YOLO - You Only Live Once

It was about 9 a.m. when we set out with a local man to guide us in the ocean on a kayak voyage up the Napili Bay. We had planned on taking a long trip so we were well rested and raring to go. The waves were more choppy than I'd ever experienced, but we still wanted to get out there. I knew we were in for an adventure, so I wore my dive shirt and a life vest too. At the same time, I was feeling confident as a front seat paddler, so I also wore my visor and sunglasses. 

The three of us began our journey by maneuvering over the waves at the tip of our cove, and then we headed North. The waves were high, and they splashed me more than usual, but I kept paddling. Soon we were headed past the next cove, and the one after that. After about 40 minutes of paddling, we came to a reef that would periodically get flooded by waves, and our guide led us inside it. We had to time our entrance to correlate with the swells of the waves to get past the reef wall. On our first attempt, we were denied, but we succeeded on our second try. It felt a little like a white water raft trip at this point. We paddled inside the calm waters of this tiny cove, and then came out the same way we got in, riding the swell out. 

Now that we were heading back towards home, we meandered along the quiet waters of the neighboring coves in Napili Bay, stopping at a place the locals call Cliff House. As we neared the house there was a small secluded cove where four local girls were swimming. We could hear their giggling and laughing as our friend climbed up a ladder that was literally mounted to the reef. He climbed up the rocks, that looked a lot like Black Rock in Kaanapali, and proceeded to jump off. Not wanting to miss out, we decided to do it too.

It felt great to be back in the kayak, after climbing up to the launching point and leaping off the rocks and into the sea. I'm not a huge fan of swimming in the ocean. I don't particularly enjoy the taste of the salty water. In fact, it's my least favorite part about snorkeling, but that's another story. The local girls didn't seem to mind, and as we paddled away, I realized that they were skinny dipping because they had stopped their giggling and were now headed towards jumping off the rocks with their bikinis in place.

In order to keep our kayak from tipping we had to paddle far offshore and ride the waves back to our home cove. We went out so far that we found ourselves directly in the path of a couple of motoring sailboats. The island looked stunning, as the waves pushed and pulled us around. We paddled hard to keep from capsizing, which I am proud to state, we did not! It was easy to keep my cool due to the beauty that surrounded me. If I looked ahead, I saw Maui, behind me was Molokai, and off to the starboard side was Lanai. The power of the ocean helped us make it to shore fast. All I can think about now is doing it again with a waterproof camera, but the images in my mind are likely to be more unforgettable. 

Na Kumu Mele and the Dancers

We had the wisdom to venture out, after a super hot day of seeking shelter in the shade, to The Baldwin House in Lahaina, Maui for a free concert by Na Kumu Mele. What a fun it was sitting on the benches listening to this talented trio croon both traditional and contemporary Hawaiian music for about an hour, occasionally calling out their beautiful hula girls for a dance. There was a little girl, about five years old, mimicking the hula girls as they swayed to the music with their lovely hula hands. Her mother kept telling her to stop and sit down, until she realized the adults were just as entertained by the novice dancer in the making, as the pros - who we discovered were recent high school graduates and on the "hula team." 

The band kept telling the crowd to sing along, but many of us didn't because they were so darn good! I couldn't help myself during Lahainaluna, as well as, Lahaina, the song by Loggins and Messina about the centipede. Lighthearted fun was had by all, and evidenced by the two adult dancers on separate occasions. The first was a young man who stepped up for a couple of modern dance twists, turns, and high kicks, and the second came during an encore when a young lady danced the hula for their final song. It made me wish I had followed up on the idea I had last year to learn how to hula. 

Kayaking in Napili

We wanted to try something new this year, so we decided to see the Napili side of the island from the perspective of a kayak.  I am so glad we did!  Yesterday it was a little choppy, being the afternoon and all. We used the time to practice our paddle skills. It was difficult to wait until early this morning for our first adventure, but since Wednesday night is the pupu gathering at the Cove, we got over it. 

