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Geo: 20.8775, -156.677
This Hawaiian mana (meaning spiritual or divine power) surrounds us - breezes, water, people, landscape and seascape. On Tuesday, we went to a tiny local store to rent snorkel gear. Dave, a slightly weathered Hawaiian hippie, looked after us...for upwards of 2 hours. When we made the mistake of distracting him by asking a question or, well, saying almost anything, off he'd go on another tangent. But somehow we were patient for most of the time enjoying the experience of just hanging with the local, although I'm not sure my travel partners would agree with this assessment of our time spent. We came out of that shop with recommendations of local attractions, a time share presentation appointment (yes, we did it again), and a 6-hour snorkelling cruise booked.
We have snorkel equipment for a week and as soon as we had it in our hands, the winds swirled and the swells picked up - to the point that it was very difficult to snorkel or see anything when we did. We successfully snorkeled for about 30 minutes one day, seeing a huge turtle, a lavender/yellow/blue fish, a tiny black fish with round white polka-dots and a few other varieties of
sea life. We went to one of the most popular snorkeling spots (Honolua Bay) only to discover that the entry to this magical bay was over a very rocky shore. With swells crashing in we were certainly not going to attempt that - I'm not sure we would even try in calm seas. Now three days of our rental is used up and only one short snorkel under our belts, we will need to get in that water more over the next few days. Nevertheless, the waves are great for frolicking in the water and being tossed about unceremoniously!
I am compelled to raise a couple of topics about which most people would not normally speak openly. The first topic was inspired by a friend who recently posted an informative article about bowel movements on Facebook. I am addressing
bowel movements while traveling, a topic close to my heart. Now, honestly, do you notice that when you are traveling, especially if you are backpacking and hanging around other backpackers, conversations regarding bowel movements and strategies to regulate them are frequent and free flowing? Unfortunately we are not backpacking on this trip which may be why I need to speak about it in a blog.
Here goes...I am wickedly constipated. I am eating prunes, serving lentils for dinner and trying all remedies I know of. I continually find my thoughts focusing on my intestinal state. I can't really speak about this situation easily with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law or the housekeeping lady or Dave, the guy who rented us our snorkeling gear. Certainly Jim is not overly interested. So I hold back, adding conversational constipation to my dire situation. In past travels I've had either diarrhea or constipation although I tended toward the looser state and I really don't know which is worse. And now, my constipation has spread to my writing; as Jim said, "you are having a vowel movement". Regardless, it's all pretty shitty.
The second topic is sleep which seems like a fairly benign conversation. However, given the angst I have felt regarding my disturbed sleep and the primary cause of the problem, whinging about my husband during our special trip just doesn't seem right. I will be brief...does he really have to snore ALL night long? Even with ear plugs in, white noise droning on on our MP3 player, plus the natural sound of the waves outside
our condo, Jim's deep, rumbling snoring bores straight into me. On one hand, perhaps it's comforting to know that he is scaring away any potential threats to our lives like saber-toothed tigers. On the other hand, I cannot get a good night's sleep.
Alas, as the nights go by and Jim catches up on his sleep, his snoring has softened and the white noise suffices to drown out his periodic growls and snorts. I know what some of you are thinking...maybe it's
my snoring. Believe me, that has been discussed. I'll say no more.
Now to my dreams. Many years ago I read the book Spiritwalker by Hank Wesselman, an American anthropologist who wrote about "Nainoa", a Hawaiian shaman living 5,000 years in the future after the collapse of Western civilization from global warming. I recall having bizarre dreams 8 years ago when we camped for 3 weeks on the island of Kauai and I chalked it up to the Hawaiian winds. Although this time I am not sleeping in a hammock blowing in the breezes, I am reliving that same phenomenon. Last night my dreams were vivid; I was traveling in time and I sensed a change in the energy around me - just like in Wesselman's book.
A curiosity is, while experiencing post concussion symptoms in recent times, I hardly dreamed and never recalled my dreams. Here in Maui I have long, wild and memorable dreams. Perhaps because it is so easy to relax here. The temperature ranges from 24-31 degrees Celsius, never too hot or too cold. We are lucky enough to be in Hawaii long enough that we don't feel compelled to rush around jamming activities in before our vacation ends. Pacing is drastically different here than at home.
A moment ago, as I sat on our balcony focused on my writing, I lifted my head to see across the Pailolo Channel, a wide rainbow wrapping up and over the island of Moloka'i like a ribbon. Whales blowing, playing and periodically breaching added to my delight.
As I said, our pace is slow. Mostly we are loving the sun and relaxing in a variety of forms - sitting on the beach, snorkeling, watching sunsets, walking, swimming and reading. A highlight this past weekend was rendezvousing with friends from Vancouver and enjoying mai tais, pina coladas, wine and beer and some tasty salads on
a beach-floored restaurant. What a coincidence that we were in Maui at the same time! We watched a delightful husband and wife team who had been entertaining in Maui for 36 years. He played the guitar while she danced a gracefully mesmerizing hula. Top that off with the end of the Super Bowl and we are having FUN!
NOTE: To see all of Jim's Maui images in higher quality, visit his Flickr page:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimneale/sets/
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Sue Walker
non-member comment
Nice to see you guys are having Fun and relaxing Lovely writing Donna and Gorgeous photos Jim. Xx