For the cost of going to a 5 star resort in the Caribbean I was able to fly to this remote group of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. A group of islands with nothing to the north or south until you reach the artic/Antarctic regions. A group of islands at the edge of the International date line where today becomes tomorrow.
I went with an open mind, being part of the US I thought that it may be similar to going to other US states like Florida, but Maui has managed to keep its cultural identity far more that I had thought it would.
Hawaii became the 50th state only as recently as 1959, but the history of Hawaii goes back over 1500 years when the Polynesians first arrived. 500 years later, settlers from Tahiti came bringing their beliefs and social hierarchy. In 1778, Captain James Cook ‘discovered’ the islands opening them up to the West.
In the 20th century the main industry was sugar and pineapple plantations. However, the last sugar plantation still producing will be closed by the end of this year. Tours of the Pineapple plantations are a popular attraction.
All the beaches, of which there are many, are open to the public; ‘they belong to no one and everyone’ Developers are required to provide public access and parking to residential/hotel areas which is a lovely idea and gives you the ability to visit some superb stretches of coastline.
In an 8 day visit, I was able to take a helicopter flight over West Maui to the island of Molokai, rent a car to explore the whole island, go whale watching, drive up to the top of a 10,000 feet mountain to watch the sunset, hike through bamboo forests to see watherfalls, snorkel, watch Sea turtles come up onto the beach to sleep and wonder at the surfers as they ride the waves. Or I could have sat on a beach in the Caribbean – guess it depends on the type of vacation you are looking for.
No comments:
Post a Comment