Magnificent Maui

The view from our Maui hotel

It is Sunday morning, and we have just arrived in Fiji. Very weird, since yesterday (when we left Hawaii) it was Friday. Having flown over the international date line during our overnight flight, we totally skipped Saturday. It is gone. Disappeared into the ether! Never to be lived. That’s what happens when you head west and experience days that are longer than 24 hours. Got to make up for it eventually I suppose.

We really loved Hawaii!

Honolua Bay - where we snorkelled

After an activity filled time on the Big Island of Hawaii, we opted for a more relaxed second half of the week on the neighbouring island of Maui (the 2nd largest of the Hawaiian islands). We swam in the clear waters, snorkeled, went for runs on the beach, sipped Mai Tais next to the pool, and savoured Hawaiain cuisine (fresh fish, coconut, pineapple, lime, macadamia nuts etc). Our favourite dessert was the locally made coconut ice-cream – nothing like it!

Andy with our convertible

Another treat was the Magnum PI car we hired: a red Ford Mustang convertible. We had to have the right wheels for the occasion! It was so cool to drive around, with the top down, and the wind blowing through our hair.

On our second evening we had dinner with an American couple (Eric & Cheri) that we had met last month on our Caribbean cruise.

Dinner with Eric and Cheri (Fish Tacos)

They have a beautiful water’s edge condo on the north west side of the island, and happened to be in Maui at the same time as us. After tons of hotel meals, we were spoilt with a home-cooked meal by them. Once again we found it fascinating to get a local perspective of the US and Hawaii through them. We loved visiting with them, and trust that our paths will cross again in the future.

Driving around the island

Besides the beauty that Hawaii has to offer, it is an interesting country. Having become a US State in 1959, it has a unique combination of island style “laidbackness” with first world influence. While it’s first settlers were Polynesian, so many other cultures from the East and West have made Hawaii their home, that the place is truly a melting pot of all diversities.

Hawaiian Sunset

With a time difference of 12 hours to South Africa, we were exactly on the other side of the globe from home. The end of our Hawaiian visit also marked the half way mark of our world tour. 1 1/2 months down. 1 1/2 months to go. So far, so good!