TROPICAL FLASHBACK (A HAWAIIAN VACATION)

zammitch
Sep 23, 2016
4 min read

With intersession steadily approaching, the martian and I have begun discussing possible destinations. Without giving too much away, I am able to say that one of the trips on the table is Hawaii. Thinking about these magical, jungle filled islands took me back to my trip to Maui last summer, so I decided to make a post with a condensed version of my trip notes and a few lovely photos.

Day 1: Woke up at 4 AM, got to fly first class with breakfast-which I slept through; unlimited movies, warm nuts and hot towels. Landed around 11 Hawaii time (6 hour flight) then met up with my Aunt Debbie. Once at the condo we unpacked, put on our suits, walked about 50 feet from our room and went swimming in the ocean. After we tanned a little and went walking on the coast to find two turtles in the water.

Day 2: Woke up and headed over to the local farmers market right across the road. It was smaller than normal markets, but it was filled with local produce, handmade items and baked goods. We bought items such as dragon fruit, passion fruit, pineapple and locally made kimchi. For breakfast I got a Green Tahiti smoothie which had greens, fruit, coconut water and a hint of ginger. We then headed over to D.T. Fleming beach and walked a little to the Dragon’s Teeth. After enjoying lunch at the cabin, we started the 1.3 hour trek to the lavender farm. When we arrived, we headed to the gift shop to get a treasure map. We found all the stamps along the flower-covered, misty slops of the farm. After that we headed to Surfing Goat Dairy where we stopped by and saw some cute baby goats.

Day 3: Woke up and set off towards the Enchanted Floral Gardens. We got there early and had time to explore the wonderful, flower filled gardens. Then the chocolate immersion tour began; the lady taught us all about chocolate history, the process and the end product. After the chocolate tour, we went to their local, retail store and purchased a box of truffles with flavors like Pina Colada, Chile Pepper and Passion Fruit.

Day 4: Took a short walk on the beach to discover a hidden tide pool at the end of a black rock trail. Found some sea cucumbers, little fish, corals and lots of colorful urchins. Then we headed down the road to Hana looking for the Twin Falls hike. After traveling through dense, jungly roads we stopped and parked. At the beginning of the hike was a cute farm stand selling fruits and baked goods. After 5 minutes into the hike we could hear the first waterfall and looked down to the left to see it and its swimming pool. We decided to keep going to find the upper falls first. Eventually we came to a stream that crossed the path about 20 feet wide. It was a little hard to cross because the water was fast but shallow. After getting everyone through we reached the bottom of the upper falls.

Day 5: Got up bright and early and headed straight for the Pride of Maui. When we first arrived at the boat, we were greeted, photoed, given snorkeling gear and a breakfast buffet. After everyone was on the boat, we sailed over to Molokini, a crater off the shore of Maui. The crescent moon shaped island is beautiful a nature preserve for both the sea birds that nest there and the teeming coral reef surround it. After we were stationary, Kiki and I jumped in. At first the reef was a good 30 feet down, but visibility was amazing so we headed to the shallows by the crater wall. There were so many corals, urchins and little fish: we saw rainbow colored fish, little black ones that just swam with top and bottom fins (no side ones-like sun fish), eels and even a sea cucumber. Once we got back on the boat, we headed towards turtle town while enjoying a BBQ lunch. The snorkeling in turtle town wasn’t as good because the reef wasn’t as shallow and the visibility was poorer, but we saw two green sea turtles.

Day 6: In the morning we went shopping but spent the rest of the day at the condo; Kiki and I tried the Maui Babe which is supposed to help you tan. Although we were only out there 20 minutes in the end we just smelled like soy sauce and had brown dripping off of us. Everyone showered and we headed over to the luau at the Royal Lahina Resort. Check in was slow and boring, but once we got through the gates we were given shell necklaces and tropical drinks. In the beginning they played nice music and would have one dancer at a time come up and dance to it. They also brought out the whole roast pig. Then the buffet opened, it included: salad and dressing, beans/onions, shrimp salad with tomatoes and onions, pickled cucumbers and carrots, purple sweet potato, corn, the pig, fried fish, pasta salad, salmon poke, and some other meat filled things. They also had coconut pudding, guava tarts and chocolate and white cake for dessert. After we all ate they began doing the main part of the show with many choreographed dances. The dances went to native music and used the native language to tell the stories of Hawaii. The last act was fire twirlers; it was all very impressive.

Day 7: Last day. Woke up very late and headed over to Slappy Cakes for breakfast (by the time we got there it was closer to lunch). Kiki got blueberry tart pancakes with lemon curd while I got eggs with vegetables, potatoes and toast. Afterwards we went to Snorkel Bob’s and rented some snorkel gear. Drove over to the marine preserve, walked through a beautiful rainforest down to the rocky beach. Went snorkeling a little, it was murky and everything was brown except some of the corals.