Hawaii, 2013

Still, the ennui passed quickly as the breezes, laced with hibiscus, worked their subtle magic. How to mope about when paradise beckons? I found it impossible and soon I was eagerly exploring the Valley Isle. I met Ella, John, Charles, Cosima, Urich, Joe, and Nicole, in roughly that order. More about those guys in a minute, but obviously all that good company is a sure-fire way to revive the soul. Moreover, the surf came up and I was immediately on it. The experience of surfing is dense with moments of beauty and grace, especially for those of us who discovered it later in life. The simple experience of bobbing about in an azul sea while the swell crashes and explodes on the surrounding reefs is a sensory orgy, rich with scents, sounds, and a multitude of earthy caresses. The sea spray on your face. The crashing rumbling of the waves. The feeling of warm ocean as you duck briefly beneath the surface to dodge foamy catastrophe. There are moments when the experience approaches the sublime.

On Tuesday, after hours of driving around the western shores of Maui hunting for waves with Cosima, I discovered Honolua Bay. Paddling out at this world class right-breaking point I encountered a massive set of breakers and, just as I was struggling, digging over the fulcrum to safety and my body unweighted as the wave dropped away I spied a young humpback offshore gliding through space. It had breached completely out of the water and for a moment we were both suspended above the sea, completely free from the tyranny of gravity. The whales are so large and so far out of the water that they seem to glide back into the sea as if time was slowed for them. Otherworldly beauty is the only way to describe it. I sprouted goose bumps as the hair on my neck stood at attention; a good moment in time.

There is a distinctly different flavor to each community out here. They run the gamut from clusters of honeymooner infested nightclubs to quiet seaside villages to massive condo complexes and shopping districts. Thus far I am most impressed by Pa’ia, a kind of miniature Santa Cruz complete with counter-culture beauties and organic produce stands, and Hana, a small town of millionaires and local peasants out a torturously long and winding road that is draped along the sea cliffs to the east. In Pa’ia I’e eaten great food, ridden big gnarly waves, and admired all the yoga afficianadoes. In Hana I marched through a bamboo forest to a 400 foot waterfall and climbing a cliff to a secluded, and apparently clothes optional, red sand beach. The snorkeling there was fantastic and a lava outcropping makes for a great platform for launching yourself into the air and, after a brief fall, the sea. A gorgeous place.

The weather has been pleasant, though the locals claim it’s cold. It’s about 78 at the beach and always breezy. Upcountry about 1000 feet where I am now staying its about ten degrees cooler. I’ve stayed in a somewhat earthy (read: dirty) youth hostel in an old whaling town, Wailuku. See Banana Bungalow: http://www.mauihostel.com. I stayed in a romantic antique inn in Lahaina. See Lahaina Inn: http://www.lahainainn.com. Apparently both of these places were at one time brothels. No wonder 90% of the Polynesians died in the first generation after European contact. You know they didn’t even have a word for venereal disease here before Captain Cook.

Lately I’ve been staying at a very comfortable home in a pineapple field about a third of the way up the side of the Haleakala volcano. It’s cheap, clean, and pleasant. I’ll probably stay here for the duration of my trip. See Peace of Maui: www.peaceofmaui.com.

Today I’m off to lunch with a screenwriter who also happens to be a 5th generation Maui resident. He keeps a place in Hana and one in Brentwood (that’s O.J. Simpson’s old hood for those who don’t know). He’s from the first Jewish family to move to Hawaii. Interesting character, this Urich. He even speaks native Hawaiian and Polynesian Pidgin. His friend Nicole, who runs a holistic healing center and is a kind of unlicensed, uncertified therapist to the rich and famouswill be joining us. She’s a quarter Hawaiian and her family has been here forever too. Apparently, among such seemingly normal practices as herbal medicine and massage, she also gives colon therapy. I didn’t’ask for the gory details but suffice it to say that I’m convinced that these peaceful Maui people are not quite like anygroup of people I’ve ever met before. It should be a fascinating lunch conversation.

Well, as usual, I’ve rambled on a bit, but I hope some of you I haven’t heard from in awhile will use this as an opportunity to reconnect with me. It’s good to have so many friends. To those of you I see all the time, I’ll be back next weekend. See ya soon.

Aloha,

Michael Reed