Kauai (part 2)

You knew it; we knew it; but, now it's official. Claire is 100% certifiable!

Okay, to be fair, we are talking about SCUBA diving here. Claire enrolled in an Open Water certification class with Sea Sport Divers in Kaua'i.  It was a good class; Claire was either one-on-one with the instructor or had only one other student in the class. That meant they could complete the required skills more quickly, and have more time to explore in the water. For the last 2 out of the 4 dives, the class went out on a boat with other divers, including Krispin! Claire is a natural in the water.  She has some difficulty clearing her ears during descent, but hopefully, in time, will figure out what works best for her....and then the bottoms the limit!!!

Claire, striking a pose underwater.

Experience the dives with us below!

Diving was a highlight during our time on Kaua'i, but we are getting ahead of ourselves.
After the Kalalau Trail (see Kaua'i Part 1), we went to stay with some locals, Jen and T. Surprisingly, Claire found this accommodation on Craigslist. Hotels are remarkably expensive in Hawai'i, so we thought we would try something different. We were a bit wary because of the frequent scams on Craigslist; but, there are also some cool opportunities. Jen and T provided us with a comfortable room and some insight into what it is like to live on the island of Kaua'i.  One unexpected aspect to life on Kauai is the traffic! Krispin's memories of Kaua'i (from twenty years ago) were of a quiet little island.  Now, it's a bustling place with traffic from sun-up until well after dark. Jen and T agreed that Kaua'i has changed; unfortunately, not for the better. To give you a taste of what the traffic was like... our commute to the dive shop was 22 miles away, but it took us over an hour to get there, and the roads are straight! Granted, the top speed limit on the entire island is 50 mph.

Wailua Falls in Kapa'a

 Yes, you better believe it, that is Krispin drinking coffee!

Us at Kilauea lighthouse and National Wildlife Refuge in Princeville. 

After Claire's dive class and our time with Jen and T, we had two accommodations left: one night in a fancy resort in Princeville on the north shore and three nights at an Airbnb in Waimea on the west coast.  We stayed at the Hanalei Bay Resort on a Sunday night so were invited to their weekly "orientation" gathering Monday morning. During this gathering, they raffle off 2-for-1 activity deals, such as: SUP classes, snorkeling tours, boat trips, and helicopter rides.  We stuck around in hopes of winning the helicopter (and they had free food). As it turns out, not too many people showed up, so we ended up winning a number of activities, including the helicopter tour!

Don't get too excied though... we quickly learned that most of the people that stay at this hotel have way more money than we do (duh), so not even the least expensive activity was within our budget even at 2-for-1 price! Definitely not the helicopter tour. We should have expected this; we could only afford the room at this fine establishment because we booked it using airline miles.  This got us a little studio, but... unbeknownst to us, it didn't come with a bed... ! Neither of us had ever experienced a hotel room with no real bed - particularly at a higher-end place - but no mistake, all we get is a nice room with a pullout sofa. Well, there's a first time for everything! Not to worry; we found a couple of day-old flower leis that someone had discarded in the parking lot, blended up some Pina Coladas with cheap rum and coconut paste mix, and enjoyed our version of the "resort life" for one night in their fancy pool/hot tub!

Krispin trying hard to blend in...

Claire cooling off under the poolside waterfall.

The fancy pool!

Our last stop on Kaua'i was Waimea on the west coast, where we stayed with a kind woman named Nancy. The west coast still has a small part of the old Kaua'i feel left; minimal traffic, laid-back residents, and according to our guidebook (Kauai Revealed), the best shave ice on the island. By our judgment, we think that claim is debateable. We were much more impressed by the Ono Family Restaurant in Kapa'a for a bite of frozen tropical bliss topped with evaporated milk.

The west coast is much less tropical and a bit more dessert-like than the rest of the island. Unlike other parts of the island, its history - both geological and anthropological - can be seen with the naked eye. The Waimea Canyon (aka the little Grand Canyon) is much bigger than we were expecting, especially because it is on such a small island. The colors and the waterfalls are stunning and the air has a refreshing chill to it. It can be as much as 20 degrees cooler on the rim than along the coast below. We were even able to see the Kalalau Valley (where we trekked to when we first arrived) from high above, which was a neat experience; going almost full-circle around the island! The dramatic cliffs separating us from the valley and staggeringly different climates still made it feel worlds apart though.

A view of Waimea Canyon from one of the many lookouts.

No trip to Kauai is complete without an obligatory rooster/chicken picture (they are everywhere)... 

Looking down into the Kalalau Valley from the rim of the Waimea Canyon.

Another shot of us with Kalalau Valley in the background.

As for the human history, we visited an incredible engineering feat called the Menehune Ditch. By comparison, the ditch is microscopic to the Waimea Canyon, but it's origin is quite interesting. Like most people, we assumed that the Hawai'ians were the first people to live on the islands of Hawai'i. As it turns out, there were a people called the Menehune inhabiting the islands before them. The irrigation ditch built by the Menehune predates the Hawaiians and was built with faced stone. In comparison, typical Hawai'ian construction methods were just piled up rocks - not cutting them at all. Another interesting feature of this iragation ditch is that its path takes it through solid rock. The tunnel is about fourty feet long and in some places is so small a person can't fit through it. How this tunnel was excavated and how the rocks were faced is still a mystery. On top of all that, the ditch is, amazingly, still in operation! Quite impressive.

An example of faced stones.

A bright flower into a dark tunnel.

 The plaque at the site, 90 years old itself.

The west coast has some killer beaches, too - miles and miles of nothing but sand. There was a very popular beach in Polihale State Park where the sand makes a barking sound as you walk on it (allegedly). Sadly, the park was down a long gravel road, and our rental car was not allowed to go off the pavement. Although we considered defying the rental company rules, we did not; and that was probably a good decision. Later, we read an important part of the contract (yes, this happened the night before we returned the car...who reads them before they sign, anyway?)... apparently they track you by GPS - not cool! We were glad that we had chosen the "better safe than sorry" route on that one.

We are grateful for every experience - both the challenging and the wonderful - that we had in Kaua'i. With its lovely hikes, comfortable homestays, exciting diving, beautiful landscape and relaxed atmosphere, it was the perfect place to begin our journey and transition into "long-term travel mode." Despite our enjoyment of the wonderful island, our time there was finite. We have more places to visit! Next stop... Oahu!