Sunday, December 27, 2009

Maui Report, Installment 5

Aloha on this fine Sunday morning from the Valley Isle. We're up late this morning as we were up late last nite at the Magic and Comedy Show "Warren and Annabelle's". It was fun. Neither Ingi nor I are usually much for magic, but this intimate setting (78 chairs) of sleight of hand performance was neat. No big disappearing tigers or women being cut in half. Card tricks, coin tricks, hat tricks, jokes. Warren is great with a crowd, and made us all laugh. He even managed to make fun of people in the crowd without being shaming, which I think is quite a feat. He asked people to shout out where they were from and we heard a "Kennewick, Washington" (another small world encounter) and when Ingi declared Reykjavik, Iceland, it stopped old Warren in his routine. He said he'd never had anyone in the crowd (in 20 years) from Iceland. It is so very interesting to travel with Ingi. We give this show a thumbs up.

We walked around a bustling Lahaina after Warren and Annabelle's (Annabelle is a ghost who plays the piano) -- Ingi remarked that it felt like a little Las Vegas. Not all, but most shops open quite late, lots of aloha greetings, many things to enchant and separate one from one's money. And then to come home to a lanai right on the Pacific, not see a soul, and hear only the waves as they break was a 180 in terms of environment. One of the things I love about travel is the shift in consciousness that comes along with a new locale. I feel more aware of my body in different ways here -- I'm consistently warmed up, I'm always sweating or on the edge of a sweat unless I'm in the pool, my skin feels moist and salty much of the time. My face is a bit tingly because of the sun (no burn, just pink) and I'm nursing a few blisters on my feet. None of this is uncomfortable for me, and in fact, my body seems to like the tropics quite a bit, blisters be damned.

The last couple of days have been quiet and slow for us. On Friday we drove up north to the resort areas of Ka'anapali, Honokowai, Kahana, and Napili. On the map it looks like a fair distance, but it's only maybe 25 miles from Lahaina (which sits near the middle left coast of the island) to the top of the island. We saw the beautiful Ka'anapali Golf Course and walked around the big resorts, stopping at the much touted Whaler's Village Shopping Center. Whaler's Village is populated by upscale shops and restaurants in a beautiful setting on a lovely long beach. However, what impacted Ingi and me the most was how many people there were everywhere. This shopping center has it's share of empty stores also, yet this was the first real crowd we felt we were in and I didn't like it. I can imagine that my feelings are just a shadow of what indigenous Hawaiians may experience as they watch the throngs of tourists slam onto their beaches and build their mega resorts. We had enough after about two hours and we slunk over to the ABC store to buy something to get our parking validated so we could avoid the $2 per 30 minute parking fee. I know everybody has their own financial boundaries, and mine are often drawn around when I feel I'm being nickled and dimed. We learned that at these expensive resorts that it costs extra to get a sun umbrella or a beach chair and that you have to pay rent on a beach towel. I just think if they're going to charge you over $300 a nite they could throw in some big towels and sun protection. And there were signs all around Whaler's Village that this was a no parking zone for beach go-ers -- shoppers only should leave their vehicles there. Sheesh. Doesn't sound very aloha to me. At any rate, our drive revealed many little tucked away smallish condo buildings that cater to tourists who like a smaller, more personal environment -- many names I recognized from my hours and hours of investigation on Vacation Rental by Owner (vrbo.com) when I started planning this trip in 2007. Napili Point, Honokeana Cove, Kahana Sunset, The Mauian. All sound wonderful, eh? The Hawaiian language is so melodious to me.

