Kapaa, Kauai

Holoholo is an Hawaiian slang term meaning "travel for adventure and fun" and that's exactly what I plan to do on this 5 week trip to the islands. Travel day, February 28th, involved a 6 a.m. flight from Winnipeg to Vancouver; a 9 l/2 hour layover; and a 6 l/2 hour flight to Lihue, which meant that I was awake for 24 hours. First I had to pick up my rental car, a black Chevy Cruze with black leather heated seats....bizarre in Hawaii....and I couldn't figure out how to turn off the heat to the seat! I also had trouble figuring out how to start the vehicle with the push button ignition. It was raining heavily and pitch black as I drove the 13 km north to my resort, the Pono Kai, just another challenge for my exhausted brain.

I've spent these first 3 days recovering, walking on the ocean front path behind the resort, and enjoying the view and birds from my lanai. The chickens and roosters that Kauai is known for are plentiful, as are the tropical flowers. I saw an Hawaiian monk seal, one of the most endangered mammals in the world as it is estimated that there are only 1200 of these rare seals. The temperature has been around 27 C during the day and 12 C at night. My walks have been limited to 2-3 hours because of the heat and high humidity. It has been mostly sunny with occasional cloud bursts of rain, which is why Kauai is known as the Garden Isle. It's very tropical and has always been my favourite.Read more