Maui, it ain't Fiji

I was talking with a friend the other day. He shared his plans of a possible future vacation with me. Come to find out, one of his good buddies, Devin, lives on a 50 ft Beneteau that he purchased with the sale of his .com stock before that bubble burst; a very fortuitous event for Devin. He found his dream. Anyway, Devin recently passed through the Panama Canal on his way to the Galapagos then to Hawai'i and finally on to Fiji. Well, my buddy has been timing his vacations over the last few years to catch up with Devin by flying to whichever port the 50ft Beneteau is docked. My buddy gets to live on board for a week of phenomenal sailing in life altering destinations basically for the cost of plane fare. A real good deal if you ask me. This year he was trying to plan his vacation around the time Devin would be in Fiji. Good plans, right? Well, they fell through and Devin is only going to be as far as Maui when my buddy must take his vacation. I was still enthusiastic about his vacation to Maui for the price of airfare when he said, "Maui...it ain't Fiji!"

This may be true, but Maui, jeez, ain't Terre Haute, Indiana, either.

Though Maui is visited by more than 2 million visitors a year, it is still only about 25% developed. There are so many marvelous things to do and experience that I would sound like an infomercial for the Hawai'i visitor's bureau if I rambled as long as I wanted.

The 57 mile drive down the "Road to Hana" sticks with me some thirty years after I sat in the back of an open-top jeep. Hanging on to roll bar and laughing until hit hurt as my father white knuckled the 600+ curves of breathtaking beauty, is my favorite memory. The road was not near as death defying as he made it out to be, but he did almost roll us a few times while he was caught gazing awestruck at the island's saintly beauty.

I remember stopping on the side of the road for ice cream and they only had one flavor, a flavor I had never heard of, macadamia. I was distraught. What happened to chocolate or vanilla? I was familiar with the nut, but the ice cream. Even thirty years later, I can taste it. I'm in my mid forties now and this is still some of the best ice cream I have ever enjoyed. Not everything tastes good. On this same trip, I had a run in with poi. This strange milky substance is made from taro root and has become quite popular over the years with health addicts. Well, my experience with poi came at a touristy luau in Lahaina. I was having a grand time with my brothers when I was challenged by a very pretty Hawaiian lady to try it. My machismo was shot down as this...gruel came out of my nose as I began to choke. Regardless of what any Kashi commercial might say, Poi sucks.

The Haleakala Volcano is no longer as famous as Mauna Loa or Kilauea, which has been erupting continuously since 1982, the Haleakala crater makes for mind blowing hiking and mountain biking. You can even book a ticket for the very popular volcano to ocean bike ride. It's more of a coast than anything, but tons of fun. Trying to take a picture is virtually impossible so leave your camera in your backpack and record this experience to memory. My personal memory is from 1995. Fifteen years is too long. I must go back soon.

While Maui is most assuredly not Fiji, Fiji is definitely no Maui!

Happy Travels,
Al, the Travel Valet