So this is what paradise looks like...

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Slow and steady wins the race...

Oli - Call to the ancestors

The Real Hawaii

Chasing Waterfalls

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We woke to the sound of waves crashing onto the rocks across the street. We groggily opened our eyes, pulled the curtain back, and were able to see what our paradise looked like in the daylight for the first time. Absolutely amazing...

The cottage sits on a property across the street from the ocean, and a one-minute walk to Hamoa Beach -- a small, uncrowded crescent of sand formed inside a volcanic crater. Barefoot and in our pajamas, we wandered down a pathway scattered with fallen plumeria flowers and plunged our feet into the warm sand. As the morning sun reflected off the red rock cliffs, I watched Kevin sip his tea and take in the sights of Hawaii for the first time. Tiny sand crabs scuttled here and there, somehow just barely avoiding the white-wash of water as the tide swept up on the beach, and then disappearing back into their holes.

Our adventure for today was horseback riding up the side of the dormant Haleakala volcano. After a leisurely breakfast, we set off to find the stables. It didn't take us long... we were the first ones to arrive, as the others had driven all the way from the main side of the island. While we waited for the others to arrive, we wandered over to the church next door and visited the grave of Charles Lindbergh, the legendary aviator.

Back at the stable, all the others had arrived, and the young Hawaiian who was to be our guide assessed the situation with some consternation. He asked if we had all called the day before to confirm our reservations. Kevin admitted that he had not. The guide sighed, shook his head, and said "I'm going to have to go get more horses." We looked over at the horses standing in the stable and wondered how the 2 other couples plus the guide were going to ride only three horses... then we shrugged and figured it was Hawaiian math. The guide arrived back about 10 minutes later on his souped-up golf cart with three more horses in tow.

He brought out his horse from another stable, commenting that before he adopted him, he had thrown 8 people and almost killed one. He blamed their lack of skill as horsemen and said it only took him 20 minutes to break him. I was starting to think this outing was sounding more dangerous than advertised. After he gave us our talk about safety and I guilted Kevin into wearing a helmet ("but everybody else is, honey..."), he began to match us up with horses.

Kevin had taken equestrian classes in school, and so was married up with a sprightly horse. I looked uncertainly at the snorting animals and said that I had only ridden one other time. The guide led me over to the largest horse in the group; a Belgian (known for their easy temperament) would be my companion for the day. I needed a mounting block to get on the thing, and my legs barely reached around his huge mid-section. The guide warned me to be mindful of his personality... "he tends to lag behind and then run to try to catch up" (great)... "and he will act like he never gets fed. Whatever you do, don't let him eat because you'll never get him to stop." (lovely)

A quick lesson in steering, and we set off down the road in a single file. Kevin was first in line and my horse was last in line with the guide behind me. True to his reputation, my horse clopped along slowly, losing more and more ground to the rest of the group. I clicked at him and gently tapped him with my heels. He ignored me. I clicked louder and tried to dig my heels in harder, but my legs weren't long enough to gain much momentum and he barely noticed I was there. Finally, I resorted to slapping him on the neck with the rein. This got his attention and he started galloping to catch up with the rest of the group. I held on for dear life, bouncing uncomfortably in the saddle until he caught up and resumed his clopping once again.

Meanwhile, behind me, a battle of wills was being waged. The guide's horse, who had thrown 8 people and almost killed one, had decided he wasn't in the mood for taking orders. He began trying to buck the cocky Hawaiian cowboy who was so proud of his superior horsemanship. The guide spoke to him firmly but quietly as he pulled the reins tight and the horse pranced sideways off the road into the brush, throwing his head back obstinately. My horse heard the commotion behind him and started his own bit of tap dancing, but I tugged on the reins gently and he settled down. After a couple minutes, the guide had his horse under control again and we continued on up the mountain.

The trail we were taking was overgrown with foliage. Not letting my horse eat was turning out to be impossible as the stalks and their leaves fanned out over the trail... he just took a mouthful as he was walking by without missing a beat. I tried for a while to stop him, but then decided that as long as he could eat and walk at the same time, who was I to complain?

The guide pulled various fruits from trees along the way and handed them out for tasting... lilikoi (passion fruit) is eaten by biting off a piece of thick skin and then sucking the juice and seeds out. I think the other one we tried was guava, but it wasn't very tasty. At the top of the mountain, we stopped our horses in a small meadow and tied them up in the shade. We hiked the last little bit to the top where the trees parted and the view opened up to an incredible valley.

We stood there chatting for a bit, and the the guide did a Hawaiian chant (thanking the spirits for allowing us to witness such beauty), and then we mounted our horses again and started back down the mountain. On the way, we saw the cousins of our friend the wild cow. The guide told us that back in the day, some cows escaped from a ranch on the mountain, and ever since then they have been living off the land, having their babies, and the wild cow community gets bigger and bigger. There's certainly enough food to live off of, as I discovered when my horse walked me right into a tree because he saw some nice fruit dangling there. He, apparently, likes the guava.

It was slow going for me back down the mountain. The path was very rocky and my horse had me completely convinced that he was afraid... he plodded slowly and unsteadily down as I leaned back in the saddle to balance my weight. At one point, a voice drifted up from way below... "Kristen? Are you okay?" I called back that I was, and after what seemed like an hour later, reached the road at the bottom of the mountain. Eventually I steered him into the corral and managed to remove myself from the saddle that I was pretty sure was permanently embedded in my backside. The guide smiled, shook his head and said "He took advantage of you, sweetheart."

After the horse ride, the guide told us that we could actually hike to the foot of the giant waterfall we had seen earlier. So after bidding our horses goodbye (good riddance?), we set out on the hike to reach Waimoku Falls. The trail passes Oheo Gulch, also known as The Seven Sacred Pools, and then through a peaceful bamboo forest. Though it was only two miles, it felt much longer and I was exhasuted by the time we finally made it. The waterfall was amazing up close... we just stood there feeling the mist on our faces and chalked up our first day as a success! Then I realized I still had to hike back and found myself wishing, for just a second, that I could have my horse back.

** Scroll down for more photos **

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Photos

A Backyard Friend
This is how he thanks me for feeding him... from far away