T Minus 10 Days

It is going to be hard to leave this place

I have exactly 10 days left on island before I head off to new adventures, and this gives me big feelings. If you couldn’t tell, I love it here. I feel like there is less noise and distractions, which allows the important aspects of life to rise to the surface, like family (and ohana), spending time in nature, building a strong community, and making physical and mental health a priority. Sure, not everyone who lives here cares about these things, or has the luxury to prioritize these things, but I do, and it is what I have chosen to spend my last days here focusing on.

It is going to be hard to leave this little guy

I left you last in Kaua’i. I can’t tell you how nice it was to have an easy 50 minute jump ‘home’, and land in another paradise. The Big Island feels big, rugged and raw compared to Kaua’i, but also a little more down to earth, so I was able to get my head out of the clouds (in comparison, I suppose) and back to ‘real’ life. I was supposed to swim the Monument with the gnarly swimmer chicks the following morning, as they do every Saturday at 6:45 AM. I was awake at 6 and mentally preparing to get out of bed, when I heard little footsteps and a whisper, “Auntie Corie, are you awake?” at my door. Bodhi Kai came into my cabin, got into bed and snuggled with me, which he hasn’t done before. I figured I could swim the Monument any day of the week, but Bodhi Kai doesn’t miss me enough to cuddle me too often (ever) so we stayed in bed and then he helped me make coffee, and we had a very nice morning together. He was over it by the afternoon and had a melt down when I walked into the house at the wrong time. Gotta love kids.

As far as farm work goes, I had gotten close to achieving my goal of clearing the north side of the property line from the house to the road, but there was one really dense patch of nasty, dried up vines mixed in with shrubs that had created an impenetrable ball of jungle mess that had to be attacked. On what felt like (and probably was) the hottest day of the year so far, Monica and I put on our farm clothes and got our clippers, machetes and saws, headed down to the vine jungle and hacked away. At one point this lovely little corner of the farm had a wild pig living in it, so it stunk like death and was super buggy. After 2 hours of cutting and yanking and smacking each other in the face with branches and vines, and getting totally bit up by all the critters, we had made a clear path to the road. Then we had to haul all the vines and branches over uneven lava rocks down to the road so it could be hauled away. By the end of it I was so tired, sore and itchy that I haven’t done any farm work since, but I will get back to it tomorrow.

South Point is so cool

The following day I went back down to meet Jodie with Hawaii Wildlife Fund to do native seed collection at South Point. Again, we hopped in the Polaris with big ol’ dog Bondo, and drove the dusty red roads down to the coast. I love it down there. It is so rugged and wild, pristine and remote – thanks to HWF. There had been plans in the works to develop the land for a high end gated community and this resort or that, but HWF got the funds together to purchase hundreds of acres of land to protect it from any sort of development in perpetuity. Hooray! A win for the good guys. 

A few weeks back, Monica’s friend, who has become my friend, asked me if I could help her husband bartend a wedding she was planning this last Saturday. It sounded like fun so I said yes, but also because they requested lilikoi margaritas and mine are, well, famous – or at least becoming increasingly so. During the 6 hours that I bartended, we must have made 200 lilikoi margaritas. I told people it was a secret family recipe, passed down from generation to generation (lies, but good for conversation), and that we grew the lilikoi ourselves and hand squeezed the juice, so they better not waste a damn drop (the truth). I had never bartended before, so it was a fun experience, but I was at the wedding venue for 12 hours, and prior to that I had swam the Monument so by the time I got home at 1 AM I was so very tired. The next day I sat on the couch for the majority of the day, and only felt mildly guilty about not taking full advantage of one of my few last precious days here. But I made up for it today.

Over the past 4 months (in my humble opinion), I’ve done a pretty good job of getting out and seeing and doing things, particularly around Kona. That means, to see and do new things, I have to go kind of far. One of my lists of things to do was a special list just for Hilo, so I decided to take today to complete the list. I left the house early because the top priority was to surf Honoli’i, the surf spot Hilo side that I have seen many times but never had my board with me to surf it. 

