Kendra and I arrived in Honolulu airport (Oahu Island) and had some time before our connecting flight to the Island of Kauai. We discovered this beautiful tropic garden accessible within security.

84° F!

The airport had to have been built around this beautiful and ancient tree.

Leaving Lihui airport. Waialeale Mountain (5,146 ft Kauai’s highest point) has the world’s highest annual rainfall at 444”/yr. All vowels (which are the heart of the Hawaiian language) are pronounced. Half a mile past a sign you begin to pronounce it. In the SW part of the island there is a canyon with the lowest rainfall in the world.

The Japanese influence is easy to see. By the 1940’s 50% of Hawaiian businesses were Japanese owned/ operated. After Pearl Harbor no punitive action was taken toward Japanese Hawaiians and they had a very high volunteer rate in WWII.

Took this pic for my brother Ken, a train lover

Nice view by which to commute.

Our Kauai home base. Recently modernized, this place was a real find. Great brand new Jacuzzi tub. Only a few occupants in a non touristy place.

Our hosts, George and Rhonda in Kapaa. I said Kapah and they would say no Kapah ah (remember the last a all vowels are important in Hawaiian).

Our Kauai home, complete with 3-legged cat (Kendra loves cats) -- and Bantam Roosters. They run wild all over the islands and you don’t need any other wake up call!

And our own East-facing beach right behind me where we did our sunrise meditations. We left the door open to hear surf at night. We woke at first light and went directly to the beach.

Notice the angel in the clouds praying

Local hang out –calls itself “Old school” internet café!

Our neighborhood

Breakfast place. I love the chicken border with zebra and tiger- striped chickens! You’ve got to know your chicken!

While searching for the back roads, we found this fruit stand. Kendra is eating a Rambutan, an enchanting and unique sweet treat.

Back roads found, we wandered through this South back country, The terrain reminded me a bit of the high plateau in Arizona in a good rain year. There is more rain here than in AZ, but much less here than on the N and E coasts. The SW Island coast has less rain still including the lowest annual rainfall spot in the world.

On our way to Gillins Beach – this hill reminds me of one I know in Arizona. This is a drier side of the island and further southwest (which we didn’t see) it’s desert and canyon.

Then the walk

There was a surprising number of cars in the parking area at the end of this search. Mostly locals who knew where to go --fishing, some surfing, some swimming, a few dogs and plenty of space. The most beautiful beach I’ve ever seen! The camera does not do justice to the wonderful blues and deep aquas of the water.

This is the only house on this beach. We actually saw the folks who live here back at the fruit stand.

We came to the river.

This abandoned archeological site contains a cave. The dome once covered this entire area. The walls are sheer and the only way in here would be by rappelling. Evidence of anthropological explorations remain – a wheel barrow at the bottom, hoses, locked porta-pots(!)

Next day we headed North. These are taro fields -- poi is made from taro -- a starchy root crop.

You can see why the center of the Island is uninhabitable by the steepness of the slopes in the background. Probably raining at Waialeale on Right. Egrets are a common site.

Constant traffic – there’s generally only one main road. Rhonda and George were in a traffic jam for four hours one evening - and they are locals. There was no way around it.

Princeville is the resort center on this side of the island

At the Northern end of the road you cross a river and enter Haena State Park and the road ends in a parking lot.

Coconut drilled out by birds

Wet cave

Dry Cave

Already in the shadow of the mountain. Kē e’ Beach still had a few surfers in wetsuits. Then we entered the wooded area in search of the Kaulupaoa Keahuolaka Heiau.

Why the road goes no further.

Around the point the sun was beginning to set.

In Arizona I missed fall colors very much. On Kauaii I found fall colors!

This river is at the entrance to Haena State Park at the end of the road. You walk and climb to get to the Heiau (temple/sacred site) shown on the next slide where the Hula was kept alive through the missionary period. When missionaries came to the end of the road, the “coconut wireless” warned them to put the hula away and don the conservative missionary-introduced muumuu. Kaulupaoa Keahuolaka Haiau is where everyone who does the Hula comes here to pay homage.

Feel the energy of this sacred site. It is a temple, there is no building. It is a flat place with partial rock walls for support on some sides, quite subtle to the untrained eye. If energy insensitive, one could easily miss its significance.

We enjoyed our last sunset on Kauai here, then went to Sushi Blues for amazingly good food.

This wonderful, kind, strong and gentle soul helped us immediately at Lihue Airport. When he checked our ID’s he said “Cumming! Cumming!!!”. Showing us his arm badge, we saw he shared Kendra’s last name (Cumming). We had amazing conversations at the airport and heard about the hotel built on top of a Heiau (temple) for a third time.

Such a beautiful, truly awe-inspiring place! Interestingly, the major emotions I felt upon touching the ground were sadness, anger, pain, mourning, frustration, and more anger. Asking for the source of these feelings, the spirit of Kauai introduced herself. We learned more as we went along -- the disrespected sacred site --.sensitive spiritual leaders recently left because they found Kauai’s emotions too difficult to deal with daily. Several sources told us Kauai is mourning this loss.

In 9-11-92 Hurricane Iniki (Category 4) devastated Kauai. Dave (an LMT) told us of living in a tent on the beach during the recovery time, which he liked, but locals with destroyed homes did not. Developers feel enough time has gone by and development has resumed on Kauai. The spirit of Kauai is unhappy about some of this and we have asked what we can do to help, for our love of this island had grown enormously in our short stay. It is a most unique place, its air thick with life.

Before going to Kauai, I read Behaving as if the God in All things Mattered by Machaelle Small Wright, who works with Nature Spirits at Perelandra in VA. The air in Kauai is thick with life. I believe it is how life should be; a balance with nature, an awareness of nature sprits alive and present. Much of Kauai is inaccessible, which may be part of why it is still so alive. The hurricane stunted development for several decades -- probably another contributing factor. Paradise, but it has its issues. Traffic is a big issue. Alternate means are needed. Disrespect of nature and traditions. We asked Kauai what we could do to help and she asked that we visualize health for her, seeing Kauai growing in ways that respect and honor the old values. In ways that consider ecological implications. In ways that honor the life of the island as a sentient being. She asked us to ask others to join in this prayer/meditation/process. Kendra and I ask that you join us. We are doing it regularly. If you could join us on Mondays at 10 PM EST our combined forces will be stronger to help Kauai become once again respected, honored and hopefully happier.

Aloha and Mahalo nui loa

http://www.geocities.com/~olelo/shelties/mahalo-aloha.html (interesting and important info on the Hawaiian language)