Maui '09

ABOVE: Yes, that is a real sunset that I photographed at Lahaina in Maui

Having resisted my wife's entreaties for a Hawaiian vacation for years, I finally relented and we spent the last 10 days exploring the wonderful world of Maui. I don't take vacations to relax, so we filled those ten days with snorkeling, hiking, helicopter rides, charters to surrounding islands, driving to every corner of the island, beaches, luau, etc. First things first, I ate snow cones (sorry, "Hawaiian shaved ice," please notice blue color) almost every day:


It is a cliche to say, but Maui is a fascinating, fun and beautiful place. For such a small island, the variety and microclimates are astounding. Perfect beaches (of course), rainforest, desert, volcanoes. It is hard to summarize the trip, but some highlights include...

* We took a daylong snorkel trip out to the neighboring island of Lanai on a catamaran. On the way back, a pod of dolphins decided to swim along with us. As we were cruising back, I got on my stomach and leaned over the front of the boat and took this shot, mere feet away from the dolphins.


* While snorkeling at Napili resort beach (the thing about resorts in Maui: the security is not very tight. My wife and I stayed at a reasonable hotel in South Maui, but we were able to stroll into several Maui resorts and used their facilities mostly with ease, we only got caught once in our ten days over there). Anyway, while I was snorkeling at Napili, I was swimming over some nice coral and looking at the fish, when this very large shape swims right under me. Once I realized that it wasn't a shark, I saw that it was a huge sea turtle. I followed her for what seemed like 30 minutes. She was unafraid, and I got about two feet from her (but did not touch, sea turtles will allow you to touch them but you shouldn't, because they can get very sick from human disease from just a touch).

* The road to Hana town is one of the more famous drives in the world. A gorgeous drive down a winding road through Hawaiian rain forest, it is the best example of "it's about the journey, not the destination" that I can think of. Pull off the road virtually anywhere along the way, and you can hike into the rainforest and find a cool waterfall to take a swim in. On one of our hikes, we went into a bamboo forest that was gorgeous. It is a wonderful and haunting sound of the wind blowing and the bamboo creaking all around you.


* If you drive past Hana, there is a beach on the southern tip of Maui called Hermoa Beach. The best, most intense waves I've ever been in. My wife and I did some body surfing and boogie boarding there, and it is not for the faint of heart. Freaking amazing.

* Of course, I had to explore some Hawaiian music while I was there. My wife and I discovered the music of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole (or "Iz" for short). He is deceased, but he was a Hawaiian national hero of sorts. A huge man, known to most of you probably for his popular ukelele rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" that has appeared in several movies. I highly recommend his album Facing Future from 1993, the highest selling album in Hawaiian history. It features "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," of course, but is beautiful from start to finish. Other highlights include the romantic "White Sandy Beach of Hawai'i", the fun "Maui Hawaiian Sup'pa Man" (in Hawaii, rap boasts center around fishing prowess) and the haunting "Hawai'i '78", which is an anthem of sorts for the still potent Hawaiian sovereignty movement.

ABOVE: Here is the cheesy but touching music video for Iz's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," near the end is footage of his funeral celebration and his ashes being dumped into the Pacific

Lots more to tell, but those were some highlights. My wife and I had a fabulous time.


ABOVE: Dez with some lovely Polynesian ladies (wife of Dez took the photo)


ABOVE: Here's a shot of the Maui coast that Dez took from a helicopter tour. Not a highlight of the trip, because Dez sometimes gets motion sickness.


ABOVE: Dez, Wife of Dez and the supercool John, our kayak guide. John took us out in the waters off of Wailea. We came across about 10 sea turtles, so we anchored the kayaks, put on the snorkel gear and dove in with them.