Tuesday February 7
Blue Pool/Oheo Pools/Hana Area Beaches

Woke up early and watched the sunrise with fresh java and papaya from my lanai. Took a stroll to the black sand beach for a mini yoga stretch. It was so warm I was almost tempted to jump in at 8 am.




Found some homemade banana bread in a roadside stand with a box to pay on the honor system. Yummm! Then back tracked a bit up the road to the Blue Pool. Crazy drive down a crazy road to a parking area full of crazy dogs. Actually they were quite nice dogs probably had been feed quite a bit of leftover picnic in the past.

A short walk down to the beach and one of the most amazing sites I have ever seen. A plunging waterfall spills into a pool of fresh water with the ocean right behind. The water was not cold. Nothing in Maui is cold, not the ocean not the fresh water! This pool is obviously sacred.


Picked up a hitchhiker (hey the CD told me to! I always do what the CD says). It was a little old lady on her way to the store for pet food. Apparently hitchhiking is the only mode of public transportation in Hana. It was a nice opportunity to chat with a local. Apparently, she doesn't like the Humane Society, they only take puppies according to her. Whereas, she takes in lots of hungry dogs and nurses them back to health (thus the trip for dog food). Sweet lady.

Went down the last leg of the Hana Highway to the Oheau pools. It was picturesque and the pools are great for a dip. They are a series of stream feed pools on the coarse to the ocean. However, it was teeming with tourists and I think it's a place where if you've seen it once, that's enough.



Headed back to Hana and stopped at Hamoa Beach which is so beautiful. This is the beach you picture when you think of a perfect Hawaiian beach. Light blue water, white sand, palm trees leaning at just the right angle and water so warm. The swimming was great and there were a few surfers and they were all girls!







Drove down the road to Koki Beach and watch a group of boy surfers in the stronger waves.








Wrapped it all up with my most favorite beach of them all. This is the place I would hang out at if I lived in Hana, Red Sand Beach. It's remote, off the beaten track, and you have to hike in. It's all red lava rock sand in this cove with a protective ring of lava rock making a pool for swimming. I love red rock.

I had the beach to myself for at least a half hour. I was already out of the water and contemplating dinner when a large tour descended down the trail. What? Who is this? It's my friends from the Banana Bungalow! Howdy, guys! Bye guys! One of the cool things about the Banana Bungalow is that they take groups of hostellers on free tours around the island. It's very cool but I'm just not a big group tour type of person.

Stopped on the hike out of the Red Sand Beach at a Japanese hillside cemetery. Many of the markers were just lava rock worn down from years of sea air and storm. That is the place to live out the rest of eternity!