Honoli'i 

I packed up my rickety little car and left the sparkling, sunny Kona coast, wondering why I was leaving because there were waves at the local breaks and it looked beautiful. But I’m running out of time and today felt like a last opportunity to make it happen. I drove over Saddle Road and descended into the dark rainy cloud of HIlo, kicking myself. As I got closer to the coast the rain cleared up, and the wind hadn’t picked up yet. I drove up to the beach park at Honoli’i and was greeted with clean, chest high, peaky surf, with a little crowd – but that’s kind of a nice thing when surfing a spot for the first time. I changed quickly and watched where other people walked down the cliff, and paddled out. I made sure not to drop in on any of the uncles and before long they were calling me into waves and telling jokes. The surf spot is at the Honoli’i rivermouth and looking back up into the ravine I could see the thick jungle. At times, squalls came through and rain battered the green cliffs, but nobody seemed to mind. 

After a really fun surf session, I got lunch, then stopped at the very bougie coffee shop I had wanted to try and got a very bougie coffee, then headed to the Lyman Museum. For whatever reason I’ve really been pushing the museum thing, but it was on par with the museum in Kaua’i: mildly interesting. That said, after reading and looking at the same material over and over, I’m getting a pretty good grasp of Hawaiian history. Maybe I’m just practicing museuming for Europe, but yeah Hawaii’s museums, at least the ones I have seen, are mediocre.

Boiling Pots

My last stop of the day was Boiling Pots, a waterfall and rapids above Hilo. I did a little walk and put my feet in the water, and was tempted to hike up the falls to the upper pools, but the “Beware of Flash Floods” signs spooked me. Rivers aren’t my element, and flying solo I tend to be a little more cautious, so I called it a day and headed home. Hilo Pride is this weekend, but I am opting for a camping trip with the family, so I think this was my last chance to spend some time in Hilo for a while. In spite of it being one of the rainiest places on earth, it is a charming little town, and very authentically Hawaiian.

And so, my last days will be spent hanging with the family, working on the farm, going camping down south, hanging with the few friends I’ve made here, a surf here and a snorkel there. It is a pretty incredible life.

Kaua'i Part 2

Kalalau Valley of the Na Pali Coast

Like I said in Part 1 of the Kaua’i adventure, Amanda and I aren’t the best planners, which leaves lots of room for spontaneous activities (for better or worse). On Wednesday morning we woke up and, after harassing Sadie, the surfer chick who lives on the farm, for information about where to paddle out at Hanalei (before she had coffee, poor thing), we headed out to surf. 

Hanalei Bay is a really famous surf spot, and even though it was knee to waist high, I saw the potential for perfection on a big day. Sadie told me about paddling out on massive days, and just how epic it is. I’m not trying to surf Hanalei Bay on a huge swell, but chest to head high would have been nice. The good thing about surfing it small was there weren't any crowds. After a fun little surf, Amanda and I did yoga on the beach, had a delicious poke lunch, and drove west to the end of the road on the north side of the island.

Unlike Big Island, the road on Kaua’i doesn’t go all the way around the island, because the Na Pali coast on the northwest side of the island is too rugged to build a road through. I’m sure this is a part of why the industrial development on the island has remained limited. The road on the north end of the island hugs the coastal mountains and winds through little towns, with stunning views of long, white sand beaches and the infinite ocean around every corner. This road ends at the famous Na Pali State Park, but you have to secure permits in order to hike it, which I dropped the ball on (like I said, not a good planner). I was bummed to miss it. As a consolation, we decided to go to Koke’e State Park the next day, to see the Na Pali coast from the mauka side. 

The Na Pali coast can be enjoyed many ways – many people do the day hike into the first pristine beach, some people backpack the 11 miles in to Kalalau Valley and camp overnight, others hike the 17 miles all the way through the park to the other side of the island and get picked up there. For the less athletic, there are boat tours and helicopter rides to view the coastline, but Amanda and I were too cheap for those, and/or didn’t want to die (R.I.P Kobe). Other people, like Marika and Orien (our hosts on the island) packed up their 2 and 4 year old kids, and kayaked the 11 miles down the coast to camp at Kalalau Valley for like, a week or something. They are pretty badass people, but it seemed we met badass people everywhere we went on this trip, and as one does when they travel in general. 