We had a more positive impression when we drove south and east yesterday. We saddled up the yeppi and trotted down the coast to Kihei (pron. Keyhay) and Wailea. I had originally looked at staying at Kihei, but for some reason I can't remember now, we ended up in Lahaina. We quite liked Kihei as we travelled through. We didn't stop there long, but saw many lovely beaches and altho there were some butt ugly large prisonish looking resorts that were probably built in the 60's and 70's there were also lots of sweet low rise buildings and areas with local crafts fairs. We got a good feel for Kihei, and then a great feel of Wailea. Wailea, like Ka'anapali, has some big destination resorts, but somehow in our opinion they pull it off better. We walked around the Grand Wailea Shops, parked in their FREE parking, and were welcomed into the fancy art galleries with warm aloha. For those of you who've ever been to Princeville on Kauai'i, you'll get a feel for Wailea. Beautiful grounds. Lovely vistas of the sea. Warm breezes and muted tones of people talking or soft music playing. We wandered in and out of galleries with absolutely gorgeous art and salivated over the colors and textures of Hawaiian paintings, crafts, and sculpture. A feast for the senses. This whole island is a feast -- everywhere you look there are rich colors and a variety of sounds and textures to take in. Sometimes I think I need to sleep just to block out the sensory overload. Maybe there can be too much of a good thing!

Before we went into Lahaina yesterday, we stopped by a little beach restaurant for food -- The Aloha Mixed Plate. The following is from their menu: "In the early days of the sugar plantations, lunch was a simple affair. Plantation workers gathered in the fields for their mid-day meal. The Japanese laborers would bring teriyaki beef with rice and pickled vegetables. Seated next to them might be their Filipino neighbors with the traditional dish adobo or perhaps a pork or chicken stew. The Koreans had their kalbi or marinated ribs and the Chinese a rice noodle and vegetable dish called chow fun. Hawaiians were known for their kalua pig, roasted in an undergound oven called an imu. It wasn't long before they began to share their foods with one another and the mixed plate was born." Rice and macaroni salad accompanies the savory meat dishes to provide the backdrop for the distinctive flavors. Suffice it to say, it was yummy yummy and they also soothed my environmental sensibilities when I learned that altho they use paper plates and lots of other paper products, they are all biodegradable. They call it "Malama Aina" which means to care for the land and environment. Good on 'em. I'm sure we'll be back there this vacation. If we time it right, we might even get a table in the evening next to the beach where we can catch the music from the neighboring Old Lahaina Luau. Ahhhhh, bliss.

There is one item of great sadness we have to report. We got word from Iceland that Ingi's Aunt Olina Kristinsdottir died on Christmas Day. Aunt Olla, as she was known by me and others, was just shy of her 88th January birthday and had suffered a massive stroke in November, from which she never fully regained awareness or independent use of her body. Aunt Olla was Ingi's Mother's sister, and was an important pivotal part of Ingi's parent's lives. Ingi's first memories of her are when he was four and he was cared for by her for a bit while his Mother was in the hospital with pregnancy complications (with Ingi's youngest brother Kiddi). Ingi has many, many fond memories of Olla -- she was very dear to him. I remember meeting her for the first time in December of 2001, which was during my first visit to Iceland. She impressed me as being this compact fireball of a woman, independent and strong, vital and creative. She loved to travel, and took a lot of international vacations in spite of speaking only Icelandic. She was fearless in her travels and in meeting foreigners, speaking rapid Icelandic to anyone and seemingly just assuming that what she said was understood. In my subsequent visits to Iceland, I know that I would be treated at her lovely apartment to a sumptuous display of traditional treats and sweets, topped off by a hearty cup on fine china of thick and rich dark hot chocolate. She gave us hand made cards and the occasional ornamant every Christmas. Her son Gulli and his wife Kolla have always treated us like visiting royalty. She was (at least) a weekly visitor to her sister Gunna and Torfi's (Ingi's parents) apartment for a meal, and Gunna and Olla talked on the phone many times a day. Her loss is felt by us all, and we mourn her passing. I can conjure up a smile when I think of her as I protect my skin from the Hawaii sun -- Olla was quite fond of deep tanning and loved her days of "getting color" in the Portugal shore. Bless you Olla, and all you leave behind.

On that note, I'll close this particular blog. Hug your friends and family.

1 comment:

  1. I am loving your updates. Thanks for keeping us posted. Give Ingi a big hug for me and tell him (and you) I am so sorry for his loss. I am sure that Aunt Olla is on to her next big adventure. May it be so.

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