Sunday February 5
Wailuku/Ma'alaea/'Iao Valley

Up way before everybody else in the hostel (surprise?). Beeline to Maui Coffee Roasters-interesting tidbit-most coffee/café's are closed on Sundays and even Maui Coffee Roasters didn't open until 8 am (7am on weekdays!). This is obviously a culture that doesn't require liquid sunshine in a 20 ounce cup with two splenda and a little non-fat milk, please; to get their days started. Maui Coffee Roasters makes a mean cuppa and it's cheap by Hawaiian standards. They roast local beans and you can actually buy online http://www.hawaiiancoffee.com/. I also have to hand it to them, they seem to be the only cafe on Maui with free wireless. Come on, bros! Get wit de program!

After posting my first ever blog entry, drove to the very windy harbor of Ma'alaea Harbor to the Maui Ocean Center. Yes, I'm the dork with the black audio set standing enthralled as I learn that: a baby whale drinks on average 50-100 gallons of milk A DAY from it's mother who is fasting for a MONTH after delivery (pretty harsh way to loose that baby fat if you ask me!); jellyfish have no brains (duh!); green turtles are that way because of the green algae they eat (you are what you eat!) and are being successfully breed in captivity in Hawaii and their only predators are sharks and humans (see the company we keep?); coral reefs are fragile and in jeopardy-there are divers who go out and harvest broken coral and bring it back to the Maui Ocean Center to grow it into mature coral and then release it back into the ocean. Fly and be free pretty coral! mauioceancenter.com






The displays at Maui Ocean Center are beautiful and it's definitely a great place to learn about the reef systems prior to snorkeling. Now I'll have some idea of what I'm looking at instead of, "ooooh fishy, pretty, pretty fishies" it will be, "huh, that looks like a tiger shark, no . . . YUP, that's a tiger shark. Oh SHIT! Swim, swim, swim! Don't look like a seal, don't look like a seal!"

Next, back to the Bungalow for recharging. Both me and my camera. A little hammock time and off to 'Iao Valley for a hike. First a brief stop at Kepaniwai Heritage Park where a strolling path leads past wonderful little houses built to pay homage to the different cultures that have contributed to Maui culture.











Up the road is the amazing Iao Needle, a basalt core monument. At the top of the paved path you hop over the railing and follow the path up to the Tablelands. I had no idea where I was headed and the foliage was so dense I was having thoughts such as, "They don't have snakes in Hawaii, right?" and "No one knows I'm up here, what was I thinking?"

I did pass a few other hikers on my way and that was reassuring. It was a peaceful hike and I could see why the area was considered a spiritual place; a burial place of kings; and one where commoners were not allowed to journey in Maui's past. From the photos you can see why it is known as the "Valley of Dawning Inspiration" and "Supreme Light"





There was also time to contemplate the story that in 1790 Kamehameha I killed so many trapped Maui warriors in the valley, the subsequent slaughter of the cornered men lead to the waters of Iao stream running red with their blood and the area being called Kepaniwai (Water Dam) from the trapped bodies in the stream.

Once I reached the Tablelands I was able to watch the sunset behind the mountains and the clouds from the rain the previous day made for some magical scenes. It was definitely worth the almost entirely uphill hike, oi my achin' calves.







When I got to the car to go, I noticed two women opening cans and cans of cat food. As I drove off I could see them surrounded by what had to have been fifty or so feral cats. Driving down the Valley I began to see cats everywhere. Literally! They must have been dumped sometime in the past and have gotten out of control. They almost seemed to be the only wildlife out there. As the hostel maintenance guy said, "Ya, and there aren't any coyotes here to keep them down." Pleasant thought.

Drove back out to Ma'alaea for a yummy Ahi fish and chips with mango sauce harbor side and live music that seemed to be Hawaiian jazz with bongo drum. Hung out a bit with my fellow hostellers in the Jacuzzi with my Hawaii microbrew and became unconscious very soon after.

Banana Bungalow: Worst thing: decrepit (though cleanish) bathrooms and (oh, lord) no supplied hand soap in the bathrooms (come on! communal living and no HAND SOAP?). Best things: Rooms less than $50 bucks in Hawaii; hammocks; banana trees with bananas actually growing in them; and their garbage dumpster breeds Praying Mantises.