Mahalo Maui

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.

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!

Towards the end of our vacation, my family went up to Haleakala to watch the sunrise. A mere 10,023 feet up in the air, life on the eastern Maui volcanic "crater" is a lot colder. It was about 34 degrees once we reached the top. According to an ancient legend, Haleakala was home to the grandmother of the demigod Maui. She apparently helped him try to capture the sun. The sun agreed to move slower across the sky, lengthening daytime.

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.

Good morning moon!

Double sunrise

Vertical Rainbow

 

Halfway down we stopped for breakfast before continuing our trek down they curvy highway. It is no wonder they call Hawai'i the rainbow state!

The second place my family stayed at, Mama's Fish House, was right down the street from Paia, the old sugar plantation town. The plantations officially closed in 2000. Over 20% of the island lived here back in the 1900's. Immigrant workers came from China, Japan, Africa, and Portugal.

Beach on the north shore, outside of Mama's Fish House

The Sugar Museum, home of the only remaining plantation worker quarters.

Giant retired crane that used to pick up sugar cane in the fields

After shopping in Paia, we went to Ho'okipa beach to watch the surfers catch some waves.  My camera can only zoom so much, but I got what I could. The paddle boarder had a hard time getting back out to the waves, but boy could he wave them back into shore.

As they say in Hawai'i, A hui hou kakou!