Coconuts in the Mail

Last year someone told me that US Postal Service considers a coconut to be valid packaging. In other words, at least within the United Stated you should be able to mail a coconut without packing it into a box or any sort of an envelope. While in Hawaii, we decided to take USPS at their word. The adventure of mailing a couple of coconuts turned out to be a rather amusing multi-step process.

Step 1. Acquire the coconuts
Despite the fact that large ripe coconuts threatened to fall on our heads practically everywhere we went, acquiring whole coconuts was not trivial. We stopped by a farmers’ market and three supermarkets before we could buy some. (Shockingly this seems to be a pattern with many local fruit.)

Step 2. Get the coconuts inspected and stamped at an airport
All the airports we have visited in Hawaii had multiple USDA stands. (USDA checks all luggage traveling to the mainland.) We took the purchased coconuts to one of these stands at the Lihue airport for government inspection. “Yep, that’s a coconut,” said a USDA officer after taking one of our coconuts into his hands. He then proceeded to carefully search each fruit for a smooth spot to stamp his USDA seal of approval.

Step 3. Address the coconuts
You might think that addressing a coconut is so simple and obvious that it does not deserve its own step. If you do think so, I challenge you in your free time to write your full name on one of these little fur balls. Legibly! We tried a combination of thin and thick sharpies, and eventually ended up with something acceptable.

Step 4. Convince the USPS worker to mail the coconut without a box
In the end our coconuts’ fate fell entirely to the mercy of the post office worker. And they (the coconuts… or maybe we) were very lucky. The cheerful post office man that greeted us shrugged his shoulders, smiled and started weighing each of our little “packages”. We knew we were lucky because another friendly post office worker came by to take a look, and he did not think that mailing coconuts without a box was such a good idea. In fact, he thought mailing coconuts should not be allowed at all, because they contain liquid.

In the end, the two coconuts we mailed to our friends on the mainland safely reached their destination in only 3 days! We were originally going to mail three coconuts, but it turned out that one of them was leaking. So we spared everyone involved in transporting mail and bestowed the leaky coconut on our friends, Ryan and Talia, who live in Hawaii.

Hanakapi'ai Falls, or How to Donate Blood to Mosquitoes

Last Sunday we drove out to the North West edge of Kauai to hike part of the Kalalau trail.  We almost did not go because it was raining really hard, but we decided to try it out.  The rain continued to sprinkle on and off as we scrambled up a slippery muddy trail.

Soon the rain stopped, and we started getting glimpses of the cliffs ahead and the surf down below us.

View of Na Pali Coast from Kalalau Trail

Our first destination was 2 miles from the trail head--Hanakapi'ai Beach.  This beach is not for swimming.  In fact, there is even a sign posted on the trail warning hikers not to go anywhere near the water. 

Sign by the Hanakapi'ai Beach

The existance of a sign is in itself unusual.  The local pattern we have noticed (and read about in our guidebook) is to provide as few signs as possible.  The trail from the beach to the falls was extremely poorly marked.  Later I learned that it is technically unmaintained.

Past the beach, the trail turned away from the ocean and started climbing.  After another 2 miles of scrambling up the rocks and crossing a several streams, we have reached the Hanakapi'ai Falls. 

Hanakapi'ai Falls

Several extremely brave fellow hikers (Britney, Cory, Thomas and Dan) jumped into the large pool under these 300 foot falls.  The water must have been freezing--I felt cold just feeling the water spray on my face and arms. 

Cory and Thomas waiting for Britney to swim under the waterfall.

The sun came out as we hiked back to the beach, and then back our cars. 

There were practically no moscitoes along the trail except for one magical spot--the bamboo forest.  Unable to encounter thick groves of bamboo in my every day life, I was fascinated and paused to snap a few photos.  I could not adjust my camera settings fast enough before my legs, thickly smeared with bug repelent, were covered in mosquito bites. 

That was on the way to the falls.  Did I learn my lesson?  Apparently, not.  With the sun shining into the "bamboo forest" I was compelled to pause and take a few more photos.  For these I invariably paid with a few more bites.

