Waves and Mountains
Halfway through our trip, we moved to a resort in Wailea, on the southern coast. It was much flatter and drier on that side of the island, but the feral chickens remained (they seem to be everywhere, and I don’t hate it).
A rooster slowly circles us at Maui Brewing (photo/Jason Rafal)
One of the handsome feral colony cats (photo/Jason Rafal)
A magnificent art piece we found on the beach (photo/Jason Rafal)
We went on a snorkeling and scuba trip to Molokini Crater, which is one of the classic snorkeling spots off the coast. We also opted to try Snuba as a less-intense intro to see whether we’d ever be interested in scuba diving.
I’m a nose breather and get paranoid about running out of air, so it was difficult for me to adjust to the basic breathing mechanics of Snuba. Our instructor, who was exceedingly patient, finally told me to just stop thinking and stay underwater. I still wasn’t extremely comfortable after that, but I was able to enjoy the beautiful fish and have some fun. After a few minutes of Snuba, we did some normal snorkeling and saw a rare Hawaiian monk seal, which you’ll have to take my word for because we didn’t have a camera with that range underwater.
I was still trying to figure out what I was doing (photo/Jason Rafal)
Honestly the iPhone-in-a-bag thing worked better than expected (photo/Jason Rafal)
Learning the ropes (photo/Jason Rafal)
When it started to look like the weather might get less favorable in the next couple of days, we decided to go up to Haleakala National Park for sunset. The classic trip is going up for sunrise, but that required either obtaining a rare permit or joining a group tour bus, and we didn’t feel like we wanted it that bad. We thought we had more time, but there was a long line to get into the park, so we got to the visitor center right before sunset and had to jog up to the summit. Jogging at 10,000 feet is no joke. We made it up to the top the minute the sun started to touch the horizon and watched with a few dozen people while it went down and the entire sky began to glow with bands of color. We both agreed that it was worth the drive, and also that we’d come up during the day and hike around next time. I’d also love to go up for stargazing - the incredibly clear 360 degree views would be incredible.
The Haleakala Observatory on our run up to the summit (photo/Jason Rafal)
The cloud-covered Haleakala crater with the shadow of the summit behind (photo/Jason Rafal)
Instagram version - all alone at the top (photo/Jason Rafal)
Reality - jostling for space at the summit (photo/Jason Rafal)
A man watches the sunset fade from the roof of his car (photo/Jason Rafal)
After a full day of relaxing (kind of crazy for us), we checked out on Monday and went on a drive around West Maui before our red eye flight. We started out by driving to Lahaina, which is a very pretty and very touristy beach town that was the capital of the Hawaiian kingdom in the early 1800s. Apparently the town was a center of prostitution as the sailors came into port until the newly converted queen made it illegal.
Our next stop was Honolua Bay, which is amazing in a few ways. To get there, you have to walk through a forest of huge trees that’s apparently also full of unmarked graves. The path itself is on private land, but all beaches in Hawaii are public so there has to be some sort of access. The beach is rocky but fairly protected, and there were several people snorkeling. The beach also provides a good view of the surfers at the edge of the bay, so we watched them for a while.
Massive trees covered in vines (photo/Jason Rafal)
A very handsome rooster (photo/Jason Rafal)
A heron flies over the ocean (photo/Jason Rafal)
Watching surfers from Honolua Bay (photo/Jason Rafal)
The next stop was Nakalele Blowhole, which we had seen from above on our helicopter tour. It’s a blowhole on the coast surrounded by volcanic rock, and it reminds me of the geysers in Yellowstone. It’s surprisingly large at times, and the spray kept creating rainbows as it dissipated. My favorite part was actually the coral-like volcanic rocks, which were often smooth on one side and sharp and spiky on the other.
The Nakalele Blowhole, which we also saw from the helicopter (photo/Jason Rafal)
After the blowhole, our audio guide firmly recommended that we turn around and drive back the way we came, and I made the call to keep going around the north shore of the island. This turned out to be a highly questionable decision, as it took us on an often one-lane mountain pass. Trying to pass other people was dangerous at the best of times and impossible at the worst. At one point we had to inch past a rental mustang that had tried to get around someone and had gotten stuck halfway off the side of the cliff (we saw the driver down the road on the phone, and then a tow truck with a very grumpy driver coming up the road a few minutes later). I was continuously thankful that Jason is such a good driver as we inched around blind corners and I scouted for oncoming cars as we drove along the hillside. You can tell we were stressed because we have zero pictures. For what it’s worth, it was incredibly remote and gorgeous, but I don’t think Jason would want to drive it again.
Once we got down to Kahului, we went to a beach and spent an hour sitting, drinking a beer, and watched the kite surfers as the sun dropped low in the sky. It was an excellent way to end the trip.
Sitting and watching the kitesurfers (photo/Jason Rafal)
Things I would never be able to do (photo/Jason Rafal)
The last sunset of the trip (photo/Jason Rafal)
If you’ve read this far, here are some restaurant recommendations from our trip:
Paia Fish Market: there are a few locations, but we went to the one in Paia. It features customizable entrees and quality fish.
Mama’s Fish House: this is definitely a more upscale choice, but the ambience, drinks, and food were all very enjoyable, and the restaurant has a beautiful location on the beach.
Baked on Maui: this is a great breakfast and lunch place near the start of the Road to Hana.
Monkeypod Kitchen: there are a couple of locations. The food is really solid and the drinks are amazing - it’s always on the top of the list for best Mai Tai in Hawaii.
Kihei Caffe: another good breakfast and lunch place with a great loco moco
Cuatro: a BYOB latin fusion restaurant with two seatings per day. The food is excellent and it has an unassuming vibe.
Drift Coffee: the best coffee we had on the island.
Star Noodle: a picturesque restaurant on the water with a variety of soup and dry noodle dishes.
Basically, go to Maui. It’s amazing.