All Around Maui

Trip planning for our stay in Maui sort of evolved. We ended up staying in two different places during our week in Maui. In Paia, on the eastern side, we were at the beginning of the Hana Highway. Paia tends to get a lot of high winds and is the wetter side of the island, although we didn’t see rain when we were there. Later in the week we moved to Lahaina, on the northwest side, which is where all the hotels and famous beaches are.

There were two small beaches on either side of our condo near Paia and, to our delight, both included sea turtles.

The sea turtles can look like large rocks if you’re not paying attention. We were enjoying some time on the other beach near us when we realized that we were sharing the beach with the turtles.

We discovered the Paia Fish Market restaurant in Waikiki and loved it for the delicious seafood at a reasonable (for Hawaii) price, as well as the Happy Hour mai tais. They have a handful of restaurants around the Hawaiian islands, and we were able to walk to another one in Paia. In Waikiki, I had a blackened mahi mahi over a salad, and it was the best. This shrimp dinner, however, ran a close second.

In Lahaina, we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast, and could walk into town. The first thing that caught my eye in Lahaina was this ancient banyan tree.

It is just one tree, spread over the courthouse lawn by way of aerial roots, and is over a century old. It is the largest banyan tree in the U.S.

I would have loved to delve into the history of Lahaina a little more, but there wasn’t time. The historical buildings we passed on our walk into town were all closed on the day we were there. This was the Seaman’s House, built in 1833, on the commission of King Kamehameha III. A little later it became a hospital for sailors. In the early 1800’s, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The main road, Front Street, dates back to that time. The street now is typically packed by tourists for shopping and dining.

North of Lahaina, we hiked the Kapalua Coastal Trail. The beach at Kapalua Bay has been rated as one of the world’s best.

We walked on lava beds left by ancient volcanoes, and looked across the water to the island of Molokai.

The boardwalk on this part of the trail was built to protect sensitive dunes. It overlooked beautiful Oneloa Bay.

The trail ended at D.T. Fleming State Park. The beach here has also been rated one of the world’s best, and here we were treated to another view of Molokai.

We took a drive up the northwest side of Maui.

We turned around after seeing Nakalele Blowhole.

Although the drive around Maui’s north shore was nowhere near as challenging as the road to Hana, it did involve some curves and twists and we had been adventuring for a good part of the day. Cal pulled over at a trailhead for a break. The trail at our stop was too inviting, though, so I went off to explore. Thanks to a guidebook I looked at later, I found out I had been in the Honolua Valley, on the trail to Honolua Beach

The forest was hushed, with no sounds except bird songs and rooster calls breaking through the stillness. There was just a little bit of creepiness. Would you keep going if you saw these signs? My curiosity won the day. I’m happy it did, because this walk was one of my best memories of Maui. The light filtering through the majestic trees made it a place of indescribable beauty, and I had to stop and take in the awe of that moment in that place.

I did finally find the beach. It was almost entirely enclosed by the bay, and very rocky.

Back in Lahaina, we attended a luau. Old Lahaina Luau was highly recommended by our bed and breakfast owners. That was maybe because it was within a short walk from there, but still, we enjoyed the evening.

There were several courses to the meal and more food than I could eat. I tried to pace myself and not eat everything in each course, but the deliciousness kept coming. This is not an inclusive list, but the meal included: taro chips with taro hummus, poke, guava rolls with honey butter, roasted pumpkin, a “luau pork” plate which included laulau – pork wrapped in a lu’au leaf and other pork meat, and that came with bland poi to soak up the saltiness, an “entree” plate of chicken, steak, and fish, and a dessert plate which included a mango coconut bombe. Whew! I was feeling bad about all the food I was returning uneaten. Our server reassured me that the luau company has a farm where they grow all their own food. The uneaten food returns to the pigs on the farm. Those must be some fat pigs!

The luau dancers were very entertaining. I can’t imagine knowing how to hula, and then doing it well enough to perform it every night as they do. They were a fine finish to our week in Maui.

Next time – We visit the tiny island of Lanai