Moonscape....or Hawaiian Red Dirt?

Near the beginning of the long winding snake-like drive up the mountains of Kokee State Park is this incredible unexpected photo opportunity. Many tourists stop along the highway for a quick photo op but don't really appreciate the beauty of this fragment of Kauai. I love this little piece of my new home and feel the need to dedicate this entire blog to photos of this tiny but brilliant and beautiful piece of Hawaii. Please enjoy these following photos.

Kamokila

Happy Birthday Ben. Today Ben is 12 and we celebrated quietly at home with Dad's Famous hamburgers and a big chocolate cake for dessert. The party comes later when Grandma Warkentin arrives for the fun!

Friends Kyle and Marilyn flew in to see us on Oct. 18 on their way to hike Mauna Loa on the Big Island of Kauai. (Check out their blog www.hikemaunaloa.blogspot.com.)
While visiting with us, we accidentally stumbled upon some pretty cool and interesting places, one of them being the ancient Hawaiian village of Kamokila. On our way to view the spectacular Opaeka'a Falls in Hanamaulu, we spotted a hut in the valley, a sign on a side road and took a chance. Boy, were we glad we did!! For a very nominal fee (from a very laissez-faire entrance attendant who charged us much less), we entered the pristine grounds on a self-guided tour of the traditional village. The native village was inhabited in the 1700's along the Wailua River. Fruit trees(breadfruit, banana, apple, mango, etc.) and flowering trees graced the area as well as palms, plumeria and other lush greens. As much as possible the houses are kept in authentic traditional style but have suffered through 2 major hurricanes and many have had to be rebuilt to maintain their structure. Tell tale signs of renovations include thatched roofs with PVC piping, plastic clips and corrugated metal sheeting for support. Likely not the authentic materials from 1700. However, without further dissecting the huts, the feel the village does have a warp zone effect of a primitive era during the 18th century. The 1/2 hr self-tour turned 2 hour for the budding photographers in all of us. Opportunities for great photography presented itself around every corner throughout the village. Thatched roof bamboo huts
seemed randomly scattered throughout the village. Our feeble minds could determine any significance to the placement order of the huts. There seemed to be no preferential location given to those of status or rank. Notable houses in the village were: the Menstruation House where women gathered to make crafts during that special time of the month and the Birthing House, 2 raised flat rocks lay side-by-side. The laboring woman would squat with one leg on each stone and bear down. Funny enough, it didn't seem the most comfortable way to give birth. Down below, fresh green ti leaves were laid out to hopefully welcome the new warrior. Native warriors stood on guard outside the birthing house to announce the arrival of a new boy. No mention was made on site as to the announcement regarding the birth of a girl. I imagine like other ancient cultures, the birth of a girl was considered of much less significance, if any at all. Other interesting huts were the...House of Doctor, the Warrior House, the Hula Hut, the Prime Minister's House, the Men's Eating House and the Sleeping House. A very interesting tour and very well worth the affordable price of admission.

Earthquake!!

Ed was already down at the church. His alarm went off at 6 am and he was down in the santuary rehearsing for Family Celebration Sunday. My alarm rang at 7 am and I sleepily hit the 'off' button and dragged myself down the short hallway to the bathroom. I climbed in the shower and began my morning ritual. Lathering soap in my hair and wakening my body with the cascading water over my head and face, I opened my eyes. Wait a second...what was that? Aaaaah...the tub is swaying back and forth. Aaaaaah....the walls are swaying too. Is this....is it...could it be....could it....ack!!!...it's....an... earthquake!!! OMIGOSH!!!! The dog started barking. I screamed out "BEN!!!!" I was freaked out so I anticipated that the children were as well. Ben frustrated and defiant, yelled back..."Moooooom, I DIDN'T do it!" Chuckling to myself, I rushed through the rest of my shower and grabbed the towel for coverage. Wrapping myself I ran into the living room where the kids were watching t.v. Okay everyone looks safe and sound. Alyson was re-enacting the quake's movement of the recliner she was cuddled up it. Ben inquired "Mom, what was that? Was that a tremor?" Having never experienced an earthquake before, I said "yes, that was a tremor and I think it could've actually been an earthquake." Ben responded "is there going to be another one?" Gosh, well I don't know. There are generally aftershocks, so I reassured him that any secondary tremors were generally much weaker and we probably wouldn't even feel it. In fact, we didn't feel any aftershocks although the newscasts have reported a record 30 aftershocks . Interestingly enough, Ed (and others) didn't even feel the quake yet others in our church reported structural damage to their homes.
Well, things were definitely shakin' here but to our surprise, nothing fell and nothing broke. We were very fortunate.

