Aloha friends! I've decided to put up one English and one French post about my marvelous trip to Maui, Hawai'i for my Uncles' wedding.
It already feels like a lifetime ago. I woke up at 3 am and cried out of exhaustion at the breakfast table prior to boarding a plane at 6 am. My family was hysterical as tears came down my face. I was unable to put the darn spoon of cereal in my mouth and instead of trying harder, I cried. Like a three year old.
A full 14 hours later we arrived to the sway of the palm trees, warmth of the sun, and beautiful, friendly staff at the Four Seasons. When we pulled up four guys came out to help us out of our rented car. My sister and I refused to put all of our bags on the luggage cart, giggled when we were given cold cucumber towels, and then shook our heads in disbelief when, only five seconds later, we were greeted with ginger mint lemonade and fresh pineapple. Clearly we are not frequent guests at the Four Seasons. However, we did get quite used to the infinity pool, the constant pampering, and our enormous marble bathroom.
My whole family is still in disbelief that the trip is over. After a full year of planning, anticipation, and excitement, my two uncles are finally married (or shall we say, "maui'ied.") I think it's safe to say that we all are starting to save up again to go back for an anniversary reunion. What made everything so memorable was the fact that we had 50 of our closest friends and family together in one beautiful, spiritual place.
Here are a few of my favorite moments spent in Maui. Enjoy!
Each and every sunset was an amazing experience. The clouds are talented in Hawai'i.
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| Sunset from my Uncle Ned's rented condo in Lahaina |
On Wednesday, twenty of us went on a whale watch and then later to a magic show. On our way to the Lahaina harbor, we came across this lovely sight: a banyan tree. Lahaina is home to one of the largest banyan trees in the USA. It was imported from Indian and planted in 1873 in order to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Lahaina's first Christian mission. According to one of the tourist maps I picked up at the airport, the tree measures 60 ft tall and 200 ft wide. "Perfect for Kani Ka Pila- relaxation, gathering, and playing music."
Fun fact: In 1845, Hawai'i's capital moved from Lahaina to Honolulu.
In Hawai'ian, whale is "kohola." Boy, oh boy, did we see a lot of cool kohola! Apparently we came at just the right time to see the enormous mammals return to the warm waters of Hawai'i to bred, give birth, and reclaim the volcanic islands as their homes for a few months. All of the babies, as a result, are "kamaaina" or native-born. Fun fact: Humpback whales travels over 3,000 miles from Alaska to Hawai'i.
On our whale watch tour we were lucky enough to encounter quite a few mother-daughter dyads, escorts, and singers. The baby humpback whales follow their mothers around the outskirts of Hawai'i, nursing and learning how to protect themselves from the dangers of the Alaskan waters.
According to our Captain (Lee), whale milk is half fat. Yuck! By the time the whales are ready to leave Hawai'i, the babies typically weigh a total of 2 tons.
We saw a ton of mothers, babies, and escorts flap their fins and surface their dorsal fins out of the water. We also were able to listen to some of the male singers with the help of an underwater microphone. A few of us jumped into the water to hear it first hand!
After a freezing but absolutely amazing sunrise (vertical rainbows, double sunrise, and an intense cloud show), we biked down the summit. By biked, I really mean hit the breaks on our bikes; We reached up to 40 mph at some points. Our guide pretty much just let us free at the top and we all hoped for the best.
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| Good morning moon! |
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| Double sunrise |
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| Vertical Rainbow |
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| Beach on the north shore, outside of Mama's Fish House |
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| The Sugar Museum, home of the only remaining plantation worker quarters. |
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| Giant retired crane that used to pick up sugar cane in the fields |
As they say in Hawai'i, A hui hou kakou!
