We're up in time to try the Manago restaurant. More a sort of caff than a restaurant but I don't suppose Americans like to distinguish on the whole. In fact we're up and ready so early that we have time for a quick detour via Borders again for Helen's latest purchase.
We drop the car off and pick up our boarding passes before, once again, lugging our check-in luggage to a security queue. It's not clear if this is an Aloha/Hawaii or Stateswide thing but it's a bit heavy handed. You stand in the slow moving queue to reach an X-ray [machine] conveyor belt. The man puts a red cross on your luggage label then it's fed, painfully slowly, into the machine. At the back of the machine more security inspects the bags. You're not allowed to go until your name has been called. Who knows what they do but decided that my new bag, for some reason I padlocked it, needed opening. That bag contains a tent, mask and snorkel, broken soapstone dish (boo hoo), lots of coffee, a jumper and a penknife. My rucksack containing any number of battery chargers and other stray wires, mosquito coils, strange pesticidal liquids went through A-OK. Next we have to go through a personal and carry-on check. As ever, I breezed through (I was stopped once when, in a hurry, I happened to leave on me half a dozen things that tripped the alarm) but Helen was stopped and thoroughly checked. This seemed to have enraged her so I took evasive action and avoided the subject.
This `world class service and world class customer service' (as the in-flight magazine's column said) is the TSA trying to do unto terrorism as Herod tried to do to first born sons. Terribly worthy and probably just the right sort of sentiment America needed in the wake of September 11 but ultimately futile. Not only are American pundits commenting on the misdirection of the task but the TSA announced in the last couple of weeks it was shedding 60,000 of the posts it created in its knee jerk reaction, also noting that too many staff are untrained etc. etc.. I feel the need for a Not The Nine O'Clock News sketch where travellers a literally invited to jump through hoops.
The waiting area is a bit haphazard, the planes pull up like taxis just beyond, resulting in a chorus of fingers in ears from all, the PA chooses full engine power to make an announcement and some people stand up and filter forward. Without really knowing we stood up at about our time and shuffled along. That seemed to be OK. The flight was a pretty wobbly and unnerving 19 minutes, we must have spent longer on the ground at Kona, before we bounced onto Maui. That didn't improve Helen's temperament either.
Kahalui airport was slightly more organised -- it had a roof for starters -- though baggage claim seemed to be at the opposite end of the airport. Baggage claim was quite busy though. There was a packed United carousel with two flight numbers on the scoreboard. There was an Aloha Airlines cover over the next carousel and a completely unlabelled third carousel. A luggage woman (bag lady?) climbed onto the Aloha carousel and heaved huge bags off the feeder escalator when it broke down before giving up and stumbling off to press the GO switch again.
We tried the Maui Seaside Hotel on the freephone but their US$69 rooms had gone, only US$89 (plus tax -- almost everything is plus a tax) rooms available. Hmmm. We went to the rental car offices and Avis were chosen because a) they were cheaper and b) the in-flight magazine had a free upgrade coupon again. This time is an Alero (who?) Oldsmobile. After the bourge-mobile this is a bit plasticky and doesn't feel as if it has the grunt. Hmph. We charge off onto the highway but realise the US$89 offer is about the best we're going to get so head into Maui Seaside and sign up.
It does appear to be on the seashore, not too far from the docks/piers where another cruise liner looms over the main road virtually underneath. Helen insists on penning her vitriol about today's mistreatment and wakes me up from my snooze having penned four pages. Crikey, what would she say if she really was mistreated?
We head over into the big mall and try Maui Tacos ("Mexican with Mauitude") which were large and OK. We would have then circumnavigated the northwest of Maui -- Maui is two (ancient) volcanoes stuck together, the coast roads creating a falling over figure of eight on the map -- but the map says we can't drive rental cars on a four mile section. Too twisty, or something. But wait, we can't do the other loop either, there's another banned section -- the Lonely Planet suggests there's too little road! That's a problem, then.
We start off up the east side but get lost and end up in Iao State Park which stretches into the interior of the volcano. What's happened is that the volcano simmered down leaving a caldera that filled with rainwater and eroded a gouge out of the side leaving a terrific looking steep sided green valley into the heart of the mountain. It's busy with weekenders so we aim to come back.
We find the right road and head a little way into the twisties. It's nothing daring but we turn back anyway. The other way [round the volcano] has some nice spots to view both humpback whales (in season) and some of the other islands. In fact, most of these used to be a Big Island themselves [Big Maui!] until after the Ice Age when water flooded the land between the peaks. The result is deep water channels but not too deep. Just right for rearing a young whale. None in view today.
We pass by Lahaina on the main road before it [the road] peters out in some twisties at the north end of the island. We're probably only 10 miles from the hotel in a straight line here. We head back and drive through Lahaina which is worth another look. We stop at one of the roadside parks and wait for the sun to set over Lanai. Almost a good one. Coming downhill back into Kahalui the lights of the ship tower over downtown just like a monster hotel...
Back in Kahalui the shopping mall is virtually shut at 7:30, of course, it's a Sunday, so against Helen's better judgement I force us on a tour of the town in search of a cafe of some fashion. We do the usual, get stuck on a long road with no turns, before finding a health food store [with cafe] closing and finally a Starbucks. Good old Starbucks. We read the Honolulu Chronicle to catch up on world events: SARS can live outside the human body and Madonna like to get drunk on half a pint in London pubs. [Wouldn't we all with the price of beer in London.] The rest was all American news.
Maui Seaside Hotel, Kahalui, Maui N20.89123 W156.47031 Elev. 18m
Copyright 2003 Ian Fitchet. All rights reserved.