Rain, Raindrops

Dear travel diary

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

It was already raining during breakfast. But the rain stops quickly in Hawaii, as is well known, and so does this.

Equipped with sandwiches, we sat on our scooters and took the slightly longer route. Shortly after departure, we got wet for the first time. Fortunately, only a few raindrops.

Then we took a short toilet break at Keālia Beach, but then we rushed on again.

We rode the whole way on the "breakdown lane," as is the practice in Hawaii. At times, even on the bike path, as scooters are treated the same as bicycles here.

About 15 kilometers before our destination, we got even more wet. So much so that I wished I had windshield wipers on my sunglasses and a long-sleeved shirt.

In Koloa, a town that we had to pass through, we accidentally drove in a circle. Because of a construction site, a makeshift roundabout had been set up, which momentarily confused my sense of direction. Eventually, we still reached Shipwreck Beach in almost dry clothes.

Since it was already 1:00 p.m., we ate our sandwiches before starting the trail and had to quickly take shelter under a roof because it was raining heavily again. At least this time we didn't get wet.

The short trail along the coast is like a labyrinth. Numerous small paths, to the right, left, and in the middle, led through a small grove. So we didn't come out in the same place we entered. The view was beautiful despite the bad weather. Beautiful rock formations, crashing waves, and mountains shimmering in red in the background.

Back at the starting point, we admired the surfers on the high waves for a few more minutes, and I even managed to capture some waves with my camera. You don't really feel like you're in Hawaii if you don't bodyboard or surf as a leisure activity. You can find some of both at any beach, from young to old.

We then continued to Poi'pu Beach, which is only a few minutes further west. Since the weather didn't cooperate here either, we only briefly looked at the beach and the many chickens and then made our way back.

In Maui, I thought there were many chickens, but Kauai is a whole different league. They really flutter everywhere. At least the chickens, especially the roosters, are mostly colorful and nice to look at.

On the way back, to our surprise, we saw a small wild boar by the roadside and were relieved that we didn't collide with it.

Almost in the same spot, we got completely soaked. But this time, for real! The rain was pouring down on us, and the drops stung our faces, which was quite painful. When we finally found shelter, we had to take a short break there. Interestingly, this was in front of the Harley shop. A pretty funny sight: us with our cute scooters in front of the mighty Harleys.

However, the wind dried our t-shirts quickly, only the pants felt as if I hadn't made it to a toilet in time…

With a scooter that was now fully fueled and wet clothing again, we arrived at our room feeling cold and looking forward to a warm shower and a cozy blanket.

In the evening, we were so exhausted and lazy that we ordered and picked up food from the Asian restaurant.

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Shortly after the morning rain, we set off with our rain jackets in our backpacks and put them on just a few hundred meters later. But this time it rained only briefly or only a few drops. Nevertheless, I kept the jacket on because it was cloudy and relatively cool with the wind while driving.

About an hour later, we parked our scooters by the Wailua Falls on the side of the road. Today we were much faster than planned, which is obviously to our advantage.

From above, the waterfall already looked beautiful and gigantic, but from below, it would surely be even more beautiful. So we looked for a way down and found an entrance to the forest behind the guardrails.

Like every hiking trail in Hawaii, this one was also a pure slippery slide and not for the faint of heart. We had to hang down the mountain on a thin rope and be careful not to do a split in the mud.

There was a group ahead of us who were already covered from head to toe in mud. We could still consider ourselves lucky with the small traces of dirt on our legs and mainly hands. Maybe the months of experience with such trails helped us a little.

As if this path wasn't already difficult enough, I was also plagued by countless mosquitoes that had taken a liking to my legs. When we reached the water, my legs were covered in bites.

As expected, the waterfall was even more impressive from below. It was cool to watch the water fall from the mountain and get sprayed a bit by the wind.

For the return journey, we took a different path, as this one looked more manageable compared to ours. The people coming from this path were hardly dirty or sweaty.

Only a few minutes later, we were back on the road above, although we had to climb over a two-meter-high fence first to actually arrive. But without dirty hands or legs, we managed to climb this trail again.

However, as soon as we arrived at the top, it started raining again, and we took out our jackets and wiped the seats. So we drove once again in the rain towards Princeville (to home).

In Kapa'a, we stopped at Taco Bell for lunch and ordered something. The tacos were good but, of course, fast food, so you don't really get full from it.

After the short break, we went straight home. The closer we got to Princeville, the colder it got. I even started to feel a bit cold and was already looking forward to the warm shower.