since there is no alternative road, we all waited. Sue and I took this a good time to break out the Jeep Owner's Manual and figure out how to remove the freedom top. This is essentally like having a huge sunroof. After our delay, the return journey was completed with the sun shining in on us.   

We made a quick Starbuck trip where I was able to get a new mug to add to my collection and then headed home.Dinner was a quick egg and toast and then it was off to bed. It had been a long and fantastic day.   

Today was definitely a party for my eyes

Traditional Chant to greet the sun on Haleakala

Haleakala Sunrise 7/2/14: http://youtu.be/leUR_lnTnO0

Maui Day 2 Snorkel Adventure

This morning I was up before the sun after a really good sleep. I made some coffee and headed out to the lanai to greet the morning. I did some writing as I enjoyed listening to the ocean waves which were mighty powerful that morning.  

Sue joined me on the deck about an hour later and we sat and watched the rain. Our lanai is well protected so, other than some drops flying off of the palm trees, we were able to remain dry. A baby gecko joined us and we spend some time protecting it from birds that kept swooping in to investigate. So, this was basically our morning. We sat, enjoyed coffee, and read our books.  

We headed south for Maalaea at about 12:30. Our whale watching and snorkeling tour took place about an hour drive away from our condo. Along the drive, I was fascinated to see banana, mango, papaya, passion fruit, and star fruit trees. As the road traveled mainly along the ocean, I was also able to peak at paddleboarders, surfers, and a few more humpback whales. On the opposite side of the road was the impressive remnants of a volcano.  

We needed to meet our boat, The Boss Frog III, at slip 87.  After filling out waivers, we boarded and headed out to our snorkeling point. The crew provided us with flippers, snorkels, and a mask. After we were moored in a small inlet, stairs were lowered down into the water and we descended into the ocean. We spent about an hour in the water investigating the fish and coral. As I swam closer to the shore, I was really able to feel the push and pull of the tide. It was so fascinating to watch schools of Black Durgeon swayng with the tide. The fish that we saw were mulitcoloured and varied. Besides the Black Durgeon, we also say Trumpet Fish, Moorish Idol. Parrot Fish, Achilles Tang, Long Nose Butterfly, Yellow Tang, and Pennant Fish. There was rumour of a turtle sighting by a few other snorkelers but it had swam away by the time I got the the vacinity.  

Along with the beauty of all of the fish that we saw, the coral was splendid. Gnarled and bumpy, some in the shape of brains, others were almost like knuckle bones. Some of the coral had sea urchins attached to them. Between some of the coral was a red finger like creature - I don't know if it was plant or animal based but still looked cool.  

Our group was called on board so that we could investigate some whales. This is not the most upclose and personal whale watching tour that I have ever been on. We did see a few humpbacks breeching and waving their fins at us but at a great distance.  

The weather was alternatively rainy, cloudy, and a bit sunny while out at the snorkel site and on our way back in to harbour. When we were called on board, I chose to sit at the front right side of the catamaran. The right side of the catamaran was essentially the only part of the entire boat that got splashed on the entire journey back to harbour. So, not only was my bathing suit soaked from the snorkel experience, but by the time we docked, my towel, birks, backpack, and all of its contents were soaked through. I had officially been baptised by the Pacific Ocean. Needless to say that I was freezing. Sue put the heat on full blast in the Jeep for the journey home. My shoes, at least, were dry by the time we got back to the condo. A hot shower was in order. We have a washer and drier in our unit so we did a load of laundry to de-salt our clothes.  

We enjoyed bacon and eggs , toast, and carrots - breakfast for dinner and a local brew. Sue and I played some Uno and I sort of stayed awake until 9pm but maybe Sue would argue with that one!

