Gourmet cuisine

After the luxury night in Honolulu, we head to the island of Maui, where I will stay for 17 days. With a rental car, because we are in America and here you can't get anywhere without your own means of transportation. Ha, I was so afraid of driving a car and the automatic transmission, but it turns out that there is nothing easier. Huge roads, well signposted, no one pushes or rushes, braking and accelerating, a piece of cake. The first stop for 3 days is Lahaina on the west coast. A chic, film-like, little village with a bunch of tourists.
Day 1 is all about hiking, from 0 to 3000m (by car on a paved road, of course) above the clouds to the no longer active Haleakala volcano. There starts a 5-hour hiking trail, first through barren Martian landscape until you slowly see dry plants again and finally arrive in a Jurassic Park-like landscape, then climb a steep mountain and are surrounded by clouds and rainbows, and finally see the sun disappear into the sea from the top. Really a highlight.
Day 2 is a road trip with Alex, a German girl from the hostel, along the west coast, to small beaches, through super duper rich villages with hotels and luxury villas, and then to a lava field that leads directly along the beach. A roommate gave us a real flower lei. That's really something special, it smells wonderful and is really beautiful, didn't want to give it back, but then we ritually threw it into the sea.
Day 3 is a snorkeling trip with whale watching and we saw a dolphin (!!!), swimming very close to our boat, checking us out and blowing a load of seawater towards us. It's such an amazing experience, can't even describe it. If you have the opportunity to see animals in their natural habitat, highly recommended, a truly sublime experience. The whales also allowed us to admire them from a little further away. Currently, humpback whales are here, giving birth to their baby whales around the islands (birth weight 2 tons), the babies gain 50-100 kg per day (while the mama whale loses weight because they don't eat during that time), in March they swim back to Alaska, where they can fill their bellies again. In our case, that would be an eating disorder, but when it comes to whales, we think it's awesome.
Day 4 continues the tour to Hana. Well, I was told to have a lot of respect for this road to Hana, which is a top tourist attraction. For American standards, the road is quite narrow and supposedly has 617 curves and 52 one-lane bridges to overcome. For just under 50 km, you should plan at least 2.5 hours, not least because you stare in awe at high mountains covered with rainforest, deep blue sea, waterfalls, tunnels made of vines, or cliffs around every turn with your mouth wide open. Exaggeratedly beautiful. In the end, that was no problem either, even with a small car. They always exaggerate.
A little Hawaii summary after the first week. Yep, it's amazingly beautiful. There are colorful rainbows, blue, clear sea, black, white, and red beaches, green plants as far as the eye can see, an abundance of nature. If it weren't for the Americans with their tendency for exaggeration. Whether it's with prohibition and warning signs, don't go in here, don't do this and that, don't feed the animals, and beware, slippery ground when wet, fasten your seatbelt, it's the law. The grandiosity continues with the ship-like cars and luxurious hotels and estates. The "worst" is all the gardens. I know this may sound strange, but here everything is often so exaggeratedly styled, manicured, and trimmed. Every plant seems to be in the right place on public squares and private properties, the lawn is probably trimmed with nail scissors, there is toilet paper in public toilets, and everything is just overly well-groomed. Like a gourmet plate. It definitely makes an impression. But sometimes it lacks soul, like grandma's goulash.