28 November, flew from Portland, touching down in San Fran, arriving at 6 pm with United Airlines. Hawaii felt very familiar, waiting outside the airport even though it was my first time there. It felt like I had landed in New Zealand in a way. I was happy to feel this. The friendliness of the locals was heartwarming. ‘Aloha’ was sung out everywhere you needed it. I caught an airport bus to Paia. And then came Emily Button, whom picked me up in her red pick up truck. We recognized each other in a way, even though we had never met, we had a mutual contact. I stayed the night in her cool converted garage where she was renting.

I was going through lots of emotions and talking to Emily really helped. As I was worried about Yosuke, a young Japanese traveler that I had met in Portland. He had gone to climb Mount St Helens, it seems his heart had called him there. But there had been no sign of him returning from the mountain climb. I was sending emails and making calls. To insure that on the ground there it was known. No other climbers had seen him, and he had not come back to pick up his stuff. The sheriff there was evidently well aware of the situation.

The next day, I got a ride with her neighbor. He was on his way to another part of the island. He likes to go and hang out near the whale pods there.  He dropped me off to where I get a bus to Banana Bungalow Hostel in Wailuku.  I had booked in to stay there as they do free van tours everyday around the island. The next day the trip was to go to Haleakala Crater, this was why I had come to Maui.

Haleakala

The next morning we left at 8.30 am and arrived back twelves hours later. The magic began, a twelve mile hike through the largest dormant volcano in the world. The landscape is vast, like you are on another planet.  It is 30 degrees cooler at the summit than at sea level. An array of climate zones are passed through and the colours changed along the walk, a long walk!  It was quite difficult really. Some sped on ahead. Meanwhile, some of us lagged behind, wondering if we would ever get there. Haleakala, at just over 10,000 feet high, is above the clouds.

According to Robert Coon, this is the fire element of the earth. Truth be known, it was quite grueling walking this hike, as was weary after all the traveling.  But afterwards, all I can say is that I felt a new energy come into me. It was like a missing element, that had now been put it into me.  I felt exhausted but renewed and invigorated. A bit like fire has the power to transmute. It felt like I had been through a process of transmutation. On the way round, I was not called to do much energetically. Just to walk it I guess.

Ahinahina – Amazing cactus plants along the way.  According to the internet, it seems it is the rarest plant known to the world. In that it only grows at Haleakala, on Hawaii’s inaccessible volcanic slopes. It is also called the Silversword Cactus, and in Hawaiian it is the Ahinahina.

Makena Big and Little Beach

The next day, we took a break from all the walking. The day tour van went to Makena Big and Little Beach.  On Southwest Maui, here we are looking out over Big Beach, a large, white sand beach. Little Beach is hidden on the other side of a lava outcropping. Every Sunday at sun down there is a gathering on the beach with drumming. This beach jam is at the naturist beach, so there was a bit of dangling and jangling dancing.  Most of the van goers, where shy and watched and danced from the fringes. Myself included, but a few joined the jangling.

Iao Valley 

The next day outing comprised the Iao Valley Rain-forest Hike. We stopped at Kepaniwai Cultural Park and swam in the sacred Iao Valley Stream.  I enjoyed my swim in the water there, and found this place to be truly magical.  This was a much shorter hike. And the LL was happy to be heard on certain spots here.

Hana

The next day it was ‘Road to Hana’, we left at 8 am for this extraordinary tour. Along the coast cliffside with miles of beautiful views. Together with narrow winding jungle driving and crossing over 40 one-lane bridges, with waterfalls at every turn.  We stopped at Wainapanapa State Park’s legendary caves. There is a waterhole there, and it was amazing. The water looked very blue. We also visited a black sand beach.

Just past Hana, we stopped at Ohe’o, also called the Seven Sacred Sister Pools. Which is a valley cut deeply over countless millennia by a rain forest stream. Running along its course are cascading waterfalls and plunge pools. Emptying later into the deep-blue Hawaiian ocean along the rugged Kipahulu coastline.  We were back at the hostel at about 8 that night. We were lucky, as you are not always able to swim in these pools.

Snorkelling at Makena

The next day tour in the van was to Makena, on the way we stopped and rented snorkels and flippers. We went snorkeling at a lovely beach by the Maui Prince hotel in Makena. Something I had never seen, I got to see a turtle swimming close underwater, as the water was quite clear. And fellow hostel dweller, Adam, I saw him snap this photo with his underwater camera.  The turtles there seemed tame for some reason and this one was quite happy hanging out near us.  I guess they are used to the snorkelers about there. We weren’t swimming very far out.  Awesome fish to look at too, some of them looked like the fish from the movie ‘Finding Nemo’.

Then we were driven to Kihei on the way back for the sunset that evening. Hawaii was kind to me, as I sat on the palm tree froing beach. Dotted with people sitting on the beach to watch the sun sink. Then it was back to meet the others at the van and back to the Hostel.

Lahaina

The next day van trip was a short trip to Lahaina, I was quite taken by the Banyan Tree. For some reason I didn’t make it very far into town. Felt called to spend most of my time near the mighty Banyan.

Met up with Emily B for lunch, she picked me up at the hostel. We went to Wholefoods. She took me back to Iao Valley again because I loved this place. We went on a short walk. It was nice to connect.

Paia

Then I went to stay with Natasha B, also a connection from a mutual friend. She picked me up from the hostel at 4 pm, as she worked at a school close by. She was working the next day, I enjoyed resting, and quietly sitting on the beach. And very much enjoyed visiting the art galleries, especially an exhibition by Michael Kessler at Paia Contemporary Gallery. I also brought a lovely hand made moonstone necklace from a local jeweler, a gift for my mother. There had been no change in the circumstances with Yosuke.

6 December. It was out for dinner on my last night in Hawaii with the two new friends, Natasha and Emily. We went to a place called Fresh Mint Vietnamese Restaurant. It was nearly the end of a big journey, and Natasha kindly dropped me at the airport.

I somehow missed the plane! The flight was at 9.45 pm, for San Diego, and it took longer than I thought to get through. The man at the desk, said ‘we called your name out, where were you?’. Then heard my obvious distress as I loudly bolted out ‘I have to be on that plane’. As a normally a cool, calm, collected and on time traveler. I saw the cleaner look up from duties to see what all the commotion was! It must have been my worried, probably high-pitched voice. I was anxious because I had a flight booked. It was from San Diego to New Zealand the very next day.

As miracles would have it, he got me on another flight to San Diego. This time, it went via San Fran instead of LA. That got me there at about the same time! My bag went to LA. I went to San Fran. We reunited in San Diego on Dec 7th. Arriving in the morning at 9.40 am, spirit wanted to redirect me it seems.