So factually, the quake occurred October 15, 2006 Sunday morning at 7:07:49 am with the epicentre striking the Big Island of Hawaii. The magnitude was 6.6 on the Richter Scale and was said to have "hit like a jackhammer". The most damage occurred obviously on the Big Island and the island of Maui which is the next closest island. Rockslides, power outages, structural damage to homes, hotels and churches, and cracks in the roads were the most obvious damages from the earthquake. Lucky for us, there are 4 islands in between Kauai and Hawaii Island. We were the 2nd island furthest away from the epicentre. The only inconveniences for us were the inability to watch local news broadcasts, listen to news on the radio, and internet usage was down. We were lucky to get off so easy! Though we experienced the actual quake, we were unable to listen to news regarding its magnitude or any threat of an ensuing tsunami. Lucky for us (again) the danger of a tsunami was minimal and the threat was cancelled as the quake was not large enough to generate the monster waves. Anyways the island was all abuzz about the quake experience and news of the occurrence dominated the news rooms of literally every tv and radio station on the mainland USA. Truthfully (for some local people...me not included...as I felt the darn thing!) they wouldn't have known it had happened if it weren't for the media and the desperation of families to have reassurance of the safety of their loved ones.

Again, we are safe and sound and happy to be alive!! That one was big enough for me though. Any future quakes...could you be smaller please? (Oh....and we really don't want Kauai to be the epicentre...if you know what I mean).

Na Pali Coast Sunset Cruise

Well, September 11th came and went without too much fuss. The day of my birth seemed less monumental and slightly overshadowed by the 5th year anniversary of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack. The day itself, seemed actually very lonely. I wasn't feeling well and hadn't been for a few days and Ben had a day off from school and was well.. quite grumpy. Ed worked the entire day from 8 am to 10 pm, announcing when he came home that, "at least he was home before midnight!" I was in no mood for idle chitchat or humor and went to bed feeling sorry for myself. (Yes, even that can happen in Hawaii) The rest of the week proceeded without any excitement and I continued to feel homesick for all things familiar and longing for an Old Navy store to surface nearby. We don't have one here. Costco comes Oct. 17 and everyone here is in a tizzy for them to open. Me included.

Sunday...still feeling down in the mouth, Ed surprised me with a trip for 2 on the Na Pali Coast sunset/dinner cruise for my birthday. I have been wanting to see the incredible Na Pali coast for oh, about 2 months now!!! Okay, so I didn't really have to wait all that long and boy, was it spectacular!!! Well worth the wait. At 2:30pm we boarded the Blue Dolphin Charter and sailed along the west coast of the island in search of the famous coast. (By the way , they shot alot of Jurassic Park in the Na Pali Coast) Along the way, we saw leatherback sea turtles and a pod of 5 dolphins!! That was a dream come true for me, to see them wild in the water, and it still seems so surreal when I think back to the trip. It was so awesome! We also saw natural caves, waterfalls and glorious beaches relatively untouched by tourism. Meaning only the hardiest of hikers or those lucky enough to own a boat will ever grace the sugary sands of the Na Pali Coast beaches. It is uninhabitable and unaccessible to the average tourist. The tour was 4 hours of pure unadulterated fun and glorious beauty. It ended near Port Allen with a yummy dinner of Kalua pork, pineapple, teriyaki chicken rice, sticky rice, caesar salad and chocolate chip cookies. (For those of you with celiac disease (you know who you are) it was an awkward moment but I chose to live in it and bear the consequences. It wasn't too bad in the end and only hurt a few days later! )Those more adventurous dove into the company's free self-proclaimed famous Mai Tai's but alot of the passengers couldn't get excited about those and opted instead for beer or soda/juice.

The sun set as we ate dinner and got more spectacular as we docked, the light playing off the clouds in a palette of blues, pinks and yellows. With the boats in the background, the setting and the conclusion to the day was positively perfect! I would highly recommend this chartered tour. It's pricey but worth it.

