Maui Trip (4) La Perouse bay  

Every time we visit Hawai'i we would bring our inflatable kayak with us. This is not because we are ardent kayakers, or even kayak on a semi-regular basis. In fact we hardly ever kayak in the Foster City lagoon, just off our padio. Maybe we bring our kayak all the way across the Pacific to compensate for this. Our previous Hawaiian kayaking experience had been generally successful -- in Hawai'i: we crossed Kealakekua Bay to snorkel in the crystal clear waters by Captain Cook monument, even spotting dolphins on the way; in Kauai, we paddled up the Wailua River and then hiked to a secluded waterfall.

However our adventure in Maui was affected by a very prominent feature of the island -- constant, strong winds. Normally this is not a problem in the morning, however on that morning, the wind was positive blowing at La Perouse bay, where series of rocky outcrops jutting out to sea forming a jagged shoreline with some of the best snorkelling on the island, all set in the alien landscape of lava -- evidence of the last volcano eruption on Maui. Most visitors hike out on the lava to the points to snorkel. Having hauled our kayak so far we proceeded to set it up and prayed that the wind would ease. Somehow the weather gods were paying attention and by the time we assembled our kayak the wind had die down! So we jumped in and paddled out to sea. It was lovely on the water: the sea was crystal clear, the series of little bays and inlets looked like gems of blue and green and turquoise, the volcano loomed high above the shoreline into the clouds...

We found a protected pool and parked our kayak on the rocks. There we started snorkelling -- from our little pool to the next inlet, then to the next. There were a ton of fish hanging out in the waters, and surprisingly a lot of coral as well. It was like an aquarium.

After we'd done a fair share of snorkelling and ready to go back, we noticed that the wind had returned -- with a vengeance! There were whitecaps all across the bay and even our little pool no longer seemed protected. Still, we bravely pushed our little kayak to sea. We barely made it out of our little bay when Matthew pondered, prophetically: "What would happen if we capsize?" The ocean sensed our doubt and sent bigger waves, and the kayak wavered, and flipped. To me, it was not quite as bad as falling into a class IV rapid (see my upclose and personal encounter), but still pretty unsettling. Whereas Matthew, though a much better swimmer, but having no previous experience of being dumped uncermoniously into choppy water surrounded by rocks, was a little more unnerved by this entry. All we mananged was to right the kayak before it was blown quickly tumbling away from us. Luckily, both the kayak and us were pushed by the waves to the correct direction -- the bay we came out of. As we half swam and were halfed pushed to shore, we realized that we were providing pretty good entertainment for a couple of on-lookers on the shore, who were concerned whether we were OK. We washed up in one (or two) piece, and to my big surprise, when we collected our kayak, the camera was still stuck inside -- after all that tumbling in the waves. We did lose both our snorkels and masks though.

Our Maui kayaking adventure thus ended with a hike: instead of having the kayak carry us back, we deflated the it right on the spot and carryed it back. We had a rather relaxing afternoon lazing around Big Beach, a beautiful stretch of sand a bit up the coast. At home, we enjoyed another splendid sunset on the beach.

The next morning we came back to La Perouse Bay, this time with Chantal, and we were hiking instead of kayaking. Ironically the water here was exceptionally calm on this day. The snorkelling was exceptional (though a bit cold, I have to say this about the waters in Hawai'i).

Then it was almost time to leave. We packed up, strolled the streets of Lahaina, had an enormous "Big Kahuna" icecream cake... It was a pretty action-packed week, and a lot of fun. We were a little sad to go, but we are planning to come back, some day.

The last installment of Maui pictures: Day 5 and 6.

posted by cat 5:07 下午 留言/

Maui Trip (3) Road to Hana and beyond  

The famed "Road to Hana" was touted as a "must see" in every travel guide to Maui. So naturally we had to see it. The winding highway hugging the lush side of the island was certainly pretty, but in our opinion, a bit overrated. It was also the dry season and the many waterfalls along the road were on the dry side. Had it not been so heavily publicized it might have remained more of a gem, but now with tourists at every turn out, it has somewhat lost its charms. A prime example of this tourist invasion was the black sand beach by Hana, a lovely beach littered with fat tourists the size of hippos, many of whom were sporting ziplock bags, which they proceeded to fill with the black sand on the beach as proof that they had made it there. It was a really sad scene.

We were rather disheartened by this. However, after the town of Hana (where the "Road to Hana" officially ended) things started to look up. A pleasant surprise awaited us at the red sand beach -- after the black sand beach we weren't really holding out much hope for this one -- which though not exactly secluded, was thankfully off the beaten track. This turned out to be a gorgeous corner of sand tucked under a dramatic dark reddish cliff, set off by the trademark blue color of the Hawaiian sea. The unique thing about this beach is not that it is favoured by nudists (some very good looking ones too), but that it is protected by a natural wall of volcanic rocks, so that while the ocean is raging outside the barrier, it is calm and perfect for swimming inside. The scenery was stunning and so surreal that it looked like it was computer-generated (think Lord of the Rings).

