Jump in, let's go. Lay back, enjoy the show.

One of the greatest things about living in this location, living the life that I am now, is that you never know what to except for the day when you wake up in the morning. Yesterday (because of an unexpected day off…) Chelsea and I headed to “The other side” of Maui, to a town called Paia. Since Hana sits so remote from that mysterious “Other side,” we managed to swing a ride by the good graces of our thumbs in a sideways position, and the kind hearts of a young French couple. Next to never knowing where your day will go, a great thing about living here is the people you meet. This French couple has been here for two months on holiday and road bikes down the road to Hana. In incredible shape, (if you know the Road to Hana, you know riding a bike for it’s duration would mean nothing less than an incredible body…) they surprisingly bought and cut right into about three loaves of chocolate chip banana bread from a popular spot on the side of the road. Determined to see “Jaws,” a notoriously dangerous surfing spot, the couple traveled down many side roads in search for those waves, but sadly never found it…

After parting from our new French friends, we spent the afternoon exploring the charming, part touristy, part hippie/artsy town of Paia. We loved it all, the shops, the wonderful natural food store, the white sand beach with the most surfers in one spot I’d ever seen in my life, but most importantly, the many happy hours. :) A three dollar Margarita never tasted so good.

After three days of pure bliss in the sun, it was back to work at Hana Tropicals for the day. I officially became the Goddess of Worms today; try not to be too jealous. We practice worm composting here, which requires its own specific bin, and only a select type of food, including egg shells and vegetables. Once a week, I will drain the bodily waste (to put it nicely) of the worms, and combined it with water at a 1 to 10 ratio. This creates leachate, a tea that can be spread at the base of plants, providing soil with nitrogen. After making my concoction, I spread the tea over our Ti leafs, fittingly. But wait, it gets better, not only did I just pour diluted worm droppings over these plants, I also ever so lovingly sprinkled human hair...

Last week, Krista, Amy and I all went to get our hair cut. Since Krista and Amy already had short hair, they didn’t lose too much. I on the other hand, with my infamous head of crazy locks, lost quite a bit, as I took a plunge towards a much needed short do for the humid Hawaii air. So by adding my hair to the ground near the Ti plants, I’m preventing slugs from climbing up and gnawing away at the leaves. And after spending long amounts of time searching for the perfect leaf for our arrangements, I’ll take anything I can get!

It’s only Monday, so your guess is as good as mine for the rest of the week. :)

Aloha.

Breakfast at Tiffany's

If you turn your back to the ocean, pretty much anywhere in the small town of Hana, and look up towards the mountains, you’ll see a large hill with a large wooden cross. Built probably when missionaries started coming to the islands, it’s a lovely spot, good for soaking in all that is Maui, reflecting, meditating, praying, whatever drawls to you this cross, but perhaps most used for witnessing incredible sunrises. Yesterday morning, Chelsea and I rose at 5:21 A.M. to be exact, ran the two miles into town by the light of my head lamp, and hiked up this hill to look east towards a rising sun. And indeed what a beautiful sunrise is was.

Walking up this hill, looking ahead at the cross and past towards those majestic mountains, it all looked very “Lost-ish”, I half expected to see some Others creeping out of the jungle….

On our way back, we stopped at Uncle Bill’s, a small road side all day breakfast vender, run by Phyllis, a Boston Projects bred woman, living in Hawaii for about ten years, with a whole lot of spunk, and no filter. Great fun to talk to, she shared all sorts of Hawaiian legends with us as she cooked our Loco Moco breakfast, enthusiastically popping out in her David apron (as in the Italian sculptor, David, if you can imagine). Phyllis told us of Pele, the Hawaiian Volcano Goddess, of superstitions like no whistling in the dark, always picking up a Hawaiian woman hitchhiking alone, and NEVER taking a rock from Hawaii as a souvenir.  Krista had already told us this, and apparently 9 tons of rocks get returned every year, as the people who took them, had horrible luck once they got home. Thinking of that Brady Bunch episode, anyone?

Intrigued to learn more Hawaiian superstitions, I went to the ever so reliable source of the internet. An interesting one that stuck out without a doubt, not taking bananas on a boat! It brings bad luck and means no fish will be caught…

The one story I loved the most that Phyllis told was about two halved flowers. There’s a small white flower that grows by the ocean. This small white flower however, only grows it’s small white petals on one half. Up towards the mountains, there’s a small white flower that only grows it’s small white petals on the opposite half as the one by the ocean. Years and years ago, when separate tribes scattered around the islands, a man and a woman from warring tries were not to marry. In a Romeo and Juliet, star crossed lovers story, two hearts connected in a romance that could not be, because of their families. They consulted with an elder in one of their tribes, and were told that the only way to be together was to kill themselves. So much in love, they did just that and became those small white flowers, one half living by the ocean, one half living by the mountains.

