Sick as a (sea) dog

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  Maui, Hawaii
Friday, May 14, 2010

Hi everyone,

Hope you're ok and all's well. Apologies for not writing for a while, I've been moving about a bit this last week so it's all been rather hectic. I'm actually back in Waikiki now, having been on a short trip over to Maui (another of the Hawaiian islands) which I'll give you the lowdown on shortly.

Firstly though I should fill you in on the goings-on in the days leading up to my departure - most notable of which was my surf lesson down on Waikiki beach. I have to admit I was a little anxious - the surfers I have been watchig make it all look so effortless but I don't have a great history with the sea and am prone to either violent bouts of sea sickness or over-jangly nerves (the latter of which scuppered my attempts to go diving many years ago). Nonetheless I went along to Hans Hedemann surf school (http://www.hhsurf.com/hh/), and after I had been kitted out in my reef shoes and wet suit and given a rapid-fire set of instructions I was given a huge great board to carry and pointed in the direction of the ocean.

Thankfully two of the instructors came with me, which I was secretly very pleased about as I only caught about every third word of the 'lesson' and wasn't confident I'd be able to remember it with the waves bearing down on me. I was scared still but actively decided I was going to go out there and tackle it head-on, not let it daunt me, and believe that I was absolutely able to get up on that board. And, to my great surprise and delight, it worked! I managed to get up three or four times and the sensation was incredible - it was as though I was defying gravity and as the waves surged me forwards adrenalin rushed through me life never before. I managed to fall off a good few times too, of course, at one point crashing hip-first in to a big clutster of coral, but each time I hauled myself up and paddled back out in to the waves, determined to do it better next time. And when the lesson ended, and we all headed back to shore, I felt very proud that I'd managed to conquer my nerves, face my fears head and accomplish something I had always wanted to do (even if I did end up with an impressively big coral cut). I'm looking forward to doing it all over again before I leave Hawaii, and definitely when I get to Australia too.

My next few days were spent exploring further around Waikiki and Honolulu, and I visited Waikiki Aquarium, a beautiful beach called Ala Moana, Honolulu Zoo (just to see if my opinion of zoos had changed much from San Diego - it hasn't, I still feel terribly sad for any animal behind bars or in a cage) and Chinatown, in downtown Honolulu. Chinatown was a different experience entirely - a riot of colour, aroma and activity especially in the many markets which sell anything from pearl oysters to pigs heads. I ended up getting a little upset at the sight of numerous tiny tanks, crammed full with live lobsters, eels and fishes all just waiting to become food so I headed off in search of the flower makets where generations of women sit round threading flowers in to traditional leis or garlands. It was a stunning sight, and I bought beautiful lei made of the prettiest flowers I think I've ever seen -  hot pink plumeria flecked with glints of gold and orange.

The day before I headed to Maui I decided to try another sea-based activity I'd always wanted to experience but never had chance to. Buoyed by my relative success at first-time surfing I headed out to a place called Hanauma Bay (http://www.hanauma-bay-hawaii.com/) which is very famous in Hawaii for being a kind of tropical wonderland where all kinds of endemic fish and marine life come to frolic and play and which is home to eye-popping coral reefs, some of which are 7,000 years-old. It's actually an underwater nature reserve and a favourite spot for snorkeling so I thought, as the sea gods seemed to be smiling on me, to give it a go. I couldn't believe my eyes when I got there - it really is a proper 'paradise' beach, or rather a perfect bowl-shaped bay, ringed by the remnants of an eroded volcano, which sparkles with a thousand different tones of teal, turquoise and cerulean. It was heaven.

I rented some snorkel gear down by the beach and bounded on out in to the Keyhole Lagoon which is a little fringing reef apparently best for novice snorkelers, like myself. It took a bit of getting used to and the breathing underwater thing, which so foxed me on my dive attempt, took a while to master, but once I did a whole new world opened up to me. Colourful flases of fish swam all about me and some even came right up to my mask, not at all phased by me and the many hundreds of other snorkelers invading their kingdom, and I got to see plenty more of my little angel fish (which I have since found out are called Moorish Idols). I didn't come across any sea turtles sadly, which apparently frequent the bay, but I'm planning to go back before I leave as it's just too magical a place to only vist once.

The next day I took a flight to Maui, a neighbouring island slightly bigger than Oahu which is a favourite of honeymooners thanks to its jaw-dropping beaches, landcsapes and teeming marine life. The plane that took me there was barely bigger than a private jet and no sooner had we got up in to the sky than we were making our descent (the flight took just 20 minutes). I caught a shuttle to my hostel in the sleepy little town of Wailuku (a million miles away from the bright lights of Waikiki) and settled in for the night, ready for the packed itinerary I had set myself for the next few days.