Again, click on any photo to see an enlarged version. Enjoy!!

For additional photos of the Na Pali Coastline, click on www.napali.com/na_pali_coast/ and click on photo gallery.

*For Mom Dyck, you don't have to write the above down on paper just put your arrow (it will turn into a hand) on the underlined words and click. It will take you right there. Then on the right hand side there are the words "photo gallery" with an arrow pointing right. Click on the arrow and you'll see some more pictures.* Check it out!!

Hey...That guys wearin' a skirt!

That right....that's our buddy Joe, and yes, he is wearing a skirt, but don't mess with him because he is known to carry an attitude when needed. He is, really just a big teddy bear. A top hotel exec but a self-proclaimed redneck at heart. He's also Chamorro(u), which is a term for Marianna Islands native. Joe is originally from Guam, but has lived all over the world. Look at that fabulous meal he's creating!!! Grilled Ahi, chamorro-style. The Ahi (tuna) is marinated and then laid on top of a Ti leaf bed of red/yellow bell peppers and onion, and sprinkled with spices and then, smothered in more marinade. Then it is wrapped in the ti leaf and again in tin foil and grilled on the barby. YUM!!! THIS guy knows how to cook! We spent a fabulous evening with Joe and his family and another two families at his house at the base of the mountains. We dined outside at the foot of the mountains and watched the kids sail down the zip line into the jungle. At the bottom of his property, Joe also has a spot where he can go shrimping whenever he likes. Can you image? fresh shrimp any day of the week!!! I was dying to go shrimping and bring a few of the yummy guys home with me, but after about 5 suggestions that we go down and have a look, I resumed my polite stance and sighed. Maybe the next visit will be more successful. Company-wise, it couldn't have been better. What a great time and great family to visit with!!

Kokee State Park

Beautiful scenery and cool fresh air...this is the place to go to when you miss Canada. Pack a picnic lunch, grab a walking stick and set off into the wild blue yonder. But keep an eye out for japanese tree frogs hiding under the brush, gecko, beautiful birds and the odd, very unfriendly wild pig...but probably more like a boar, I think. They have long sharp tusks growing out of their mouths so it's good to stay away from these guys. They're not so nice to put it gently.

Anyways, the view is spectacular as we are hiking along the canyon ridges to discover rarer views of the Waimea Canyon, also known as the "Grand Canyon of the Pacific". Old dried out waterfalls and mountains goats skipping along the cliffs without a care in the world. On one precarious ledge of a cliff, I scooted down (actually I lost my footing and slid...calling out to my fellow hikers to tell Pastor Ed and the kids "I love you". "And when you find my lifeless, limp body, {seeing as i have no dental records here yet}, you'll identify me by the birthmark on my right wrist. Take me to Wilcox Memorial and I'm Type B Pos.") and spotted the mountain goats. Thank goodness we met no angry pigs that day! The rock formation is also fabulous as you'll note from the photo above. Lava rock cooling in the fresh water spring. Cool!!

My two little troopers did very well although Ben, initially excited about offroading in the back of a truck, had serious second thoughts when discovered there was hiking involved. Push came to shove, and although he wasn't happy, he did it! and now has another experience to file away in his computer memory. My biggest trooper was noticeably absent, recovering from hand surgery at the Taba residence watching U of H football in the sacred den.

Oh, but don't panic...not to worry. The hand surgery was from an existing problem Ed had on the palm of his right hand. A massive lump had been growing beneath the skin, slowly drawing in his fingers and distorting his hand. The doctor took one look at it and said, "I can fix that! How's Thursday?" Gotta love our HMSA plan and the American Healthcare system!

Dawg Tired and... New Friends

Aly, Ruthie and Sonny

Jasmine

Jasmine, Aly and Jonathon



Hooray, Hooray, Hooray...the last family member arrived today (actually on Aug 24/06)!! Bela was shipped by my sister, Betsy who (along with her family) cared for Bela for the past 2 months. Her flight left Winnipeg on the 12 noon flight and arrived in Honolulu at 1930 hr. Imported dogs require inspection and clearance through customs so she was only eligible for release the following morning. I grabbed an early flight(6am)to Honolulou to complete the necessary customs documentation and to wait for her inspection. She was finally released at 9am and we made the 10am flight back to Lihue, Kauai. Bela arrived in good health but shaken, stinky and anxious. She was bouncing off her kennel walls when she saw me in Honolulu but gave me the silent treatment in Lihue. I guess she didn't appreciate me putting her on another plane right away! The first day home, she really needed her space so she could acclimatize to her new surroundings. The next morning, she was her old self again and happy with her lot in life. Of course, I also made her favourite homemade dog treats and that perked her up pretty quickly. I think she is happy to be home.

