West Maui 3/7

Hawaii Travelogue - Part 3

West Maui

Kahana Beach was right outside our hotel, the Outrigger Royal Kahana Resort. It was a long stretch of beautiful silver white sands that curved around the shore. The west coast is windy yet the waves are not too wild and the waters were warm. We could see the islands of Lana’i and Moloka’i in the distance. The first evening we walked upto the end of our beach only to see turtles (honu) swimming and frolikcking about near the rocks. We watched them as the sun set into the horizon. The west side is known for its calmer waters, turtles and snorkeling. 


I stand in West Coast Maui
Strong winds caress the coconut tree
Sway, a salute to the vast sea
Lanai and Molokai out at sea
Honu (turtle) swim by the beach
Sands greet incoming waves
a crab peeps out to play
Nature in harmony 


We had an ocean front view from our room, so enjoyed the breathtaking sunset each evening from our balcony along with pineapple - What’s a trip to Hawaii without eating pineapple? On the 2nd night we were there, we watched a sliver of a moon rise up in the sky right after sunset. The sea had turned a dark grey, almost black, in the absence of sunlight. The rising moon cast its silver light that spread out like a path on that dark sea upto the horizon. It was amazing.


Sea bathed in lunar light
A sliver of heavenly satellite
Moonlight meets the waves
Amazement in its wake
Shimmering path on the dark sea
Crossing the horizon into eternity. 


Near our hotel was a farmers market store which was like a mini Whole Foods. It was all organic and to our surprise, completely vegetarian. They has some lovely dishes in their salad bar and their prepared foods section. We got some yummy coconut milk soup one time and some bean burritos there as well. 
 

Kapalua Beach is the prettiest in West Maui. The water is relatively calm and we saw several people snorkeling. It is also apparantely popular for weddings. On both our visits there, there were at least 2 weddings going on, on either side of the beach. A native islander priest dressed in a colorful floral aloha shirt, a brown ‘lava lava’ (wrap skirt or lungi) and a grass skirt of ki leaves, conducted the ceremony. It contrasted with the formal western wedding wear worn by the bride and groom - the bride wore a white wedding dress and the groom a black suit or tux. We were not near enough to hear the ceremony for obvious privacy reasons but at the end of the ceremony the priest would blow a conch shell which startled me each time I heard it. There was a couple of unnamed beaches on the west side that we visited that were really nice too. Along the way we also saw a lone canoe making its way.

Lahaina which is just south of Ka’anapali is very ‘touristy’ with its many souvenir ships, restaurants, open air Hawaiian band and crafts fair. It is also a harbor of sorts where lots of expedition boats start out - right from ferries to Lanai to deep sea fishing to whale watching to coral reef sightseeing. There was lots of parking and it was very accessible. I enjoyed some exotic fruit smoothies and ice cream (with passion fruit, guava, pineapple) in the many shops there.  

The South side also has some nice beaches but again calmer ones. I watched a sinking sun as I munched a burger in a restaurant on Kihei Beach. 

Hawaii Travelogue 2012
Part 1 - Aloha Maui
Part 2 - I Survived the Road to Hana
Part 3 - West Maui
Part 4 - North Beaches and Watermen
Part 5 - Whale of a Tail
Part 6 - Humuhunukunukuapua'a and the Coral Reef
Part 7 - Living Aloha