Maui - Arrival and Day 1

Sue and I arrived in Maui after 10.5 hours of flying. We flew from Toronto to Vancouver (that flight was about an hour and a half late but we made up so much time in the air that we landed only a half an hour late in Vancouver). Our stop over was not too long, just long enough to stretch our legs and grab a bite to eat. The flight from Vancouver to Maui was 6 hours and 10 minutes. Thankfully, I was able to sleep for most of that journey. Note to all travellers - bring ear plugs. They are literally the best invention ever. The constantly crying baby did not even penetrate the sound barrier provided by these tiny pieces of foam!  

What a joy it was to land where there is no snow and lots of warmth. We landed at 1030, Maui time. It was 21 degrees. The airport is small and was very quiet. The building is sort of an outdoor indoor deal as there are no real outdoor walls. There are sort of half walls that open directly up to the outdoors.  

Our first order of buisness was to get to our rental car. Other travellers were doing the same and we were all shuttled to the rental agency. We had booked an economy car, but for a slight upgrade we were able to get a Jeep that had less than 300miles on it! It seems that there are either Mustangs or Jeeps to rent on this island as we keep seeing them all over the place.  

After the rental, it was an easy 45 minute drive to our Condo. It was really dark so I couldn't really see the beauty of the place that would be revealed to me the next morning. The front desk was closed but we were able to access our keys though a lock box system. Sue and I had decided, when booking this vacation, to put out a little extra money in order to get the ocean view condo. Unfortunately, upon arriving, we discovered that we ended up with the partial ocean view condo. Something that needed addressing the next morning. The condo, however is great. It is well equiped. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, kitchen, and living room. We also have our own deck which is where I am sitting as I type this.   Settling in, for me, included changing, brushing my teeth, and hitting the bed.  

On Friday morning, I was awake by 6ish. Sue was already up and sitting on the deck. I joined her and we sat and allowed the day to begin. As the skies got lighter, a beautiful scenery emerged. Directly in front of our deck are massive palm trees that frow higher than our deck level (we are on the third floor). To the left, we are able to get a glimpse of the ocean. It was lovely to sit out on a deck in January and enjoy the warmth and the breeze.  

After coffee and getting a bit organized, Sue and I had to check into the condo and we wanted to talk to the front desk about our ocean view room. Gloria, at the front desk, was extremely helpful. She noted that they were at capacity right now. The solution that she offered us was that we would possible get to move to and ocean front room in a few days, they waived the weekly cleaning fee, and if the move was not possible, she would contact our travel agent in order to get our money refunded. Although the ocean view was really all I desired out of our condo property, we are in Maui after all and really that can't be a bad thing. So, we will see what happens from here.  

We headed down to the ocean as there were word from people that there were turtles visiting. We saw five really large sea turtles close to shore. There is a bit of water, then a reef, and the turtles seemed to be enjoying a meal as the waves rolled in and out. We also saw some humpback whales breeching and jumping around. They were really far out but we were still able to see them.  

So, a whale watching tour is obviously needeed. We went across the street to Down the street from the condo is a small cafe called Bad Ass Coffee. Sue and I grabbed a java and I bought some fruit from a local farmers market. We crossed the street to the ocean side and sat and enjoyed our coffee and a banana. We sat on the top of some roots from a really gnarly tree. From here we were able to enjoy the ocean and all it has to offer.  

That afternoon, we headed out to the local Safeway to stock up on food for a few days. Groceries here are expensive. We made sure to get some local coffee beans and some local beer.  

Sue and I enjoyed a late afternoon lunch on the lanai (deck). After lunch, I was getting kind of sleepy but thought it better that I head down to the water's edge and sit in a louge chair and read rather than sleep in the condo. Sue headed to the local fruit stand but was back fairly quickly as they are only open in the mornings of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So, we spend the rest of the afternoon hanging out water side. We sat under the shade of a giant palm tree. A gecko decided to make friends and appeared on the side of said tree.  

The end of our day was topped off with a beautiful sunset and watching a number of humpbacks swim into the setting sun.  

I really tried to stay awake until 9pm but that proved a bit difficult for me. I think that Sue was a bit more successful than I was!