After sussing out the north side of the island to the extent we could without permits, Amanda and I headed back to the house to check out the local beach and do the river paddle. I ended up going for a long walk on the beach before we decided to paddle up the river to find the waterfall, which Marika said, was a “short hike after you can’t paddle any more because it is so shallow.” So Amanda and I took off, sharing a paddle board because we didn’t plan well, and didn’t realize how far the paddle was. The Kalihiwai river is stunning, lined with lush jungle and dotted with plantation houses with wide grassy lawns. Birds called to one another and bugs chirped as we paddled, until the ravine got steeper and the river got shallower. Finally, when we started scraping rocks, we pulled over to the shore to hike the rest of the way to the waterfall. Unfortunately, by this point, because we were deep in a ravine and because I had totally lost track of time, it was starting to get dark. Maybe not dark, but the sun had certainly set behind the jungle walls. We hiked for a while but Amanda was a bit out of sorts, and I didn’t want to risk us having to stumble back home in the dark, in an unfamiliar element on an unfamiliar island. So as much as I wanted to reach the waterfall, using my better judgment, we headed back to the paddle board and down the river. The sun cast its golden glow over the treetops and we got back to the beach just as the sun set. Good timing… I guess… and I guess I will just have to go back one of these days. 

It was another lesson in why planning is sometimes a good thing. The other lesson we learned is that when a local says something is close, or a short paddle or a quick hike, don’t believe them. It is kind of like how Hawaiians give you wave sizes – for whatever reason, Hawaiians measure waves from the back of the wave, so a wave 4 foot Hawaiian is more like an 8 foot face. 

Waimea Canyon - the Grand Canyon of the Pacific

Yet it took another experience for us to learn our lesson. Sadie recommended a hike in the Waimea Valley to check out the Kalalau Valley, which she said was a quick little walk, and we believed her. I woke Amanda up early on Thursday morning to drive to the south side of the island to check out the Na Pali coast from above and the Waimea Canyon, which is known as the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. We brought surfboards just in queso, as we had heard of some fun breaks on the south side. 

The lookout from the ridge behind Kalalau Valley was another Soylent Green moment. Spires and ridges line both sides of the sweeping valley that has been carved out by millions of years of storms, wind and rain. It is hard to imagine the amount of time and force of nature that created this beauty, and imagine the fact that some day this island will be an atoll, and then just a seamount, but none of us will be around to see it. I tried to spot Marika, Orien and the kids, but even the birds of prey looked like little dots swooping around the valley. The grandeur of the whole place was again, hard to comprehend (and even harder to describe).

Easy little walk... Hawaiian

Amanda and I did a little, one mile Hawaiian hike along the ridge behind the valley, stopping every few feet to gawk in awe of the beauty. We could tell the trail is usually super muddy, but it was exceptionally dry the whole time we were there, and the hikes were pleasantly dry and the views stunningly clear. After our short hike (Hawaiian) we had a quick lunch at the Kalalau lookout. I was tempted to drag Amanda on a long hike (Hawaiian) along the spine of the valley ridge, but I knew if we did that we wouldn’t have the energy to surf. So I put that hike on the list of things to do upon return. That’s the thing about visiting a place for such a short amount of time – when I finally figure out where to surf and where to hike, it is time to go home.    

Before going to look for surf, Amanda and I stopped at the Waimea Canyon Lookout, which gives stunning views of the three thousand foot deep canyon as well as the coast to the south. There are a bunch of gnarly hikes to do in the canyon too, but again, I decided to save those for another visit. Feeling like we had seen enough to say we’d seen the State Park, we headed back down the mountain to the coast to look for surf. 