Going further down the coast we reached the O'heo Gulch (or better known as the "seven sacred pools" for marketing purposes), a series of waterfalls and pools flowing to the sea, located in the Haleakala National Park. Here we hiked along the Pipiwai trail, which follows the stream uphill, through a bamboo forest, to the 400-foot Waimoku falls. Having never seen a bamboo forest before we were awed by the sight -- the bamboo trees grow so tightly that it was dark in the forest even in mid afternoon, and the sound of swaying bamboo was different from anything we'd heard. It was, I have to agree with one description from a guidebook, "eerily beautiful". We were reminded of the movie "Crouching tiger, hidden draggon" where Kungfu masters show off their skills by walking and fighting on bamboos. Matthew tried to reenact the scene by climbing the bamboo tree, though the result resembled more ape than kungfu master.

Leaving bamboo forests and waterfalls, we continue on our clockwise rounding of the island, and soon left the lushness behind as well. The road turned to gravel, as the scenery became dry and rugged -- arid grassland and shrubs backed by scrubby looking mountains. We could be on the California coast. This is the part of the island least travelled. We watched another Hawaiian sunset, this time on the high country.

Here are the photos:Day 5: Road to Hana and beyond.

posted by cat 2:00 下午 留言/

Eugene's new apartment  

Adress: 中国上海中谭路100弄330号1202室
Mobile: 86-136-6187-2960
I am still renovating my new home, and expect to move in this coming Oct. The new phone has not been installed yet. My mom is also buying her apartment nearby. Two apartments at Ping Jiang Road were sold, so she currently lives at Qing Zhen Road.

posted by Yucheng 6:52 下午 留言/

Maui Trip (2) High up the mountain, and down in the sea  

Day 3: We set a new record this morning -- by getting up at 3am! In the predawn darkness we drove up the volcano Haleakala, and due to the traffic jam (I'm not kidding!) we arrived at the summit just in time for the sunrise. At 10,000 feet, the temperature is 30 degrees (F) lower than at sea level. But we came prepared by putting on as many layers of clothing as possible. Standing at the summit surrounded by a sea of clouds, it felt like we were on an airplane at cruising height, except we were in open air! There was no land in sight except for the two big volcanos that is the big island of Hawai'i (over 13,000 feet high). I became aware of how wonderfully isolated we were geographically -- the most isolated island chain on earth. We were a tiny tiny dot in the vast Pacific ocean. The sunrise was magnificent, with the clouds constantly shifting in shape and color.

Surpringly, almost everyone left the minute the sun rose, leaving us with the crater to ourselves. We hiked briefly on the Sliding Sands Trail, a path curving down the desolate slope of the Volcano. It resembled a Mars scape: vast, jagged, an endless scene of red sand and rocks, empty of humans and most plant life. After the hike (more like a walk), we rewarded ourselves with 1). a nap in the car; 2). a delicious breakfast at the Kula Lodge; 3). a visit to the Lavender Farm.

Leaving high country, we dropped by the windsufing mecca -- Ho'okipa beach -- to watch the pros brave the waves. The wind was blowing like hell here (actually it was everywhere on the island but especially here) and the waves were high. Having briefly tried my hands at windsurfing on our placid lagoon back home in Foster City (we do have lots of wind here though), I could not even imagine how hard it would be to do it here. I could only gaze in wonder at these people. They zoom across the waves like dragonflies, so beautiful and effortless. Well, another life time, maybe.

Day 4: The day of diving, we were all a bit nervous: Chantal was getting certified, and we had not dived for over 2 years. But all was good and fun below the surface: we saw turtles, sharks, and various eels; an octopus sucked on my fingers; I even got my teeth examined by a cleaner shrimp!

Here are the photos: Day 3 and Day 4

posted by cat 5:34 下午 留言/

Maui Trip (1) Playing in the Water  

It's been two weeks since we came back from Maui, but it feels a lot longer. I miss waking up to the sound of waves, the blue blue water teeming with fish... Luckily the weather has been hot in the Bay Area since we came back, which somewhat created the illusion that we were not that far from Hawai'i (it's usually way too cool here in the summer).

Maui is the third Hawain island we have visited, and it did not disappoint. Amazingly, each of these island is quite different. As the second largest of the group, Maui has a varied landscape, ranging from the arid moonscape (or Mars scape, more acurately) or the volcano Haleakala at 10,000 feet high, to lush valleys with many waterfalls, bamboo forests, to its numerous beaches. For water lovers like us, the water around Maui provied excellent snorkelling.

One attribute distinguishes Maui from the others: it is surrounded closely by other islands, whose names are so charming that I must list here: Molokai to the northwest, Lanai to the west, Kaho'olawe and the tiny cater of Molokini to the southwest, and Hawai'i the big island to the south. Wherever you are on the south and west coast you can always see at least one other island, which for some reason feels pretty cool. Another fact is that it is always VERY windy in the afternoons here. This has its pros and cons -- it limited many water activities to the morning, but has an astounding side effect that suits me well enough: I did not see even one single mosquito on the island!

Anyways, here are some photos from the first two days:
Day 1 and Day 2: Playing in the water

to be continued...

posted by cat 10:07 上午 留言/