Kaui, Waimea

The Hawaiian word waimea means reddish water, and three places on the islands we visited have the same name. We passed though Waimaea on Big Island, Waimea Bay and Falls at Oahu, and here in Kaui we explored Waimea Canyon, the Plantation Cottages, and Waimea town.

Waimea Plantation Cottages is vintage Hawaii, located on Driftwood Beach and a short walk away from Waimea Pier. More than 60 cottages are here, so it feels like a small town within a town. Each building has a written provenance and story about previous residents. The grounds and gardens are picture perfect and many of the cottages have ocean views. We spent a lot of time on the beach here just wave-watching. Our cottage had a mango tree in front, apple bananas on one side and a pomelo tree on the other.

A short drive away is Waimea Canyon and Koke'e State Park, where we spent a full day and a half. There are many places to pull over and several vantage points along the way, with the highest point of elevation at Pu’u O Kila Lookout, almost a mile high. Views are spectacular, and we literally took hundreds of photos and videos. Now when I look at the photos I find myself closing my eyes to see the canyon better, because really, it is the feeling the place evokes, above the clouds.

Hanapepe is a charming little town closeby that bills itslef Kaui's "biggest small town." We stopped in during the day and it was fairly quiet, but when we returned on Friday evening the art night was in full swing. Musicians were playing at the different ends of town and the galleries were showing the work of local artists. My favourite place was Talk Story, the independent book store, where it was fun to explore the shelves.

Kaui Coffee Company offered a tour of their extensive operations. They have turned what was once a sugar plantation into a coffee farm. Here the plantings are flat and not on slopes. They also harvest and dry the beans with machines, grading them using tumblers. Kaui Blue Mountain and espresso were both delicious roasts. The brand is not quite as expensive as Kona coffee, but not as tasty either.

Waimea historic town has a well-marked walking tour, and the Plantation Cottages where we are staying are part of the circuit. It has erected a monument to Captain Cook, because this was one of the first places the fleet anchored and made contact with the Polynesians. There is also a Russian fort nearby, where territory was claimed for the Russian czarina in 1817.

Waimea Pier

Ishihara Market, a short walk away from our cottage, had a great assortment of pokey at their deli counter. There were also signs posted for food stamps at the check out. It turns out Hawaii has the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the States, and we saw many tents on every island that weren't vacationers'. So many of these islanders were once visitors who decided to stay.

Hanapepe is a charming little town closeby. We stopped in during the day and it was fairly quiet, but when we returned on Friday evening the art night was in full swing. Musicians were playing at the different ends of town and the galleries were showing the work of local artists. My favourite place was Talk Story, the independent book store, where it was fun to explore the shelves.

We reserved a sunset tour of the Napali Coast, which was unfortunately cancelled due to bad weather conditions. So when we get home I think I'll make Mai Tais and watch video clips of different sunset tours as a way to extend the vacation.