The American tropics have certainly fulfilled all our expectations and more. If we forget the chaos and urbaneness of Honolulu and Waikiki, we can truthfully say we found paradise, with so much to offer, from white sandy beaches to active volcanoes, from diving inside a crater to admiring some of the world’s highest waterfalls. For us, Hawaii is the ultimate travel destination.
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| Waikiki from Diamond Head |
Although we had some of the best food in Waikiki, the crowds and the overdeveloped hotel and resort area disappointed us so much that we changed our flight itinerary and decided to spend one extra night (actually the last one) on Molokai, instead of the initial plan of spending it in Waikiki. Nevertheless, two places will be engraved in our memories forever: Leonard’s bakery, selling “malasadas” since the 50’s, and Ono Seafood, a poke shop which does take away but, if you’re lucky, you might find a place at the table outside, and enjoy your poke on the spot.
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| Leonard's bakery |
Being Portuguese, eating malasadas more than 10 thousand miles away from home had a special feeling. This fried pastry was brought by the Portuguese laborers from Madeira and the Azores who came to work in the sugarcane plantations in Hawaii at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th.
The Big Island was for us the most diverse island, comprising not only 8 different climate zones but one of the world’s most frequently active volcano – Kilauea. Although there was no lava flow when we visited, we still managed to the see the night glow in the crater from afar.
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| Volcanoes National Park: Halemaumau crater |
Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park, on the southeastern tip of the Big Island, is an obligatory stop. It’s possible to go in with the car and do several trails, which vary in length and difficulty. The best would be to get advice first at the visitor centre, as well as a proper map before starting exploring. Accommodation in Volcano Village is limited (as well as dining options), so it’s better to plan your travels and do some research in advance. Something else to keep in mind when visiting the Park is bringing a raincoat and proper hiking shoes. It rains often and temperatures are not so tropical here as one would expect.
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| Volcanoes National Park: Kīlauea Iki crater |
Hilo, the island's former capital has a decadent, western-like feeling. It didn't come as a surprise that this town is slowly loosing influence and inhabitants. Despite this, the coast is lovely and the swell highly recommended.
The capital, Kailua-Kona, is located on the west coast and is well known for the Ironman World Championship, which is held here every year and the Kona coffee. The scenery is moon-like all around because of the several eruptions and higher dryness on this side of the island. Kona downtown is lovely yet small, with plenty of small businesses, catering mainly for the tourists.
We did a couple of dives, north of the airport, where we've seen manta rays, and dolphins when leaving the harbour. Unfortunately, the corals are suffering and it is heartbreaking to see so many lacking colour.
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| Makalawena Beach |
Maui is a popular tourist destination, but we were positively surprised with how nice and welcoming people are on the island. Instead of staying in a resort we preferred Lahaina and the historic Pioneer Inn, reminiscent of the old plantation days. The location just by the harbor is nothing but convenient. While on Maui, we took the opportunity to dive in the Molokini crater – although we were a large group of divers that day, we still enjoyed two peaceful and easy dives. Food tip: Cool Cat Café has the best veggie burgers in town!
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| Sunset from Lahaina |
Our last island was Molokai, where everything is easy-going and enjoyed slowly. Tourist do pass by, but not in the same numbers as on other Hawaiian islands, which makes this island and its agricultural nature extremely attractive.
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| "Aloha. Slow down, this is Molokai" |
Although a lot of deforestation happened for farming and cattle ranching, the north is still pristine and many spots are inaccessible and can only be admired by plane or boat, like the Oloʻupena Falls. We didn’t do the Kaulapapa Peninsula tour, which is probably on the top of the list of every single tourist who comes here, but we took some cool pictures during our flight with Mokulele Airlines.
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| Oloʻupena Falls |
Coffee used to be big in Molokai but not anymore. Nevertheless it's still possible to visit
Coffees of Hawaii in Kualapuu, where they also have a gift shop and a small cafe.
Although malasadas and “pão doce” (sweet bread) are pretty much everywhere in Hawaii, not everything about Portuguese people and the impressions they left is sweet. This is reflected on the many (maybe too many...) anecdotes about Portuguese immigrants to Hawaii. This is one of the funniest… enjoy:
Three construction workers, a Hawaiian, a Japanese and one Portuguese are sitting on a beam 100 feet above the ground at lunch time. The Hawaiian guy opens his lunchbox and says: "Laulau again? If I get laulau one more time I'm gonna jump off this beam!" The Japanese guy opens his lunch box and says: "Sushi again? If I get sushi one more time, I’m gonna jump off this beam!" The Portuguese guy opens his lunch box and says: "Portuguese sausage again? If I get Portuguese sausage one more time I’m gonna jump too!"
The next day the Hawaiian guy opens his lunch box, sees his food and jumps off the beam falling to his death. The Japanese guy opens his lunch box, sees the sushi and also jumps to his death. The Portuguese guy opens his lunch box and also jumps.
This tragedy was such a big deal that all 3 men's funerals were held at the same time. The Hawaiian guy’s wife cries and says: "if I had just known he hated laulau so much, I wouldn’t have given it to him..." The Japanese guy’s wife crying uncontrollably also says, "if I had known too, I wouldn’t have packed him sushi!" The Portuguese guy’s wife looks at both of them and says "don’t look at me! He packed his own lunch!"
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