Kauai, here we come!

Travel day. It's always a drama with the weight of the suitcases. I don't even know how many times I lifted my suitcase onto the bed today.

Today, we need to wear our hiking shoes to meet the weight limit. The rest has to go in the carry-on luggage.

On the way to the airport, passing by kilometers of pineapple fields owned by Dole.

You're probably wondering why I'm writing about trash right now, but I've noticed once again how much packaging we're confronted with. Disposable tableware, take-out cups, and plastic doggie bags during breakfast at the hotel. Even at the supermarket, you can't escape it, not even in restaurants.

Facts

2.2 million tons of waste are generated annually on Oahu (with 900,000 residents and 6 million tourists).

In general, waste is separated in Hawaii into newspaper, aluminum, glass, and plastic (blue bin), as well as green waste (green bin). The rest goes into the black bin, just like in our country. So, no one can say that Germans are the only ones who separate waste.

The majority of the waste (700,000 tons from the black bins) is burned, providing 10% of the island's electricity needs. The rest is recycled.

Another trash problem for Hawaii is located in the ocean between Hawaii and California. Here, the world's largest plastic vortex, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, is floating, with a size three times that of France.

Trash from this island regularly washes up on Hawaii's beaches. Okay, that's enough about trash now.

After returning the rental car and the luggage, we need to dispose of our drinks. This is where we meet Kahni from Waihina on Kauai.

She has just visited her daughter on Oahu and is now flying back home. She thinks we will like her island because it is so colorful and abundant in plants. And it's the Chicken Island. Since a hurricane destroyed many barns in 1992, there are countless free-roaming chickens here. The chickens unintentionally became the national animal. She gives us some tips on what we should see. Definitely the canyon on Kauai, similar to the Grand Canyon but much more beautiful. Then our paths separate again.

Today, we are flying with Hawaii Airlines.

And as always, the same drama with the carry-on luggage. Everyone here is dragging a trolley (sometimes even bigger than allowed) plus a bag or backpack, and then they wonder why overhead bins have no space. And then a flight attendant briefly pulls on Schahaatz's backpack - we should push our (only) carry-on luggage under the seat in front - but then another spot was found for such a d****d trolley. It's a subject that I could rant about every time.

But now everything is finally stowed away, and now we're off.

The shuttle from the terminal to the runway.

Left

And right (escorted by a battleship).

A last look at Oahu.

The flight lasts about 40 minutes - as soon as we're up in the air, the descent begins.

All of our suitcases arrived in one piece. And just like in Oahu, we take the shuttle to the car rental station.

But here, the difference is that each rental company has its own shuttle.

I think our rental station at Dollar had the longest line.

That wasn't the case with Alamo before.

Schahaatz is passing the time writing Google reviews about Dollar and chatting with a fellow traveler.

Mike is retired and has been to Kauai three times already. He lives in Florida. Since Hurricane Ian, in September 2022, which completely destroyed his house on Fort Myers Beach, he has changed his focus (Hurricane Ian was a Category 5 storm. It hit the Florida coast with winds of 260 km/h and caused significant devastation). Now, Mike travels more and no longer lives in Fort Myers. He loves ice-cold beer. He's not a fan of room-temperature beer that we drink in Europe 🤨. Schahaatz gives him some travel tips for Germany.

Not even 2.5 hours after landing, we finally sit in our rental car.

To get a cheap rental, you have to wait a long time.

The hotel is beautiful with a view of the pool and the ocean.