Are we there yet??...Hanalei Bay

The Hanalei Bay Pier


KauaiOutrigger
Happy Birthday Grandma Warkentin!! We Love and Miss You!! God Bless You!!





By far the prettiest beach we've seen yet. The mountainous terrain reaches out and kisses the ocean. It is a favourite beach of parents and kids learning to swim as the bay shelters the water from large ocean swells.

Hanalei Bay is directly North of Kalaheo on the other side of the island. For us, it was about an hour and 1/2's drive at least. We stopped at Ono's Charburgers on the way to pick up lunch for Ed and the kid's and waited over an hour there between placing our order and receiving it. We got a hamburger and fries. How does that take over an hour?? Anyways, after several pit stops, driving past Hanalei town, turning around, hitting huge potholes, food trays flying and 1 argument later, we arrived at the picturesque beach and dropped our jaws. It was definitely stunning and worth the trip. Even the kids were in awe of this now 2nd favourite beach to swim at. The mountains are glorious, the sailboats anchored in the bay; a sight, and the pier off in the distance made it feel like a remote fisherman's village in Thailand. The gorgeous beach was empty in comparison to other beaches in Kauai. We spent the day swimming and building sand castles with a long walk to the pier to watch locals and vacationers leap of the pier. Several local outriggers were on hand to pick up their keiki and ride them around the bay. It was fun to watch but walking down the long pier with the locals made me very much aware that in my Canadian white skin, I am very much a haole (foreigner). I wonder how long it will take before I feel like I am no longer a vacationer but a resident of this stunning island.

By the way, click on any photo to get an enlarged version. Enjoy!



Photo taken on the way home.

Feels Like Home...Again!!

One very small slip of the pen can cause a tremendous degree of frustration and anxiety.

We packed our things up into a container on June 12, 2006, eager to start our adventure and live like we're camping. With a comfortable estimate of date of receipt in hand (July 7) , we felt very happy about our lot in life and continued on our merry way...camp-style. To make a long story short our things FINALLY arrived on July 25 and only because we had some wonderful friends who knew friends in high port places. Our container left Winnipeg by rail to Tacoma port in Washington State. A very "diligent" customs officer at the international border counted 53 units packed, and cleared the container for shipment by barge to Honolulu port. Honolulu port received the container around July 7th, counted 138 units and said...."Whoa...now hold on dere little wahine(missy). Dere's dis biggah misteak. Dey need to findah outah where dese mo' stuff come from! Dey cannah send dis dere, 'til dis is fixed!" Well now, according to our Canadian freight forwarder's papers (which were faxed to the local Hawaiian moving company), there were originally 138 units packed and loaded. So the error was made in Tacoma. Will anyone admit their mistake and correct the error?? But of course not, darling. So, the container sat and sat and sat in Honolulu until a wonderful church member felt so sorry for us that on July 20, she made a few calls. A homeland security officer called us that evening with a few questions and that morning we received a call that our container had been released and had made the barge from Honolulu to Nawiliwili port in Kauai and would be in port by Saturday. It had to be checked and released and would be delivered on July 25th in the am. Yipeeee! So that's the short version. There were alot of phone calls in between with alot of incorrect information between ports that was passed on to us. A bit of an emotional roller coaster.

But the important thing is... Ben now has his 5th appendage and the world is okay again.

It was like Christmas this week as Oceanic Time Warner Cable came the day after our stuff arrived and hooked up digital cable, road runner high speed internet and digital phone service. So if you call us, it flashes on our tv if we are watching it. How cool is that??!! We can screen our calls without getting off the couch!!! Hey, remember...DIS is paradise!!!