Jungle hike to Pakalas beach

Our friend Amy had recommended a “super fun left point” on the south side of the island, and Sadie confirmed that it is a really good wave, so we decided to check it out. The thing about surf breaks is that they aren’t always well identified, and after driving past the pull out on the highway for Pakalas twice, we saw a guy with a surfboard disappear into the jungle and decided we must be at the right place. It was super windy out, so we sat in the car and hemmed and hawed about whether or not to go, when a few guys walked out of the jungle with their boards. They looked like nice enough tourists, so I asked them for a surf report. Super fun! They said, and super windy! But super fun! Go get it. So we grabbed our boards and went out.

Sure enough, although it was pretty windy, there was a perfect little left peeling down the side of the reef. The waves were only waist to chest high, so it was playful and fun, soft and uncrowded. I thought again about how this wave compares to the lefts on Big Island and well, there isn’t a dry reef section or a big coral head right in the lineup that you have to surf around. What luxury! Sure the water was a little murky and there have been reports of big sharkies around there, but I didn’t see any. It was probably the most fun surf I had on the island. And to think, Amanda and I could have missed that surf because we didn’t want to hike into the unknown in the wind! 

After surfing, I dragged Amanda through a few more tourist spots on the south side of the island because we were right there, but we were both pretty beat. I felt such a deep love for the island that I wanted to squeeze out every bit of time and energy I had to explore it. But on our final day we decided to hang out in Hanalei Bay, have one last surf, do some shopping and just enjoy the vibes before getting on our respective planes to come home. 

Alas, I have visited and fallen in love with yet another wonderful little corner of the world – scratched the surface just enough to know that there is so much more beauty and awe to be experienced on this little fleck of land in the midst of the Northern Pacific Ocean. I created what I hope to be life-long memories, and am deeply grateful for my time in Kaua’i. I hope to return someday.

Kauai Part 1

Travel buddies!

Have you ever seen the movie Soylent Green? Remember how at the end, when the guy decides to die, they show him beautiful images of life on earth? I feel like they could just show footage of the island of Kaua’i, and everyone would die happy. I will, at least.

Yes, I finally made it to Kaua’i. I have felt a pull to the isle for a long time now, and not just because everyone who goes there says it’s soooo beautiful, but let me tell you, it is SOOOOO beautiful. Because I’m a cheap ass, I probably would not have booked the trip, but my friend Amanda suggested we meet in Kaua’i a few months ago, and if you don’t book, you don’t go, so I splurged on a little side trip. Additionally, the island is sinking into the ocean, and won’t be around in another few million years, so this seemed to be a perfect window of opportunity to see what all the fuss was about.  

After the 50 minute flight from Kona and picking up our rental car, I headed straight for the Kaua’i museum, because I really didn’t know much about the island and had a few hours to kill before Amanda’s flight landed. I usually try to read a book or two about the place I’m going prior to takeoff, but I didn’t get around to it this time. The museum was mildly interesting and somewhat informative, and I had a good chuckle when I opened my guide book and read the description of the museum, which mirrored my thoughts word for word: “mildly interesting.” 

Wailua Waterfall

Amanda’s flight arrived and we set off, but not before she surprised me with a bean and cheese burrito from Cotijas, which was very sweet. Amanda and I both have the tendency to plan nothing and go with the flow, so I nominated myself to be tour guide, navigator and driver. (Control issues much? Or, as I’d like to think, I’m just used to doing it all on my own now ha ha.) Our first stop was the Wailua waterfall, where we hiked down the steep, muddy ravine to the pool below and went for a swim, which was delightful. Then we headed toward Kilauea, on the north shore, where we were to stay with Monica's friends. 

As we drove around the island I felt like my brain couldn’t absorb all the beauty my eyes were seeing. To our left were sheer, green, jungle covered mountains, in front of us a road lined with bright rust colored red dirt, and to our right, the deep blue of the ocean dotted with the aquamarine shallows of white sand beaches and coral reefs. It took me a solid three days to wrap my mind around this beauty.

Our cabin in the upper right of the photo. Not exactly ADA accessible.

