All Around the Island

Yesterday, we completed the road to Hana - and the 5 mile (+!) very rough road past Hana around the island of Maui. The Road to Hana was crowded with plenty of rude shutterfly (look - a waterfall! snap snap snap snap snap) tourists, thousands of winding curves - (ok maybe only 620 curves), innumerable one lane bridges and many beautiful, expansive vistas. It was very nice. I wouldn't do it again however. Honestly, one waterfall looks the same as the rest of them with a few exceptions. Don't get me wrong, I'm very glad we did it (including the last rough part through a lava field), but I'm satisfied and don't feel the need to go through it again. I will add that in my opinion, the road around the north side of the island is much better for a number of reasons (shhh! Don't tell the tourists!)

We did take the entire day to make the drive, starting at 9am and ending around 6pm. We stopped numerous times, took lots of photos and enjoyed the abundant beauty around us. We also enjoyed the black sand and gray sands beaches near Hana. The black sand beach was truly striking, very memorable.

Kudos to David for driving the entire time and handing the narrow, one lane roads like a pro. All of us and our 8 cameras make it back safely.

Somewhere just before Hana, we pulled off to visit a roadside market. They had overpriced tacos, a chicken wandering around, and a (junk) souvenir shop and a small bakery/food shop. The bakery was actually quite nice. We spoke with the owner/baker and discovered her coconut/pineapple cake. Yum! Most retailers sell banana bread. It was refreshing to see a baker attempt something much more appetizing. We bought a slice of cake and enjoyed it later.