We’ll defiantly be returning to Uncle Bill’s.

Aloha.

Your typical city involved in a typical daydream, hang up and see what tomorrow brings.

After one week of living in Hana, I’ve not so slowly come to the realization that there’s no typical day at Hana Tropicals. This morning, to my utmost anticipated delight, Chelsea and I got our hands in the vegetable garden! As I went to harvest some lettuce for a potluck several days ago, saw that almost all had gone to seed. They were no longer were pleasing to the taste buds, as Chelsea’s face expression clearly showed today after she doubted my knowledge of lettuce that’s a day old and a dollar short. If any of you out there share my love of vegetable gardening, you know that satisfying feeling of yanking out the overgrown to make room for new life, the joy of dirty fingernails, and knowing soon enough it’ll blossom with delicious food. And soon enough we shall have harvestable veggies, as soon as we plant new seeds in. Everything grows much faster here in Hawaii.

Today also found me practicing my ever developing skills driving a stick shift, as Happy took me out in the Fuguly. So with no doors and ducktape holding together part of the front windshield, I was truckin’ along the farm roads of Hana Tropicals, staling more than I would have like, but patient Happy just reminded me, “You got all the time in the world, girl.”

Next stop on today’s agenda, a meeting on the beach with beer. A tradition Krista delightfully carries out weekly. :)

That’s all for now from sunny Hana.

Aloha.

Something In The Way She Moves

There’s something in the way Hana moves. The way people wave and smile at you when they drive by as if they’ve known you for years, the way a hug starts every greeting, the way old local pick up trucks and tourists rental convertibles flawlessly cruise the curves of the road…. Even as you walk or drive down the bumpy road into Hana Tropicals lined with arecas, you absorb a sense of that Hana movement. The arecas palms blow with the wind, they guide you like a queen walking into her castle.

The first building you’ll pass on your right on the property is the Oasis. A place for gathering, the Oasis holds chairs and tables, sports a lovely bar and ocean paintings sprawl across every inch of the walls, even in the bathroom. Last night, the Oasis was in full swing as friends and musicians congregated for a potluck dinner and jam session. Hana has the pleasure of hosting, Blackmail a Scottish band who gave us an amazing sneak peak last night at their concert tonight. The four lads had a brilliant traditional sound with their fiddles, guitar, mandolin, tin whistles and yes, even a bagpipe. Because it was a jam session, others added their two cents to the music making. Happy strummed along on his acoustic guitar, as Mackie, a Hana native, entertained us all on his ukulele, trying desperately for his traditional sound to mix with the bands. He’d break every so often so say, “Any more beer?!” and to my delight, even quickly started singing “Something” by George Harrison. The lovely night had me going to bed at ten! We’ve been falling asleep very early. It’s strange here, because the days are shorter, like any winter, so for it to feel like summer, but only have light from 6:30 to 6:30 takes some getting used too….

As you wander past the Oasis, you come to a fork, and neighboring huge trees (I’ll learn all their names some day I swear, just not yet…) covered in veins. Take a left and you’ll go towards one of the many gardens, and up the back way towards Happy’s humble abode and the long main building. Take a right, and it’s just a longer way to the front entrance to that building. That “Main Building” contains my place of residency, the “Digs” (a two bedroom and one kitchen barrack where Chelsea, Amy and I sleep,) the washing and arranging spot for the flowers, storage, and at the end is the orchid nursery. Further up on the property is the home of Krista and Ian, the owners of Hana Tropicals. Throughout the over 400 acre piece of land, many gardens make their presence known, and have cleaver names like, China Town. :)

Today, we weeded all morning in the pouring rain (just to point out that we don’t have perfect weather ALL the time!) We weeded a spot called the upper ridge and drove, “Fugly” the beat up Ford Ranger with no doors, to get there. When Happy parks the Fugly, he’s always asks, “What’s the most important thing to remember before parking?” It’s of course making sure that you get good radio reception at your parking spot. So today as we weeded, we jammed to a classic rock station from the big island, and heard “Something” once again, this time the whole version. :)

The radio guides us through flower arranging inside as well. The station we pick up in there plays regular songs with a Hawaiian twist to them. This morning I heard “Best of My Love” but instead of the Eagles, a much different musician took his shot at it, and it didn’t sound half bad.