We checked into Marika and Orien’s place, where we were shown our little cabin, met their kids, met the other folks who live on the property, and were given the rundown on how to use the communal kitchen, where to compost, recycle, etc. They live in a little river valley, three houses in from the beach, and suggested that at some point we take paddle boards up the river to the secret waterfall, just up the way. I promised we would do just that. After settling in, Amanda and I decided to go to Hanalei Bay, because it was close, and I had heard good things. 

Halanei Bay - a magical place

When my family and I sailed to Hawai’i in ‘97 we were supposed to anchor in Hanalei Bay, but on our way, we heard that the anchorage was super rough, so we sailed past and headed for Alaska. Back then, I didn’t know what I was missing, but now I realize what a bummer that was. Hanalei Bay is created by a sweeping valley lined on all three sides by steep, green mountains with waterfalls running down them, a right point break on the east end of the beach, a beach break called Pinetrees in the middle of the beach, and a left point break on the west end of the beach. Boats anchor idyllically next to the east point break, and a river meanders its way through the valley floor, lined by taro patches and banana groves. The tradewinds blow offshore, keeping the waves clean all day. If I designed paradise, it might look very similar to this little nook of the world.

As for the town itself, don’t get me started. Cuteness overload. Surf shops, coffee shops, food trucks, tourist shops… it was all so quaint I could easily see myself moving there and living happily ever after – if I had a few million dollars for a humble beach bungalow and a few million more to live on. The surf was small and the tourist presence strong, but I can imagine that in the winter when the surf is pumping, it is quite a scene. 

 

As I didn’t do much research before I went, I didn’t know just how good the surf is on Kaua’i. After surfing gnarly lava rock reefs for the past 4 months, I was happy to find that there are sandy beach breaks (in addition to perfect reef breaks), the likes of which I have not surfed since I left San Diego. Because the island is a solid 4 million years older than the Big Island, it has had time to erode mountains into soft sand beaches and build a barrier reef in places. Yet, it took a minute for my froth to kick in. The first evening we were on the island, Amanda and I walked the town, watched the sunset from the beach and got some groceries. It wasn’t until the next day, after a hike up behind Hanalei bay, that we rented some boards and got in the water. 

That first surf on the island, at Pinetrees, as the sun set, casting a golden glow on the emerald mountains, which were crowned with a few wisps of clouds, was unforgettable. Looking back at the island from the water at sunset, was truly a Soylent Green moment. As for the surf, the waves were occasionally chest high – perfect little peelers held up by offshore winds, not to mention the water temperature was in the upper 70’s. It was the most relaxed surf I have had in a long time, and possibly the most beautiful ever. 

Because Amanda and I are both thrifty, shall we say, we tried to do most of our cooking at the farm. The other people who live there were very sweet and accommodating to us, even as we peppered them for surf reports and local intel, ideas on places to go and things we should not miss. We didn’t even have the decency to wait until after they had had their morning coffee to ask where we should surf in the morning, but hey, that’s communal living for you. You don’t always get to choose your housemates. Good thing Amanda and I are charming.

I’m going to save the rest of our adventures for a second blog post because honestly I’m (pleasantly) surprised if you got this far. Skimming is ok too. But here are my thoughts on Kaua’i: this place is fucking magical. It has a dream-like quality that is indescribable. I didn’t even want to read my book while I was there, because I didn’t want to be taken away from the majesty of the place for one moment. Sure, it is sort of the boondocks of the well-known Hawaiian islands, being way out on the northwest side of the island chain, but that isolation keeps it somewhat pristine. It is also a small island, both in terms of size and population, with a square mileage of 562 and a population of around 74,000 people. This makes it a little easier to get the lay of the land than say, the Big Island, which also adds to its charm. Time seems to float by, and the average temperature is 75 degrees. Sure, the island can receive torrential downpours and gets struck by the occasional hurricane, but other than that, it is pretty peachy.

Living in the Lap of Luxury

A casual sunset down at the bay

My life here has developed such a pleasant rhythm I almost feel like there isn’t much to write home about, but in order to be a writer one must write, so here we are. Notice how I dropped the “travel” part from my desired profession as a travel writer? Perhaps it is because I feel so much at home here, so much at peace and in sync with the slow and quiet lifestyle that it doesn’t feel much like traveling anymore. It is a good thing then, I guess, that I have a few flights booked to keep me on my toes.

