Mae Travels: St. Lucia

Mae Travels: St. Lucia
A nice post from one of our friends/Kona Lisa Coffee lover costomers blogs. Love this picture and glad they are having a nice time there.

Summer

During a birthday phone call I was reminded that I hadn't blogged in awhile. Yes, that is the story. I don't tweet but I do the rounds on Facebook which seems to take up some blogging time. Plus summer has been a fun time here. After heading off to Tennessee and sharing a week at Myrtle Beach with the family we brought two of our grandchildren back here to Hawaii with us. Sydney, 15 and Casey, 12 were the lucky ones. Or should I say the ones who didn't have other pressing summer activities at home. Sydney lives in Tennessee and had been to Florida and therefore been in the ocean. But, Casey lives in Michigan and Myrtle Beach was were first time to play in the ocean. We all had such a great time there that Ron even suggested that we go back there next year. That was a thought but just yesterday I was able to get a reservation for all of us to do Wisconsin Dells, the water park haven of the Midwest.
Sydney and Casey had decided that they wanted to stay here 3 weeks and on this island we knew it wouldn't be hard to fill up their days. The middle two weeks in July produced some extraordinary surf swells at the beaches and gave the girls a chance to put their boogie board and body surfing skills to work. They did Ho'okene, La'aloa, Makalawena, and Hapuna Beaches and never complained once about those waves knocking them down. Imagine that! We snorkeled at Two Step and swam in Kealakekua Bay. On a Monday we headed up north to the Pololu Valley lookout and some zip lining. Casey and I did the zip lining and Ron and Sydney did a spectacular helicopter ride over the Waipio valley with so many waterfalls that Ron lost count. Casey and I actually zipped over one or them on our tour. Another day was spent hiking in the National Park, the one with the volcano. Being we were near Hilo the next day was spent shopping there and driving up along Hilo's noth coast. On a scenic drive to Onomea bay we stopped at a one lane bridge to photograh a waterfall. To our surprise, sploosh, and a diver jumped off the bridge into the pool just below the falls. Soon another group of locals came and lined up for the breathtaking leap. The girls decided that would be one activity they would pass up. On the way home we used the Saddle Rd. and stopped at the Mauna Kea astronomy center for stargazing and storytelling on the mountain.
Well they have traveled safely back to their respective homes with all their gifts and souvenirs and I still miss them. We are already looking forward to that Wisconsin Dells trip and bringing back more family next summer.

Similarities

Following the picture of the penguin egg in the earlier post and since it is Easter Sunday today, I envisioned more similarities of our island with the marvelous scenery and experiences in New Zealand. And one was this week. First I have to say I thought Thursday mornings outrigger paddle was the best. Everything came together so perfect as we paddled over some of the clearest ocean water on the planet. It reminded me of the clarity of the inland waters we espied all over New Zealand. Just so you know, I love the grandeur of our earth, so visual tourism is special to me. The scenescapes of New Zealand still float in my mind and are still hard for me to describe. It's one of the few places where I was awestruck over and over. Strangely in editing and reviewing these pictures I came across one I was sure was New Zealand but then realized it actually was taken here on Molokai. Travel enables you to experience the climates, the people, the smells and the moments you can't have except in that place at that time. Message to myself seems to be that I am ever greatful for this Hawaii adventure and appreciate the charm of all the cultures floating in the blue Pacific. Another message I seem to be getting is that the last paddle is always the best. Especially when the last one had a large puffer fish come to check out my toes as they dangled from the canoe.

While In Hawaii why not a trip to New Zealand

 
 
 
 
When we discovered New Zealand is the same distance away as a trip back to the midwest it was a no brainer. From beautiful scenery, great homestays, weather extremes, and a downright good time it's would be hard to mention all we saw and did in our 17 days. So I won't but here is just a sampling of pics showing the diversity of New Zealand.

Rainbow

 
A first for me. An ocean rainbow as seen on Molokai

Molokai Rocks...!!!!