Music’s clearly been having a strong occurrence here at Hana Tropicals throughout the past couple days, THANK GOODNESS. Even though I’m in paradise right now, observing a sense of movement in my surroundings, I’m sure all of you, no matter where you are, can notice it as well, for it’s the music that moves us, right?

Aloha.

"It's legal here to ride in the bed of a pickup truck"

Landing in Kahului Hawaii, gently gliding onto the runway after about 24 hours of travel time, I could almost automatically feel a sense of calm and relaxation on the tropical island. The balmy air, the ocean breeze, seeing the palm trees sway as the mystical mountains stand sturdy in the background, breaking the clouds with their summit. To end the pondering questions, Hawaiian women in hula skirts did not great me with leis! But still, it was an adrenaline rush none the same. :) 

I’ve come to the island of Maui for three months, to work for my room and board on Hana Tropicals, a tropical flower farm in the small town of Hana (the name seemed fitting enough). My friend, Chelsea has accompanied me on this journey, and we both could not get over the sights as we voyaged down the infamous “Road to Hana,” soon after our arrival.

For those of you who don’t know, the road to the small town of Hana winds. And when I say winds, I mean it with every ounce of that word. It winds through the tropical rain forest, following the northern western coast of Hana. Like a true Hana resistant, Chelsea and I took our first trip down this road in the bed of our boss, Krista’s pickup truck. :) It’s legal in Hawaii, so don’t fret. The view absolutely left us is awe, as two college graduates couldn’t think of anything else but, “Oh my God!” to say…. Small waterfalls, every shade of lush green enclosing around you, waves crashing into the volcanic rock that cement this piece of land, the roadside stands of fresh pineapple and mango, every part of this road is a gift to unfold. To leave us even more speechless, a full rainbow appeared in the air over the ocean, like the Arc welcoming us to its city, but this is defiantly noooo St. Louis.

As of now I haven’t had an official work day, I know what you’re thinking, after two days that’s real tough, so will share that experience in blogs to come! But the first days here have been packed with aimless wanderings around the area that have led to fantastic discoveries. On our first full day, Chelsea and I took a ride in the back of Happy’s pickup truck into town. Happy, and employer of Hana Tropicals warned us of the short comings of his truck, but reinsured it hasn’t failed on him yet, and to say a quick prayer before is chugs along down the road. Long story short, which may of may not have involved hitchhiking, we ended up going to two beaches, Hamoa and Koki. On Koki a, a beached Monk Seal lay on the sand as onlookers respectfully kept their distance. Hamoa, a much more popular destination, housed a line of many pickups with surfboards in the back, a sight you’ll see on a regular basis here.

As we headed back into town, walking down an incredible road with the ocean on one side, and the mountains and cattle farms on the other, it became very obvious we needed to go grocery shopping. So partook in the best shopping of all, free and fresh. Coconuts (Chelsea’s much larger and heavier than mine to her dismay), limes, and liakuo, (do not trust my spelling on that one, but it’s quite tasty), all filled our hands and bags; found right off the side of the road.

Our second day took us to Wai’anapanapa, the most BEAUTIFUL beach in the entire world! I don’t care if I haven’t seen them all, it’s absolutely incredible. Amy, a fellow worker at Hana Tropicals, and our new friends Torey and Ashley from a farm down the road, guided us there and showed us the ropes. We all completely ignored the signs saying not to swim, kicked off our sandals and headed down the black sand into the crashing waves. Some of us, meaning myself, aren’t the most adventurous when it comes to ocean swimming!  As Ashley and Amy fearlessly dove right into a wave, I cautiously let it ride into me as I inched my way closer into deeper water. A rough day even by Amy’s standards, I called it quits as a wave knocked me down. :(

Perhaps the most memorable part of yesterday’s adventure, the fresh water caves. Cool and still with no salt, this water’s much more up my alley. We walked down this unbelievable pathway, and reached a cave, once again kicking off the sandals and jumping right in. The water felt so refreshing after the ocean, and the colors of the caves ceilings reflected down upon us. There’s a legend about that cave, that once a princess named, Popoalaea, fled here to escape her cruel husband. Unfortunately, he found her in the cave by spotting her reflection on the water, and murdered her. In the spring, tiny red shrimp apparently give this cave a red tint representing the blood that was shed. Guess I have no choice but to go back in April to test this out myself….

It’s been a rough couple days, but I think I’ll manage to find SOME way of scrounging fun out of this 

experience ;)

Aloha from Hana!