Finally, it was morning, so we paddled out beyond the tip of the reef depicted in the photo below. We went out past the breaker waves and all the way to the next reef tip. Our trip took about 45 minutes from start to finish, and it was extremely satisfying. I learned that the ocean isn't really that deep out there. The bottom of the ocean floor was easily seen, and we could make out patches of coral of all different types, because the visibility was so good. We also saw the strangest turtle behavior. We thought a turtle was in distress, so paddled in for a closer look. What we discovered was two turtles bobbing and weaving, attached to each other. I'm thinking we witnessed one of nature's greatest miracles.

The view from out there is incredible. It isn't often that we've seen the island coast from this perspective except from a plane or sailboat. Today from kayak it was breathtaking to say the least. I also enjoyed the smoothness of the water in the a.m. hour. I think we left around 7 and got back at about ten minutes to 8. I am so glad we've got the kayak for a week. It may even be worth a trip to the  store for a new waterproof camera. It's surprising to discover there is another way to appreciate Honokeana Cove, and definitely will be included in our daily morning routine.

At The Cove

Honokeana Cove is popular this morning. When we went out for a snorkel, we were the only ones in the water. Now there are about 20 or so people swimming about. I was wondering if it would ever get crowded out there. When we arrived yesterday the water was empty, save for a couple of Kiki and their parents. It's disappointing that our underwater camera stopped working. 

Kilauea and Hilo Side

We began our day early with a walk through a rainforest and lava tube in the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park area. The lush rainforest was empty and we experienced the sounds and sights of the  rainforest alone. I wish I could begin every day like that. 

After a walk through the lava tube, and a jaunt to the crater rim at the Jagger Museum, we had buffet breakfast at The Volcano House. The food was average, but the view of the crater was worth it. I was so inspired, I picked up a book about Volcanoes in the tourist trinket shop. I must have been a geologist in a past life. 

We walked the black sand beach at Kalapana. After awhile the black sand beaches get a little boring on the big island; there are simply so many of them. It looked like there must have been a wedding recently because we followed a trail of plumeria blossoms to the coastline. It felt like sacred ground. 

Finally, it was time to gather at the airport for the helicopter tour of the lava flows and waterfalls. This was incredible. We had a wonderful pilot named Kovi, who expertly maneuvered the chopper around the island as we listened to his narration mixed with traditional Hawaiian music in our headphones. It was hard to come back down to earth after that. We finished with an excellent dinner at Ponds.

Flume Ditch Adventure

This excursion was by far the most fun one I have ever been on. It begins with a road trip on a huge jeep type vehicle that eventually takes a private dirt road up to the irrigation flumes and tunnels in the mountains of Kohala. The "ditch" was created by Chinese laborers and the guides share a little bit of history and humor as the trip unfolds. It was fun listening to our brilliant local Hawaiian guide as we went on this fabulous adventure. 

We were dropped off at the ditch location, and there was a short walk through the lush landscape over a quaint pedestrian bridge and into a kayak we went. It's not fast, but it is breathtaking, as the kayak meanders down the flume type ride through dark tunnels, dense rainforest canopy, and over a huge waterfall, where we saw a zip liner pass overhead. 

The worst part of the trip was when it ended. But I felt closer to knowing The Big Island of Hawaii, as well as satisfied after an awesome adventure. This excursion should be on everyone's bucket list. ATV Outfitters is the company who takes people there. I couldn't recommend a nicer group of people to experience the island like a native! 

Turtles in the Sun

We walked along the black sand beach that is known for having turtle visitors and I snapped this photo of them. 

The Big Island

This is my first visit to the Big Island of Hawaii. I can remember thinking as we were landing, "This island is huge." After we got off the plane (we disembarked off the plane using the stairway type of gear), it immediately looked like  a less  populated tropical island. We got to fly first class and we were in the front row if the plane, so I felt a little like a movie star

as I walked down the staircase.  

We were met by our friend who I'll call Grandad Bob. He put a tuberose lei over my shoulders and said, "Welcome to my island." He has been showing us around ever since. 

Here is his ohana - where we are staying.  It's located on the 3 acres of his property near Hilo in a place called Ocean View. The ocean is about 5 miles away, but his property is lush and also has a nice patio and pool for dipping.