Island life

We rented "single" kayaks today for a test run up the Hanalei river. It turns out we both find it easier to paddle and maneuver in a single than with both of us in a double, so if we get kayaks, we'll get singles. The paddle was a little windy, but nice, and we had a good solid two-and-a-half hours on the river before we came home for lunch. It was entirely uneventful.

We have the boats for the rest of the afternoon, so Matt is taking one out on the ocean by our house to ride some waves. My hips hurt from the morning, so I'm going to sit on the porch and read. [Raquel, I'm reading "Love Nun" and it is unbearably fun to read it in tropical weather!]

As you may have seen in the previous post Danika and I rented kayaks today and kayaked up the the Hanalei River. It was a nice paddle on pretty calm waters with lots of scenery. We got back to the house around noon, so we ate, I rested a bit and decided to try the kayak in the ocean.

Danika helped me carry the boat over to the beach by the rental house and I paddled out to the edge of the reef to kayak in the surf a bit. All was going well. I caught a few smaller waves and let some hit me sideways to see how easily I would be tipped if a bigger wave hit me. I felt I was ready for some bigger waves.

I paddled over to where the bigger waves were coming in. I caught a couple and then one was coming and I was parallel to it. I tried to get perpendicular to it, but it didn't happen in time. I figured I wanted to try getting back in the kayak out in the water, so I let it tip me. That was all well and fine, except I was in about 4 feet of water and the bottom was very sharp coral.

I managed to grab the paddle but the wind caught the boat and it started to head rather quickly towards the shore. I started swimming and swimming and swimming. I consider myself a fairly good swimmer so I wasn't too worried. It did suck that I had the paddle and was swimming in about 1-5 ft of water over very sharp coral. The boat was getting further and further away from me so eventually I decided to swim for shore and once on shore I would walk down to where the boat ended up. After swimming toward shore for a while, I noticed some very nice person was headed out toward my kayak and stopped it for me. I changed direction again and started swimming toward the kayak.

I finally reached it and thanked the guy who had stopped it for me. He smiled and said next time you might want to attach a leash, I just smiled and said thanks again. I swam it the rest of the way into shore (in all I probably swam ½-¾ of a mile) and then started walking it along the beach. I got to one of the paths that leads back to the road, so I shored the kayak and headed to the rental house. When I got there I told Danika what had happened and got some money. We walked back to the beach to get the kayak and find the guy who had helped me. We we found him, he wouldn't take any money, all he said was "Not needed". I would like to think I would have done the same thing and the next time I see someone who needs help I will sure try to help them.

I did the Okolehao Trail one more time today. I told Danika about all the strawberry guavas the last time so she suggested this time I take a bag with and bring a few back. I brought back enough to fill a cereal bowl. We will be able to enjoy them for a few days. As good as they are, I am still missing my daily crisp, tart Granny Smith apple. The tropical fruit is pretty good here, but the two Granny Smiths have pretty much sucked. I think being able to walk across the street and go snorkeling or swim in the ocean makes up for it, but I do still miss them.

At least one more hike left. I plan to rest the next two days before I try the 22 mile hike on Wednesday. My feet were pretty good again today. I have about 10-15 new small cuts from the coral during yesterday's swim. None of the cuts are that bad. One cut opened the remains of what was the blister that was my pinkie toe. Last night it looked strange, so it got a bandage and some Neosporin. Today it still looked a little strange so I took a closer look. That is actually when I noticed the coral had cut part of it open. I peeled it away and half a thimble full of sand poured out of it. That was a little strange to see. I cut away the rest of the blister before today's hike and my toe felt fine on the hike. It should be ready for Wednesday. Wish me luck for Wednesday's hike, I know I can do it, but a little extra luck won't hurt :)

Things I learned coconut hunting:
• From what I have heard a machete is best for knocking them out of the tree, but from experience, I know an oar will suffice
• When they don't fall on their own, they are not ripe (and may take a while to ripen)
• It is pretty easy to cut through the unripened shell and a shower of coconut milk will follow
• The shape of the inner nut very closely matches the shape of the outer husk
• Whacking the equator of the nut with the back side of a large knife works great to open it
• When someone is whacking them out of the tree with an oar, it is best to not be underneath in a kayak, since you will be littered with ants

Well, it is 5:20am and I am up and getting ready for the hike. I have to admit, yesterday morning's torrential rain had me a bit discouraged. This morning, however, is absolutely beautiful. I went outside to see what the weather was like and how cloudy the sky was. I saw very few clouds, just a very bright less than half moon and orion. I think it is a good sign of what is to come on today's hike. See you again in about 12 hours :)

It has been said that week 4 of your vacation is the week you decide not to come back, but that's not what I've found. Call me selfish and ungrateful, but week 4 is the week where I want to go home. I miss dry air, dry skin, dry pages in the book I'm reading, you people, curly hair, television, going to bed late, sleeping late, the lack of chickens, lizards outside only, beaches where you don't go in the water because it's not sensible, clouds, blankets, water pressure, reasonably priced food, my car, my dog, my yoga mat, my bed, Green Lake, crisp air, cold rivers, good hard cider, socks, sleeves, salmon, apples, constructive activity, and many, many other things.

I haven't been posting much lately, but here's what's new:
• I don't get scared when snorkeling anymore. Last trip it took a week, this time it took a month, so that's probably not progress.
• I can read a book in a day, if pressed. Reinforcements were sought from the only decent bookstore on the island.
• Chilly and muggy is much better than hot and muggy.
• I don't know how to cook. (Well, that's not really new, is it?)
• I gravitate towards large, cheap jewelry.

I made it, the entire trail. Now I am going to go soak in the ocean. More to come later...

Hmm, where should I begin? When I started walking the hill in Carkeek back in April and changing my diet to be in better shape for our trip to Hawaii (so I could keep up with Chris and Brooke), I never dreamed it would help me prepare for a 22 mile hike. There were many days I didn't want to go walk the Carkeek hill, but I always went out. Had I known what it was going to allow me to do, I think it would have been much easy to get out each day. Knowing that I can hike the Kalalau Trail in one day gives me great feeling of accomplishment. Thanks to all who encouraged me to do it. Now, some details about the hike...

Well, not really a shark attack, but I did see a shark today when we were snorkeling at Tunnels. I almost told Danika I didn't want to go snorkeling. I am sure glad we went. I had the camera and got a few photos. None of the photos turned out that great, but here is the best one.

There were a bunch of fish swimming around the shark. I yelled at them to RUN!!! But they didn't listen (I think either because they don't understand english, or they don't know how to run, just swim). I think the shark was asleep. I cut my arm open because I thought my blood might jazz him up a bit. When he woke up, he just gave me a funny look and said I was stupid for cutting my arm. Then I swam away. True story... really. Well the part about seeing a shark was true, and I did try to yell, but it is hard to yell underwater with a snorkel in your mouth.

Today has been nice and quiet (aside from the shark attack). Not a lot left to do but pack it in and head home. A few odds and ends.

I never got around to posting pictures of the inside of the house, but I have some and I'll describe it at length when I get home.

In response to questions about my jewelry predilections, here is a photo of the giant-est of the giant pendants. Amy's going to help me make it into something fabulous!

Tomorrow, we fly!

We are all packed and ready to go. We were planning to leave by 9am. It is 7:50am, so I guess we didn't need to get up so early. Good-bye Kauai. See you in Seattle.

--Matt

Despite a few delays, we made it home safe and sound tonight. My body-clock is all messed up from not doing anything but travel all day, so I'm wide awake. But I'm wearing a sarong and wrapped in a blanket, so life doesn't get much better than this.