Here comes Franklin

Today while Ed was kayaking the fabulous Na Pali coast, the kids and I explored the Poipu and Brennecke beaches of Kauai looking for the awe-inspiring endangered leatherback sea turtle. We hit the beach for a quick swim and then off explore the tide pools amidst the volcanic rock of the southern coastline. We checked every nook and cranny of the tide pools among the rocks but couldn't see any turtles soaking up the sun. We had just met a couple who saw "tons" of them and yet we couldn't find any. Where could they be? Perplexed and anxious to locate these creatures, we continued to explore the rock when all of a sudden we look out into the ocean and saw one head after another poking out from beneath the surface of the water. Just off the rocks there were countless sea turtles frolicking in the ocean flapping their flippers and exposing their shells.as they dove beneath the water. Heads would poke up 3 or 4 at a time to take a lung full of air before diving back in. We were very happy to have experienced this moment with the endangered sea turtle. It was so much fun and we are planning our next visit very soon!

Hey boss...da plane, da plane!!

Wailua Falls...made famous by the ever popular evening soap producer, Aaron Spelling. The show's opening shot zooms in and focuses on the twin torrents of Kauai's liquid sunshine....if you aren't too young, you will have seen this spectacular waterfall on....which show?...can you guess?? A hint is in the title of the blog...ah...let me see now....hint #2 (if you need it)...Herve Villecheze...Mr. Tattoo???? The guests have arrived!! You are correct...if you said, "Fantasy Island". Last Sunday we took a drive up to Kapa'a to spend some money at Cost-U-Less (the equivalent of Costco but with no membership and not as big) and on the way we passed Hanamaul'u where the now famous falls are located. A long winding drive on a very narrow two-way highway and 40 some minutes later, we arrived with camera in hand totally looking like tourists. (we don't have the locals' tan yet!!) No hiking involved (there's even a parking lot)...click...click and you're done. I was hoping for a bit of an adventurous hike.

The culture is totally relaxed and good for the blood pressure. We are learning new things about life, food and language. The local slang language is pidgin. For example.. to say that someone is no longer waiting for you to arrive and has left the area, converts to ...."he no stay dere". When someone is talking full pidgin, it can be quite difficult to understand. I can get easily lost in translation. Food is very different but very tasty (except the poi...yuck...tastes like Lepages glue and looks like it too). I have tried a variety of new things including:

1. lomi salmon (diced raw salmon with onion and diced tomato)
2. sashimi (raw fish)
3. poi (yuck...root staple)
4. poki (marinated raw fish...tuna, I think) Actually quite good.
5. Seared ahi...seared tuna (raw in the middle) Not so good.

Language lesson of the day:

1. puupuus - appetizers
2. shishi - to pee/urinate
3. ono - delicious
4. keiki - children
5. pau - all done
6. slippahs - flip flops
7. mauka - toward the mountain
8. makai - toward the ocean
9. puka - holes in clothes
10. houlies - what we are. People not native to the island.

Our things still haven't arrived...the "Ben" is very frustrated. He is missing his 5th and most important appendage...his computer! After 2 weeks of docking in Honolulu due to a small clerical error, we are finally notified that customs has cleared it and it made the Friday barge to Nawiliwili Port in Kauai. We should receive our container on Tuesday. It does help to know friends who know friends. A friend of ours talked to her friends and the next morning it was on the barge!! It's all in who you know! Thank You Jackie and thank you, Jesus!!!

Ed was invited to kayak the Na Pali coast this a.m. at 5. What an adventure!! If you are unfamiliar with the coast, do look it up on www.napali.com, it is spectacular in its raw beauty. I am so jealous. The kayaking alone is 8 hours so I except him home soggy and exhausted around 8pm tonight.

Not to worry, the girls and I had a Thursday girls night out in Lihue this past week. Seeing "The Devil wears Prada" and munching on puupuus (appetizers) at Dukes in Nawiliwili. It was very timely and very fun. Thanks to Robin for seeing my need and organizing the evening. Next month girls...we are on!!!

Things are going well. Ben is still having some difficulty and wants to go home to Winnipeg. Our structure and routine is nonexistent so we are praying that once our things come and school starts, he will settle down and let himself enjoy life a bit more. He is "training" in the Audio/Visual booth every Sunday morning and hope to be "on staff" there ASAP!!! This is one thing that he is so pumped about and cannot get enough of.

The Kalaheo church community continues to be very warm and receptive. They have definitely been an integral part of our transition to life here on the island. We send our "Mahalos" for their kindness and generosity.