Welll, not really, but it does show you some fantastic scenery and history. Actually Molokai is probably the most laid back island, having signs such as "If you are in a hurry, you are on the wrong island." There are no stop lights on the whole island and the population is about 7000 with the largest percentage of true Hawaiians than any other island so therefore the island most like old Hawaii. With very few condo complexes on Molokai we felt lucky to get a nice one bedroom in a well manicured site, oceanfront with pool, BBQ's and tennis courts. Molokai is also called the friendly isle. No problem getting info and directions. We scouted the isle the first day and booked our tour of Kalaupapa for Monday. Molokai has the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere and isolated beautiful beaches. Sunday they have a local jam session on the lanai of the Coffees of Hawaii building with sing alongs which, of course, we participated in. Local recording artist 'Lono' made a guest appearance with the house group and we like this style of Hawaiian music, kinda jazzy. But now on to our highlight, the hike down the highest seacliffs in the world onto the coastal plain. This is where Kamehameha V banished the Hawaiians who contracted leprosy. And while we were climbing down you could see how this is a natural area with no way out for them. You could also see fantastic views of the ocean, the pali, more sea cliffs and the now restored village below. Father Damien will be canonized a saint any day now in Rome, festivities to be followed here in Hawaii and on the peninsula next to the restored St. Philomena church and his gravesite. During our tour we realized what a good man he was, as those afflicted would not have survived without his dedication and gift of hope. Next was our hike out. So as not to describe the difficulty in covering the 2000 ft straight up with countless switchbacks I will just say that my quads and calfs screamed at me for two days after. Yes, you can take a mule down but we thought we would experience it the way Father Damien did when he went 'topside'. Only later did I learn that he mostly rode a horse up. Nowadays there is a landing strip there. We had a full bus tour with 6 flying in, 6 of us hiking in, and at least a dozen including our bus driver rode mules down. Learning of the history of the colony was both enlightening and starkly moving. Definitely a must do when on the island. The next day tentatively was to do another hike to the Halawa valley and falls. We decided the hike was out but we would still drive the amazing easterly coast to the valley floor and view the falls. What a drive. I say, better than the road to Hana although shorter, thankly. It was one lane hanging on the cliffs with hairpin turns and awesome views. At the end was a surreal valley where Jurasic Park II was filmed. Our last day was spent at the Meyer Sugar Mill now restored with much of the original sugar making equipment. What is so great about touring these remote islands is that the written history is so short, now just a bit over 200 years, and so much has changed these islands in that time. And to me Molokai rocks along with the rest of these islands! Next stop Lanai.

Meeting fantastic people

Meeting great humans of the world is one of benefits we enjoy on the farm. We are lucky to be only a mile and a half from the famous Painted Church and just up the road 800 feet from Kealakekua Bay where, historically, Captain Cook both landed and met his death. Also just down a bit is Pu'u uhonau o Honaunau National Historic Park also called Place of Refuge with the renowned snorkel spot call 'two step' next door. This means we get tourist traffic and some choose to stop for a farm tour. I think yesterday was our best yet. We first met Tsuro and Hiloko at the farmers market on Sat. His English was hard for us to understand and our Japanese is zero but he was able to relate that he wanted a large order of coffee to take/send back with him. He asked if he could pick it up on Sunday at our farm because as we could see he was very busy with Hiloko. He asked prices and related that he needed it all ground. We have learned that Japanese households evidently don't have coffee grinders as they all buy ground coffee. Then he said okay, if I want, and he pointed to the pound pkg, I say big one. If I want 1/2 pound, I say small one. Late Sunday morn I received a phone call from the Outrigger Beach Resort Hotel saying that a guest wanted directions to our farm, could I speak with him. He was very able to understand the directions, and he he told me how many big ones and small ones he wanted. Sure enough in less than 2 hours he and Hiloko arrived at our farm. He is the most attentive devoted husband I have ever seen. You see, he was feeding Hiloko lunch on Sat., and he must move her out of the car and carry her in. We never did understand what her ailment was but Tsuro cared for her like a mother cares for her newborn child. This is no exaggeration, but in America many like Hiloko are cared for in a Nursing Home as she requires constant attention and must be fed all her meals. He does it all while he enjoys his travels. He visits everywhere he wants and lovingly talks to Hiloko. And he does it all in stride with little effort, just patience. Not to mention how well groomed both of them were. Hiloko's hair was combed and colored a pretty reddish and her nails were painted and she couldn't even raise her arms. He told us they had been over to see the volcano last week. He never leaves her side. I could tell he wanted to have Ron show him more of the farm, so I offered to sit with his wife. We couldn't speak to each other but she all of a sudden said my name, I hugged her and she smiled. Tsuro was the most joyful, happy man. He seemed to enjoy everything, so much and was amazed with our large mango tree. He told us they have three grown children and that he comes to this island because the spiritualness was good for Hiloko. He also asked us if we would remember him if he came back next year. How could we forget!