Captain Cook and Kealakekua Bay

For some reason I have always believed that Captain James Cook (the British explorer, who discovered Australia and Hawaii for the Europeans) was killed by the natives in Australia.  (And Visotsky's song about Captain Cook certainly supports my theory.) 

It turns out that Captain Cook was killed in Hawaii, in Kealakekua Bay.  In late 1800's the British were granted a piece of land near the spot where the captain was killed and erected a monument there in his memory. 

Monument to Captain Cook, the British explorer

Kealakekua Bay is said to be one of the best snorkling spots in Hawaii.  Nick and I hiked down 2 miles to the water in order to do the snorkling and see Captain Cook's monument. 



Kealakekua Bay

At the top the trail cut through tall wild grasses.  For all you "Lost" fans out there:  the entire time the grasses made strange noises, which made me think that either someone was following me, or that someone was whispering nearby.  It felt eerily similar to some of the scenes in the show. 
The snorlking was indeed amazing.  The coral reefs seemed a lot healthier, and hence a lot more colorful than the ones we saw in Hanauma Bay.  At one point Nick and I saw an eel.  The sun was setting by the time we climbed back up 1300 feet to the road. 

Things I do not have time to blog about right now:

• whale watching near Kona--we saw several humpbacks, including a mother with a calf about a week old
• seeing an active volcano for the first time in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• the landscape, the flora and the fauna around us
• snapping my sun glasses in half and lamenting that I failed to lear such simple things as the Reparo incantation in elementary school

Turtles, Pineapples and Pearl Harbor

None of the items listed in the title are connected, but the title summarizes are adventures for the day.  Ryan drove us out to the North shore of Oahu, to the town of Hale'iwa. 

On a beach near the town we looked for some sea turtles.  Unfortunately, the strong surf does not seem to agree with the turtles.  The few that we saw kept getting flipped over by the waves, probably not a pleasant experience even for the turtles.  However, the heads of the turtles occasionally sticking out of the water were still pretty cute. 

Since I could not get a photo of a sea turtle,
I took a photo of a crab running nearby on the beach

We tried to look for surfers at the Waimea Beach, but the waves were not very high, and the surfers were mainly wading in the water looking for bigger waves. 

On the way to Hale'iwa, we stopped at the Dole Plantation of pineapples.  For some reason I always assumed that pineapples grew on trees.  I'm not sure where that conviction of mine came from, but I was quickly proven wrong. 

Nick and Ryan in front of the entrance to the Dole Plantation

In the afternoon, we visisted Pearl Harbor and saw the USS Arizona memorial.

USS Arizona Memorial, dedicated in 1962

Oil still leaking from USS Arizona
(sunk on December 7, 1941, during the attack on Pearl Harbor)

Hiking and Snorkling on Oahu

We continued to soak up the sun here in Honolulu. 

Ryan picks an avocado while standing on his porch
--the wonders of living in a tropical rain forest

Our first adventure today was to hike to the edge of the rim of an extinct volcanic crator near Waikiki, called the Diamond Head.  It was very crowded at the top, but the views were amazing.

View of the ocean and some coral reef from the edge of the rim of the Diamond Head

After a light lunch of sushi, we did some snorkling at the Hanauma Bay.  I have never snorkled before, so it took some getting used to.  We saw a lot of fish.  I was amazed how little I had to move to stay afloat in the water.  I guess it has been awhile since I last swam in salt water.  (No photos from the beach, as we again locked our cameras in the car.)

Enjoying views after the snorkling

Nick taking a break from looking out for whales



Aloha

Our first day in Honolulu involved a bit of hiking in the Lyon Arboretum in Manoa and some kayaking in Kailua.  There are no photos of the kayaking, because we decided to leave our cameras safe and dry in the car.

Honolulu

Talia near a giant tree, whose name we do not know



At the Pali Lookout


After our kayaking adventure we had a bit of shaved ice at the "Island Snow", the same place where the president went just a few weeks ago.

Nick eating a Raspberry Vanilla Shaved Ice at the Island Snow in Kailua