Hello, all! We are back on the road and have just finished up a trip to Hawaii! We spent five weeks between three islands and wow, was it an experience! It is certainly a beautiful place. We had the privilege to see all sorts of different ecosystems, weather, creatures, and try lots of food!
We flew to Maui and had our first experience with the beautiful beaches! Warm sun, soft sand, cool breeze, rushing waves… pure relaxation. What a great start to our Hawaiian experience. We were pleasantly surprised with the location of our hostel. Within two blocks we found a little Thai food truck which was apparently the best in the area and... literally the BEST coffee we've ever had. The coffee shop had great food, great coffee, great atmosphere, and amazingly friendly staff. We highly recommend Wailuku coffee shop if you're ever on Maui!
We rented a car and explored the island. We drove the nerve racking Road to Hana. The other drivers on the road were the worst part, but it was a pretty cool experience. The views were amazing! We even found a hidden path down to Kaihalulu red sand beach!! We also spent a morning with a local group, cleaning up one of the beaches. While there we saw a huge leatherback turtle! We had never seen a turtle so big!!!
We left Maui after a nice relaxing week of hanging out at the beach, strolling around town, taking road trips, and of course hitting the coffee shop and headed to the Big Island. We spent our first week on the big island in Kona. There were beaches right across the street from our hostel where we watched the sun set, went snorkeling, and watched surfers. We went to a luau at a local resort and ate delicious local Hawaiian food, learned about their history and culture, and were entertained by a band and dancers, including a fire dancer. We took the trolly downtown and checked out the local shopping. We met a few friends at our hostel and drove out to the southernmost tip of the United States!! Where… Dan and our new friend, Adam thought it would be fun to jump about 50 feet down into the water!! The ladder climb up was apparently the scariest part. So sketchy!! We visited a local snorkeling spot, Two Step, and spent time swimming around with colorful fish and a couple turtles. We hiked a good hour, through what felt like the desert, and made it to the PapakÅlea green sand beach! We also took another journey the next day out to Pololu valley black sand beach. Who knew there were so many different colored beaches!?
After a fun filled week in Kona we drove to the other side of the island, about an hour from Hilo, for a relaxing week at an Airbnb apartment we rented. We had many visitors during our visit, the dog from downstairs and lots of little creatures including a handful of geckos. We visited the local farmers markets, went to a weekly shindig by the volcano fields which included live music, food vendors, folks selling jewelry, etc. It had a great chill vibe and was fun hanging out with the locals. The down side to this week: no air conditioning and spending $10 for a box of pasta and a jar of sauce. Things are definitely more expensive in Hawaii.
Our third and final island was Oahu. We spent our first week on the north shore, there were so many beaches! We went snorkeling everywhere, met a great group of friends, Dan even went skydiving, and surfing with our new friends!! We went to the beach almost nightly to watch the sun set and of course so the guys could jump off the cliff. We stayed at a pretty crappy hostel, probably one of the worst we've stayed at so far, but we made the best of it and had a great time.
The second week on Oahu we spent blocks from Waikiki Beach. We spent the week enjoying walks around town, visiting different stores (there was even a Christmas shop), coffee shops, and tried a couple restaurants. We spent several afternoons in the coffee shops doing research for the next couple months of our journey. We were also fortunate to be in Waikiki during one of their festivals. The street was blocked off for about 10 blocks, bands on at least five stages, vendors, and food everywhere, it was a very neat experience.
After five weeks in Hawaii, there are a few things we've learned. How much we appreciate air conditioned coffee shops (our hostels didn't have a/c), your clothes will stay warm for hours after they come out of the dryer… which used to be one of my favorite things at home, but here, when you are already hot and sweaty, it's kinda gross to put on warm pants. No shirt, no shoes, no problem! It was strange the first time we turned the corner at a grocery store and walk passed someone only in their swim trunks… literally! No shoes, no shirt.. just picking up groceries at the store. Definitely a different way of life down there, very chill.
All in all, we had a great time in Hawaii but are definitely ready for the next adventure! Which is
….. Australia! Until next time, Aloha!
