maui wrap up

i think i have posted enough about the maui trip, so i will just include a few additional pictures.  note that in the future i will most likely not have time to go as in depth on the details of each trip.

below are pictures from the drive up to the northern part of the island (along the west coast) to nakalele point.



















next are pictures from honolua bay - AMAZING snorkling.  so many different brightly colored fish including schools of hundreds of fish.  we had to walk through a rainforesty type climate to get to the shore.  they also had some pretty amazing signs at this beach.

some sunsets from ka'anapali beach where we were staying.

last but not least, a rainbow that we could see from our hotel.  the picture does not do it justice.

it is all downhill from here

today we went biking down haleakala, maui's main volcano.  the peak stands at over 10,000 feet - well above most of the cloud layers.

the view on the way down was amazing - the scenery and microclimates changed dramatically as we continued down the road.  in fact it would go from sunshine to rain and back in a matter of minutes.   unlike the volcano on the big island, haleakala does not erupt very often and when it does erupt, it is more of a slow trickle.

  

we ended our journey in paia, a small hippie town near the ocean.  in fact, willie nelson is known to frequent one of the local joints!  paia is hard to miss with its many brightly colored buildings.

save the sea turtles

today we went snorkling at molokini (tiny island off of maui) and also near turtle town.  we saw colorful coral,  many different types of fish and sea turtles.

interesting fact:  in hawaii, most of the turtles are the green sea turtle.  despite their brownish exterior, they are called green sea turtles because they eat a mostly green diet that turns their interiors green.



i wont bore you with text on this one, enjoy some of the underwater pictures below!

playing underwater - silly us!

can you figure out what is sitting at the bottom of the ocean?

  

real leper colony

on wednesday we took a day trip to molokai, one of main hawaiian islands.  molokai is 38 miles by 10 miles and has a population of less than 8,000.  despite its size, molokai is known as the friendly isle.  we learned that everyone literally knows everyone and there is a true sense of family and community on the island.  the island is pretty deserted (you can miss downtown if you blink too long) and has extensive natural beauty.

during the 19th century, sufferers of leprosy were forced into quarantine by the hawaiian government in a small north shore colony called kalawao (the original colony cannot be seen in this picture, but it was later moved to kalaupapa which is in the picture to the left).  although the segregation policy was lifted in 1969, there are a small number of individuals with leprosy who still live on the colony today.  it is not easy to get to the colony and they do not like visitors as many people do not know how to react to their condition.

molokai was fortunate to have father damien de veuster become a long term resident on the island during this time period.  father damien, a belgian born priest, was cannonized for the treatment and care he provided to long term sufferers of leprosy.  he also built many churches on the island, many of which still stand today.  the impact father damien had on the people is obvious, given that there are over 25 registered churches as well as many other churches on the island.  to the left, is a statue of father damien.  on the right is a picture of one of the churches he built -- this is the only one that has not been modified or enlarged since it was originally built.  

during our time on the island, we also went to a macadamia nut farm.  i was surprised to learn that the trees has to grow for approximately 10 years before it begins to produce and then can produce for over 100 years.  the trees continue to produce all year long and the nuts are retrieved daily once they fall to the ground.  the nuts are then cracked (with a machine or hammer) and can be eaten directly.  however, the macadamia nuts found in the grocery store are usually further refined by roasting and with the addition of preservatives.  naturally found macadamia nuts only have a shelf life of about a month or so.

last random fact: molokai has the longest reef in the u.s. reaching approximately 25 miles.

too cute not to post

when i was taking pictures, this little kid was trying to surf.  i had to take pictures of him.