Day 4: Tuesday, June 5, 2001
Hiking the Na Pali coast

View from Na Pali Coast Trail

Today we decided to hike the Na Pali coast. It turned out to be a beautiful day, warm and sunny, no rain, the only day like that as it turned out. On the drive up, we stopped at Banana Joes to get a smoothie. This one was $3.50 and wasn't as good as the one at Pualani's in Waimea, but still good. After we continued past Hanalei, the road got very narrow and windy. Along the way were some beaches and some areas with houses along the coast, many on stilts. I guess they get some flooding there. Eventually we made it to the very end, where there was a parking lot that had just filled up with the car in front of us. We had to park back a few hundred yards in an extra parking lot.

Walendo's muddy feet

We decided to hike unencumbered, so we didn't bring water or my big camera. We just had the digital Elph. The trail rises up quickly, giving some gorgeous views of the lush and tropical coast. The green-covered mountains jut straight out of the aqua water with a few white beaches scattered along the coast. The trail is again that dark red clay-like soil, and it gets muddy in places. Walendo hiked in his Tevas but I was in sneakers, so I stepped my way more carefully than he. His feet got pretty muddy, so occasionally when we passed a stream, he'd splash his way through, glad for the cooling water on his feet.

Walendo and Ellen on the Na Pali Coast Trail

The trail was fairly busy, a little too crowded at the start, but then it quickly thinned out as we walked. At one point, we kept trading the lead with two women, each of us stopping to take pictures at different spots. Of course Walendo offered to take a picture of the two of them, and they returned the favor. They seemed very friendly. (With the digital camera, we were able to see the pictures they took right way, which was pretty cool.) After about 2 miles the trail drops down sharply to a lovely beach.

Rock piles at Na Pali Coast beach

There's a rocky stream just before you get to the beach, followed by a rocky area. People had made lots of little rock piles that created an interesting effect. We encountered about a half dozen little kittens along the rocks, one of them even let me pet it. Sweeties.

Ellen playing in waves at Na Pali Coast beach

We walked out onto the beach, heading over to the less crowded side. We kicked off our shoes and went into the water. It was so warm, it felt great! The waves were pretty big, so I played around, getting splashed by them and then rushing back to the shore. It felt like being a kid again. There had been signs along the way naming people who had been killed by the strong undertow, so we didn't go in very far. After a while of playing, we relaxed on the rocks and soaked in the sun. Ahhh.

Ellen modelling Walendo's rockpile masterpiece

Walendo decided to add a rock pile, but he did it Walendo style. He started with a huge boulder and dragged a big rock on top of it. He could barely lift it. Then we piled about five more rocks on top, making it a big, tall pile. He found a plastic fin in the sand, so we put that on top. We also collected a few rocks for our travel fountain. After relaxing in the sun for a while, we finally decided to head back. There's a trail that goes to a waterfall or you can keep going on the coast trail, but this seemed like enough. Most people probably only go to the beach and back.

endo resting on the Na Pali Coast Trail

It had gotten hotter as the day wore on, and it seemed like there were little "hot spots" along the way that got very humid. We were regretting not bringing any water. Walendo was breathing heavier and making more grumbling noises, but still he plugged away. Here's his description of the trail: "Up, up, down, up, flat, up, up, down, down, down." Toward the end, a breeze kicked up and he was very happy. He volunteered to take a picture of an older couple, most likely just wanting the rest. The woman said they had hiked this trail 31 years before and were back for their anniversary. That was funny because back at the beach, I'd said we should come back in 30 years and do this again. Eventually we made it back after a total of four hours.

Another view from Na Pali Coast Trail

We decided to head back to a little store that had a sign saying "Last Chance," presumably to buy stuff. It mostly had packaged stuff, but they made smoothies, so I got one. This one was $4 and it was only okay. I guess they get less good as the price goes up. Walendo spent $6 for a packaged ham and cheese sandwich, chips and Gatorade. It sure ain't cheap here. We decided to hang out at one of the beaches we'd passed, since the weather was so nice and beaches looked really nice. We turned back toward the end of the road and stopped at one of the main beaches. We grabbed the stuff we'd brought in the car and headed out to the sand. Soon I realized I'd forgotten to reapply sun block and so wanted to go back and get it. Walendo hadn't brought his bathing suit, and he was feeling a little uncomfortable, so we decided just to head back. Maybe we'd hang out at the beach near our condo.

Another shot of the Na Pali Coast trail

On the way back, we stopped in Princeville to pick up the flag we'd seen, since we hadn't seen anything else like it. We decided we'd eat in at the condo that night, so in Kapa'a we stopped at a fruit stand and got some corn. It was advertised as fresh, but it was sold in bags of six so it's not clear. They weren't very big, either, which surprised me. Maybe they don't grow on the island at all -- we hadn't seen any corn fields. Walendo picked up a roast chicken at Safeway (maybe it was one of the colorful ones we'd seen around!) and then we went to Blockbuster to rent a movie. We prefer not to give them our business and haven't for a long time, but this was the only one around. It was just a slow and overpriced as I'd remembered. Oh well. We got "Duets" and "What Women Want."

Back at the condo, I made myself a broiled cheese with tomato sandwich, which Walendo wouldn't allow me to call a grilled cheese sandwich. He had his chicken and we both had the corn. One stalk was dried up but the rest were pretty good. We played Go for a little while but then discovered that we really couldn't remember the rules and the instructions were translated from Japanese by someone who barely knew English, so they were of little help. Oh well. Later Walendo went on the Web and found a site that had instructions and a little tutorial on strategy. We discovered that we had, indeed, not known the rules.

We watched "What Women Want," which was interesting, but not as good as it could have been. Somewhere along the line Walendo had picked up a splinter in his foot. I had brought a sewing kit and had tweezers, so we just needed matches to sterilize the needle. I walked across the street to the Shell station to get some, very convenient. I tried getting it out but mostly ripped up the bottom of his foot. I don't think I got it, but he said it felt better.

We decided to upload the pictures we'd taken so far. It was fun to see what we'd done so far. Digital cameras rule.

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