Finding Aloho, from Hana to Haleakalā
After living in California for seven years, our Hawaii chapter has been overdue to begin. It is the landscape of dreams, tranquility, and unity with the Earth as people describe it — the place of Aloha. It is a place where Polynesian culture is exemplified through Hula, where water and plants are in harmony with humans and animals. It has produced some of our favorite things: Poke, Macadamia Nuts, Pinnapples, and Ruby.
Our surfing bones began itching to go there, and our love of grasping into water depths finally tempted our fingers to search for flights. Jane’s retirement was a perfect excuse to dust off the piggy banks (but lets be real - it was only a few months worth of dust collection), and we decided to celebrate in style. Jane and Jim bought their tickets to Maui, and Jamie and I did the same. Only we booked one way — jokingly to keep our options open… but deep down we wanted to keep our options open.
We landed in Maui and we were so excited to see the water. Hawaiian Islands and culture are embodied by the movement and the life of water, and for me I felt a certain kinship to it because of that. As a toursit and non-native though, I felt intrusive. One can only feel sad when you realize how much of this beautiful culture, one built on creating balance and discovery with the Earth, has struggled against a history of religious oppression. Even during our visit to Maui, we could see the division of populous. The malls and hotel beaches for visitors, the homeless beach bums in broken vans, the aspiring sport lovers teaching lessons, and farmers markets where you could see locals who own land. So many different groups of people, but the traditional Hawaiian culture is somewhere beneath it all — or maybe the foundation of it all.
Aloha, however, is not in short supply. It is there for you in abundance, just like the chickens. Everywhere you look there is sunshine for the soul and skin, and when it rains, the rainbow surrounds you. Jamie and I flew in through a rainbow, and we knew this was a magical place.
Our two full days were on the Road to Hana and hiking within the Haleakalā Crater. To get to Hana we made many stops, which is why people say take the road to Hana, because the fun is in the journey rather than destination. I don’t even think we stopped in Hana when we got there — just kept to the road. One has to pick and choose where to stop, and sometimes you have no choice but to keep going. We stopped for smoothies and banana bread, viewpoints and short trails. We got to touch rainbow Eucalyptus trees and walk along lava stone beaches of Ke’anae Peninsula. We got so close to crashing waves that the sound truly washed over you. We spotted surfers in coves that seemed impossible to access, and waterfalls tended to be in every turn in the road. Pua’a Ka’a Falls turned out to be a most tempting waterfall, and so with little grace over the slippery ravine, we were able to swim to its base without anyone around. Soon Jim came in as well and for a while we got to swim to the sound of water cascading from a wall of lush Hawaiian foliage. Right before Hana, we got to venture into the Hana Lava Tube and enjoy the Red Ti Botanical Garden.
After Hana we continued south to Hamoa Beach. If the sun was not already on its descent, we would’ve stayed for hours at this beautiful, quiet beach. But we had much to see with little light left. Wailua Falls, one of the most photographed waterfalls on Maui, greeted us with a calm stream of water, as if the waterfall was sleepy from its performance of the day. From there we reached Pipiwai Trail. While only a short hike since light was no longer our asset, we saw some incredible views and walked beneath beautiful Banyan trees.
The day we hiked Haleakalā Crater was also a lesson in enjoying the journey. On our way we got to enjoy the town and beaches of Paia, where we got Ululani's shaved ice on our way to Kula Farmer’s market. From there we stopped at a tea farm and layered up on clothes for the ascending altitude. We did a small hike above the clouds, and it was as surreal as it sounds. In truth you follow the clouds until it crawls into the crater, and you witness it slowly swirl into the red basin of Haleakalā. Once at the crater rim, we hiked along Sliding Sands Trail towards the base of the crater. The descent was easy, and it really felt like what the tourist books described as what walking on Mars must feel like. It was so expansive that any sound you made would get lost in the void. We took our time on our way back up, and made it to the very top to watch Sunset over the clouds. While it was beautiful and enchanting how the setting Sun mixed its last rays with the swirls of white, the drop in temperature dropped our will to stay and watch for the stars. We drove back to Lahaina from a day above the clouds.
