Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Around The Head

If you look at a map of Maui, you might imagine the profile of a woman laying face down. So following that mindset, we traveled the head today. In more plain terms we drove Route 30 from our resort heading north to Kapalua and beyond. The driving guide handed out by the rental companies states “ The road around the north side of Maui is desolate, but ruggedly picturesque. It also has a very narrow section of road with a sheer cliff and no guard rail before you reach Kahakuloa when driving from Kapalua. “Drive at your own risk.” They weren’t kidding. In fact, after driving the road, Carl thinks it may have been worse than the road to Hana. It wasn’t as rough but it was even more narrow in many places.

Once we left the hustle and bustle of Lahaina and Kahana, we followed the rugged coast line finding numerous spots where the locals congregate for surfing. We stopped at a few of these places and watched as each took their shot at riding the 5-6 foot rollers. I have never attempted this sport. To me, it’s crazy dangerous and way too easy to get pounded by breaking waves or slammed into the sea floor. I understand it’s even common to reach the surface only to be pushed back down again. Competent surfers drown each year but not today.

Along this drive, even the beaches eventually disappear and all you are left with is the intense concentration it takes to maneuver the narrow twisted road. It’s all paved but that’s all the good I can say about the road. Would I recommend you drive it? I have to refer you to the driving guide handed out by the rental car operators.

The tiny village of Kahakuloa is nestled in a narrow valley literally in the middle of no where. From a high vantage point, we can count no more than 10 houses and 2 churches. One of these churches may fall down during the next big wind. We see utility poles and electric lines snaking their way up on rugged hill and down the other side so we assume that most homes have electricity. We see a few houses with solar panels on the roof but what is most prevalent  are the satellite dishes.

Carl has been keeping an eye out for an interesting food truck and finally found a small collection on the side of the road about 20 miles from our resort. We settled on the shrimp truck although I was glad they offered a steak plate in addition to the seven or eight shrimp offerings. Both of us enjoyed the food but just like everything else on the island, two plates of food was $27.00. No drinks.

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