We mentioned the drama of obtaining a car the other day, after three of them (cars) went missing.
We arrived at our new home in a gentle rain. Our landlord was there to welcome us and proved to be a most
interesting man. Apparently, he stars in a TV program on spirituality. Over the phone, he sounded like a
man in his forties. In person, with a long white beard reaching to his knees, he reminded us of a prophet.
Clearly, he was even older than us. When we thought of his inability to remember where he stationed the cars,
we realized he couldn’t be a prophet. At times, our deductive logic can be staggering.
We have never lived in a place where forests separate neighbors from each other, at times,
by a hundred feet or more. In San Diego, it’s so much friendlier; houses are a few feet apart allowing
residents to listen to each other’s music and television. When traveling along the lanes, all that one
observes is rainforest. The clue that houses are present is from sighting mailboxes on the side of
the road. It is a surreal feeling, almost like living in a jungle on one’s own. However, when entering
the house, after maneuvering the car between the mud pools, there are lights, running water, both cold
and nearly hot. Internet access brings one directly into the modern age.
Coming a close second to the internet is the washer and dryer, a hiker’s best friend. The only difficulty
is their positioning—outside. Reminds us of when we were growing up and the washerwoman would not arrive
on rainy days. One advantage of the outside washer is that when the water level is not high enough, one
only has to open the lid and let the soft rain complete the job.
Monday morning, after doing some work, we set out in the rain, traveled a couple of hours
to A’kaka Falls, (excuse the language), stopped long enough to get soaked and headed for the
fabulous Waipio Valley. Last week, we approached the valley from the rear and climbed. Today, it
was a full frontal assault—no more fooling around for us as we dropped down to the valley floor in rain.
We read about the locals and soon discovered the truth. It is an area inhabited by ‘hippies’
who tend to settle their disputes the old fashioned way. Deep in the valley, there is no electricity
or services for the residents. However, the natural wonders are spectacular and provide compensation,
to an extent. Cliffs sit atop the ocean, clouds atop the mountains and waterfalls abound, one pictured
is 1,600 feet. These type of mountains, found in all the Hawaiian Islands, are a personal favorite—a knockout.
Back to the folks in the valley. Our guidebook warned of the few local inhabitants. Most are weirdos while the rest are worse. We found some most unfriendly, unusual in this part of the world. When we are in places like that, we are most grateful that our parents raised us as ‘squares’. Truth be told, we feel that way most of the time.
The rain fell gently while we hiked through underwater-paths, keeping us cool especially as we
climbed 1,000 feet in less than a mile. Our editor made us proud as she powered up that ‘little hill’—45 degrees
slope for the record. At the top, she wasn’t even out of breath. It was a relief; for on the way down,
she had already prepared all the horrid names she thought she would be calling us on the return. Today,
we completed another adventure that makes hike-about an experience of a lifetime. B’H.
Cheers,
Jenni and Jeffrey
Odds and ends
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