They say Kaui is the most beautiful of all the Hawai’ian islands. I would be tempted to agree with that statement.
They filed the Jurassic Park here, and you can see why – it looks like another world the deeper you drive into the island.
Four of us took a taxi from the port; since the free shuttles proved somewhat disorganized, and since we always have to give priority to guests on said shuttles (understandably so), it was unlikely that if we hadn’t gone for a cab we may not have gotten anywhere at all!). Split between four people the fare to one of the most popular beaches on the island didn’t work out to that much, and it was so worth it.
Miles and miles of brown-sugar sand and not a passenger (or heck, even another crew member) in sight as far as the eye could see. And the surf I have never seen waves like that, except in the movies. There were monk seals just lounging on the beach, like they owned the place – which they may as well have, as they are an endangered species and it was two staff member’s job to continually move the fences around them to see that they were not disturbed in any way.
We rented snorkel gear for the day and plunged into the Hawai’ian surf like kids. I too often forget just how much I love snorkeling. I don’t get to do it often enough. There is nothing but peace under the water, all you can hear is the sound of your own breathing, and below you is a whole other world. The colours…fish in all the colours of the rainbow, flashing through the murky sand-choked visibility (kicked up by the high current) in rose pinks and neon yellows, even pitch black, like living jewels in the water. This was one of those days where – despite the poor visibility – I was grateful for my underwater camera. I was also grateful to have Amras next to me, as snorkeling requires me to take off my glasses and without someone alongside me I would miss so much, not to mention I’d risk getting lost!
I will also admit that I’m a bit nervous in high surf, much as I trust the mamma ocean, you’d be a fool to underestimate her power, and the rip tides around the beaches here are fierce. Since I don’t weigh much and I’m not as strong a swimmer as I’d like to be, keeping someone next to me was a good idea.
Once we’d had our fill of surf, we packed up the beach towel and headed to the beach-side resort for lunch, from the patio of the restaurant we could see the surfers riding the waves just off shore. One of these days that’s something else I wouldn’t mind checking off my bucket list. Not this day though.
There are days when this job takes everything out of you…and doesn’t often seem to give much back; then there are days when you have the sun on your face, and the taste of the sea still on your skin, and really really good friends…those days, make a lot of things worthwhile out here.