Magnificent Maui - Day One

After checking into our Maalaea Airbnb condo, we went straight to bed. 

The next day, I got up before the sun. It was so peaceful in the lanai ( that's what a balcony is called in Hawaii ), watching the sun bathe the land, and the birds & surf providing the symphony.



One of the reasons behind us booking a condo was so we could make our own meals. I had read about local farmers markets. The one we went to was in Kihei, about a mile away. Fresh fruits and veggies galore! Try not to load up on your first visit to the market. You can always go back for more. We ended up throwing our Leechies 'coz we couldn’t finish them. 

A plateful of fresh goodness

The morning was spent eating, reading and napping. I think it important to have some serious downtime. After all, we have to get used to island time,   man.

We spent the afternoon in IaoValley State Park. The crowning glory of the park is the Iao needle, an outcrop of rock. You can pretty much see it from the parking lot, but to get a better feel for the state park, walk up the steps to a lookout point.

K to the needle

When we went, there was a local tour group where the guide was chanting in Hawaiian. Which is understandable since the Iao valley has religious and historical significance to the Hawaiians. When there's a private or semi private spiritual event going on, I find it wrong to record it without permission. So the Hawaiian chant remains in my being.  But you can listen to the chatter and banter of little tourists below. :) 


After taking pictures, mostly of me, and getting lightly misted by the rain, we walked down to the Iao stream. It was peaceful listening to the kalkal of the water and thinking of a bygone era.


There's nothing much else to do at Iao Valley. I do recommend visiting though. It's a gentle intro to Hawaiian culture.

We drove up to Lahaina for the evening. The drive was lovely! The Pacific on the left, & volcanic mountains on the right. I had downloaded Hawaiian music, but K didn’t enjoy it. So we ended up listening to a lot of Bollywood music. I bow to the supreme driver and Katrina Kaif.

One of the unique things about Lahaina was the huuuuge Banyan tree in downtown. It was brought from India in 1873. I felt at home & a little homesick, under it’s branches.


I liked Front Street. It's Lahaina's downtown hugging the coastline. One of the things on my list was to slurp on an Hawaiian snow cone. It's along the same principle as an Indian Gola, but much softer. I grabbed mine from Local Boys Shave Ice. 

issslluurrpp

Lahaina was where I did most of my shopping. You can get your kitchy touristy-made-somewhere-else stuff, but I love buying locally made, especially jewelry! I got this cute bracelet made out of real Maui coffee beans and Tagua nut.
  

In case of emergency, break a bean 

You will see local artists working on the sidewalks of Front Street. Buying from them is money well spent. I chatted with Ashton Silliton Tulaimejuta, from Ancient Hawaiian Jewelry, who played the Ukelele for me. It was Maui Magic, with Ashton singing and the sun settling down.  


Ashton not only sold a beautiful handmade cow bone Koru pendant necklace to me, but also suggested a place for dinner. 

Lahaina Fish Co. on Front Street is a wonderful place for a meal. It’s on the ocean, so try to get a table as close to the balcony as you can. And go close to sunset. You'll get to see this -

The sun was setting and I was happily stuffing my face with the most delicious raw tuna tacos.

Order the tuna tacos. You'll thank me fo sho.

We ended the day happy, well fed and content. Praise the Lord!