Maui 2012

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It's been a while since I've shared anything on my travel blog and I've been wanting to do some more writing so, you lucky people, I'm posting about my recent escape to Maui, Hawaii.

I am the fortunate relative of someone who owns a timeshare in the Kahana area of Maui and was able to finagle a last minute (relatively) inexpensive flight and a free place to stay (thanks Dad!). Unlike previous trips, this time around I rented a car and brought a travel buddy so I ventured further than I previously had with the fam. Below is a quick day-by-day for anyone interested in making travel plans.

Day 1 - Lounging, acclimating and luau-ing. My brother's family recently purchased a timeshare in the same resort I was staying at with my dad and step-mom, and it's the first time they all came together. Therefore, a luau was required! We went to the Sheraton for their luau, which sat on a lovely beach (see pictures) where you could see someone cliff dive for a split second as well as enjoy the sunset with some free weak cocktails (free in that they were included in the price of the ticket). If you gotta ham it up and be all cliche about your trip to Hawaii, then go to a luau. The show included performances from throughout the Polynesian islands complete with a display of a pig they had been roasting all day in the sand. About 5 minutes after some scadily dressed, well-tanned, bulging muscley men carted off the pig, the buffet was ready. I'm not sure if we were supposed to believe the pork they were serving in the buffet came from the pig we had seen but I kept that question to myself. Overall, the luau was mildly entertaining, definitely a good family event, but next time I think I'll pass.

Day 2 - Baldwin Beach and P'aia. On the second day we decided to drive up north to check out the town of P'aia and nearby Baldwin Beach. Baldwin Beach is beautiful. It's on the windy side of the island where a lot of wind sports happen. And windy it was! We were able to walk along the beach for a distance until we found the best protected, most isolated spot we could. So far Hawaii had been wonderful but the isolation, color of the water, and sheer beauty of it all just melted away all the stresses of life. It doesn't have the epic snorkleing that my dad always leads us to but I was content nonetheless laying on the sand reading a book.

A few hours later we headed into town. I had been told P'aia was a little hippy town with a good health food store. Well, the town is little but it's got more fancy boutiques in it then my imagination led me to believe. Probably a little bit like Santa Cruz then and now. There were hippies. Expensive restaurants too. The health food store is actually quite good (Mana foods) and you can buy a variety of local products there in addition to a number of the regular items at your local health food shoppe. Highlights - some delicious seafood at Cafe Mambo and a Doreen Virture spotting!

Day 3 - Snorkeling at Coral Gardens. SSSHHHH! Don't tell my dad I'm telling you but there is an AMAZING coral garden at mile 14. Look for a small parking area on the north side of the highway. Cross the street, descend, veer left. I'm sorry I can't tell you more other than walking in and out is ever so slightly treacherous. I barely leaned against a rock while taking off a snorkeling fin and I went home with a red gash on my heiny I had to apply salve to for the next 5 days (I'm all healed now, thank you very much).

Day 4 - HUMONGOUS turtles. A few blocks from where we were staying in Kahana we heard there was a beach swarming with huge turtles. So we set out early to find them and guess what we found - nothing! Bloody liars. We went up and down the beach snorkeling this way and that and there wasn't even a baby turtle to be found. It was a pretty beach (see picture) but we were a little disappointed. On our way out of the water, I asked a couple that had recently been strolling along the beach if they had seen any turtles. "It was just low tide," said one of them. "They'll probably be back later in the day." Oh. So we came back later in the afternoon, and you know what? Yup, there were humongous turtles there! I swam around a crop of rocks and bam! there was a VW Bug-sized turtle within spitting distance. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little bit. I mean, who can spit in the water? Okay, okay. So the turtles weren't as big as cars but they were big enough to be threatening when the first one turned and started swimming toward me. In all there were probably 8 very large turtles (4-5 feet long) in the area. A couple of them came within a few feet of the shoreline to feed off of the plants growing on the rocks. Super cool to watch them and swim amongst them. I don't know the name of the beach but see the picture with the intersection. Walk into the Polynesian Shores parking lot at that corner and follow the path along to the left hand side.

Day 5 - The Backroad to Hana. Everyone talks about the Road to Hana. Honestly, in the 3 or 4 times I've been to the timeshare in Maui, I have no idea if I took the Road to Hana. Here's what I do know. Lots of people (on the internet and otherwise) will tell you the backroad to Hana is a terrible road to drive on and the rental car company will void your contract and leave you out to dry if you get stuck on that part of the road. Well, that might have been the case 5, 10, 15 years ago but now the road is 90% paved and 7.5% of the part that is not paved is still pretty easy driving. I'm glad we decided to take the backroad for a number of reasons. First, there was no traffic. Not on the south-east road we took to Hana nor when we circled back around on the popular road to Hana. By the time we were done with the sights we wanted to see around Hana, the tour busses were just arriving. The normal road to Hana is very lush. I don't know how anyone manages to stop and see the waterfalls when there are more than 2 or 3 other cars stopped to see the sights though. There just isn't that much room on the road. Plus, it's not stunning enough, in my opinion, to do the drive twice in one day. The backroad to Hana was awesome! Desolate at parts, uniquely lush in others (think jungle meets ancient lava beaches - see pictures below). As we drove through the area near Kaupo, I could get a sense of what it must of been like to have been a Hawaiian living there hundreds of years ago.

Our favorite part of the trip was Red Sands Beach. There is a famous CD that tells you all about the stops along the Road to Hana. It's a bit challenging to listen to in reverse but we did it nonetheless. The CD made the path to Red Sands Beach sound like it was a harrowing adventure that even I shouldn't attempt. In the end, I suspect it was a ploy to leave this breathtaking beach to the locals. The pictures don't do it justice. In fact, none of the pictures can truly give you a taste of Maui. There is an essense that can't be captured in two diminsions. But back to Red Sands Beach. Small, intimate, beee-ute-aful, and occasionally clothing optional. If you find yourself headed there, once you cross through the field, try to walk along the beach - it looked a lot easier than walk along the cliffside, especially in flip-flops.

Day 6 - Let's go surfing now, everybody's learning how... I haven't mentioned much about Lahaina, the hot lil town in that part of Hawaii. I don't know if it's actually all that hot. You can certainly buy a lot of souveneirs there and probably eat overpriced food. Oh! I do have two food recommendations. Cilantro's for Mexican food was actually one of the tastiest meals I had on the whole trip. Same with Aloha Mixed Plate. They are both in Lahaina. I do NOT recommend Latin night at Lulu's (just sayin'😉. However, we rented some surfboards from Maui Waveriders at the far end of Lahaina. If you have never been surfing before, they had a really good operation going with making sure everyone stood up that very first day. Highly recommended. For me, with some dusty surfing experience, the waves weren't powerful enough. I was able to stand easily on the foam-top boards but once up, the waves just didn't have much oomph. Next door to Maui Waveriders there is a Shave Ice place. The owner is a real cool guy. Go have a snack there when you're done hanging ten.

Day 7 - Wee, wee, wee all the way home. Sigh. Ah well. They would have kicked us out of the hotel evenutally and we would have run out of money. Thankfully we have lots of good memories to hang on to.

-----> THERE ARE 15 PICTURES ON THIS BLOG. CONTINUE SCROLLING BELOW THE ADS TO SEE THEM ALL. YOU CAN ALSO CLICK ON ONE TO MAKE THE PHOTO LARGER AND SCROLL THROUGH ALL OF THEM AT THE BIGGER SIZE.

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Photos

Obligatory waterfalls
Along the normal Road to Hana route.

Comments

[Aunt Sue]

Hawaii
I like your honest narrative. Great photos.