Since I left you last, I have done a lot of farm work, a lot of swimming, some entertaining and tour guiding and doing my best to avoid another round of Covid (so far so good, knock on wood). Every morning I wake up in a warm bed to roosters crowing and birds and bugs chirping, and feel like I live in the lap of luxury. Granted, I live in a rustic cabin and drive around a little beater car with moss growing up the sides of it, and live as thriftily as possible, but the freedom to choose how to spend my days on a beautiful isle feels like the epitome of a luxurious life to me. I try to appreciate every waking moment, whether I am exploring and sightseeing, hanging with the kids and pulling weeds, or writing mediocre blog posts and listening to the rain, as I am doing right now. So yes, life is quite tranquil these days.

We took a quick hike in Volcanoes on our way to more interesting places like the industrial part of Hilo where we stayed in '97

The most exciting thing to happen in the past few weeks was having Mom and Dad come visit. Hawaii reminds me so much of my time in the South Pacific, and Mom and Dad are the only people with whom I really share those memories, so it was very fun to show them all my favorite spots and reminisce about our very special time in that very special place. We also sailed to the Big Island as a family way back in 1997, and took some time to revisit a few of the places we spent time on that voyage. 

Mom and Dad stayed on the farm in Monica’s AirBnB, spent time with the kids and got roped into a bit of farm work, in addition to our hiking and touring, all of which they loved. It was a nice affirmation that they appreciate this place (almost) as much as I do, and will understand if I choose to move my life out here at some point. I tried to talk them into buying the old macadamia nut processing plant down the road, but they took a hard pass on that one. Here’s the listing if you are interested: I got $5 on it. Aside from almost buying property here, the biggest news of their trip was that I beat them at Scrabble BOTH times we played, which is a big deal in my family. 

Hawai'i Tropical Bioreserve

Most of the places I took them I had been before, but the two new things we did were the night manta ray tour at Keahoe bay and the Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve just outside Hilo. I was a bit snooty about the manta tour, because although people rave about it, I’ve seen manta rays before, and in the wild. But Mom said she wanted to do it so I booked it. We got on the boat around 8:30 PM and went out just past the harbor, where the tour boats put out big surfboards with lights on them to attract plankton, which attracts the mantas. Then the tourists all hang on to the surfboard with foam noodles under our feet to keep us flat on the surface, and the mantas swoop directly under the lights and eat the easy meal. They come so close that they occasionally bump people, which is closer than I’ve ever been to them in the wild. While it was a bit contrived – you know, kind of luring the mantas in for our entertainment and probably throwing a kink in the circle of life or whatever – it was thrilling to be so close to them. Ryan (Monica’s husband) was our captain for the trip so it was fun to see him in action, too. I humbly give the experience 4 out of 5 stars.

The other pleasant surprise was the Hawai’i Tropical Bioreserve, which I promised myself I would get to, and wow, what a spectacular place. It is built down a ravine that ends at the ocean, complete with a natural waterfall running through, and thousands of species of tropical plants, trees, fruits, flowers and the like. I wish we had more time, because one could easily spend a day there, alas we didn’t know how cool it would be and only had an hour before they closed. This is an absolute do not miss on your Big Island tour.

Feeling very chuffed with myself after swimming to that little white speck (Captain Cook Monument)

Aside from the excitement of having Mom and Dad here, it’s been a nice, mellow time. I got in with a group of gnarly swimmer chicks who swim across Kealakekua bay to the Monument every Saturday morning at 6:45 AM, and I’ve done the 2 mile swim with them twice now. I can only keep up with them because I wear fins and they don’t, but hey, at least I’m out there. My farm goal before I leave is to have a 5 foot barrier cleared on the northern property line. It takes about 2 hours to get 15 feet, and I have about 300 feet more to go. I’m no good at math but at that rate, I had better get a move on.