First on my list of places to see was the former whaling town of Lahaina, which was once a sizzling town of dance halls, bars and brothels when it served as one of the most prominent ports for whalers (not only in Hawaii but across the whole of the Pacific) in the 1840s. Remarkably, it's managed to retain much of its sea dog charm although the clubs, bordellos and gambling dens have long gone and since been replaced by elegeant eateries, coffee shops and galleries. It is, however, still home to the USA's largest Banyan Tree which was planted in 1873 and has since grown to become the centre-piece of the town square, boasting 16 trunks and a labyrinthe of horizontal branches that cover almost an acre of ground. It's so revered locally that the townsfolk apparently gather annually to celebrate its birthday and I can see why - its stately, senior air certainly commands respect and awe. I sat under it for a while, appreciating its shade while watching the locals go about their daily business according to the sweet, Sunday rhythm of the place.

Once rested I followed my Lonely Planet walking tour around the village and then stopped at The Pioneer Inn, a beautiful hotel on the harbour front, built during and still in thrall to the whaling era and where Jack London, Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy have slept (the last two wile they were filming 'The Devil At 4'Oclock' there). I had the most amazing lunch there - a huge salad of organic spinach leaves, goats cheese, strawberries, caremelised onions and macademia nuts all dressed in a glossy strawberry vinigarette. It was such an unsual mix of flavours but absolutely delicious and I sat there savouring it, and my book, until the sun went down.

A rather more active endeavour awaited me the next day for I decided to hike to the top of the Iao Valley Needle, which is a lava-remnant pinnacle that has since become a state monument in the middle of dense rainforest. I walked the three miles there from my hostel and felt like I was ascending up in to the clouds as the mists shrouding the tops of vibrantly verdant mountains seemed to edge ever closer. The park, with it's dewy atmosphere, towering hills, and pounding streams, was one of the most naturally beautiful places I'd ever seen. It reminded me of any of the episodes of 'Lost' actually, whenever they break away and hike up in to the hills in search of answers and enlightenment. And it felt like that for me too - for when I finally got up to the needle I sat, cross-legged, on the lookout point for a long while just trying to absorb as much of the electrifying landscape before me as possible. I felt like I was seeing Hawaii at its most bountiful and beautiful, the Hawaii I had hoped I would see the many times I'd dreamed about it from home.

My last day in Maui will forever be burned in to my memory as simultaneosuly one of the best and worst days of my life. I had a profoundly moving, spiritual, once-in-a-lifetime experience that was sadly mitigated by one of the most violent bouts of motion sickness I have ever endured. I had booked myself on to a whale-watching cruise and was so thrilled and excited at the thought of it that I totally disregarded my previous sea-sickness form and treated myself to a lovely breakfast and a big, creamy coffee (served to me, unbelievably, by a girl from Chester who is now living and working in a quaint little cafe in Maui and who was so excited by the fact I was from the Wirral and went to the same university as her that she gave me the whole thing free of charge) and gleefully bounded on board. We saw no whales sadly but within about 20 minutes we came across a pod of spinner dolphins (the naturalists on board estimated there to be around 250) which surrounded the boat and started swimming and leaping alongside us - some in tandem and perfect unison. It was unbelievably breathtaking and beautiful and I would have cried had I not been concentrating all my energies on staying upright as the boat pitched and rolled energetically beneath me. It seeemed that the sea gods were done being kind to me because as soon as the dolphins departed I rushed downstairs and was so severely ill I thought I'd been possessed. I spent the rest of the trip either lying down on the cold, wet deck or with my head hanging over the side of the boat - though at least it afforded me a good, close look at the ocean, which, I noticed, was beautifully clear and illuminated by prisms of light that seemed to bounce and dance straight through it. I was very happy to reach dry land though, and leapt off the boat almost as fast as I'd leapt on it - making a subsequent B-line back to the hostel to lie in my cool, dark room and recover.

Happily I've woken up feeling much better today and caught my flight back to Waikiki with no trouble at all. It's lovely to be back, kind of like coming home really, and I was greeted by Christopher (whose flat I stayed in last week) who picked me up from the airport and promptly took me for a lovely Vietnamese lunch. I am braving another boat tomorrow to go sailing and snorkeling with him and some of his pals and am hoping it'll help me finally find my sea legs (fingers crossed). If not at least I'll have my flippers on, and can always paddle myself home.

Until next time, thank you so much for staying with me - I know this has turned in to quite a hefty entry.

Love and miss you all so much. Please take cate of yourselves and stay in touch - will write again soon.

All my love,

Soph x

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