I have now been on Maui for a week. A friend from Seattle sent me a picture of the rainy day she was having and I must admit that I was happy not to be there. The best thing so far about Maui is the weather. It is about 84 every day and about 70 every night. We have very brief showers about every other day and sometimes it is a bit windy. The sun is up at 6:30 and down at 6:30. The days won’t get much shorter than now as the solstice draws near. I like the sameness, I like the sun, and I like the breezes.
I am staying at a friend’s house in Makawao. Makawao is ‘up country’ towards the dormant volcano and on the northeast side of the island. We get more rain here (1500ft above sea level) than where the resorts are. The resorts are on the other side the island. That’s fine with me. Here, the folks of Maui live, the year round; go to work and come home folks. It is a nice neighborhood of small houses with big lots. Some folks have two houses on the lot – one a cottage that they rent out. I am staying in a large studio apartment in a house. My windows look out on a gully of tall eucalyptus trees. Cardinals and finches come to the bird feeder and it is quiet. My friend has over 20 orchid plants, about ten are blooming now. On my morning walks I see hibiscus, plumaria, avocado trees and flowers I don’t know the names for. Wonderful.
The town of Makawao is very small, just a few blocks of old Hawaiian storefronts, most of which have shops for tourists. This is the ranching part of the island, and home to many of the new age, hippie folks of the island. People still feel safe to hitch hike and flip-flops seems like the only type of shoe that is worn. The best surfing beach is on this side of the island and so you see a lot of surfers as well.
My first weekend here I got to do two local Maui things: go to the weekly swap meet and also the County fair. The swap meet had fruits and veggies I have never seen: dragon fruit, bread and jack fruit as well as beautiful tropical flowers for pennies. There were Hawaiian gift items and locally made baked goods – all very different but I was comforted by seeing that I could get tube socks too, just like any swap meet at home!
The county fair was a mixture of familiar and new too. I am struck by how strong the native Hawaiian culture is here. I feel like I am visiting another country in some ways and I like that. The fair had displays and competitions of orchids and fruit (strange ones like at the swap meet) as well as a huge pumpkin (762 lbs)! There were the regular rides and games as well as hula shows. There was cotton candy and fried Twinkies and elephant ears as well as tripe stew, pork dishes, Philippine dishes and Korean dishes. I loved it all!
The people I have met have been very friendly. I have gone to the beach once and driven around a little. I will do more of both. I ask myself, could I live here? For the weather – yes! For everything else? I will wait and see. Part II coming soon!
