Blue Skies of Hawaii

After the luau last night, we spent an hour and a half stuck in traffic in our shuttle because of a rock slide on the road home. This morning, we checked early and thought the problem was fixed. However, we ended up sitting in traffic again for an hour when we should have been arriving at Lihue Airport for our small plane tour of the island. The good news was that the other couple scheduled for our flight was also stuck in traffic, so they held the flight for all of us.

After so much rain earlier in the week, we had a perfect sunny day to fly. The airbus held six passengers, all with a guaranteed window seat for taking photographs.

Our boat trip up the coast didn't give anything close to the views from the plane. Of course, it helped that we had sunshine. Look at the coral beds - we saw them on every coast.

We flew up the famous Waimea Canyon, known as the Grand Canyon of the Islands. Kauai is the oldest island, and has eroded into weird cliffs and promontories over millions of years. The soil is bright red from oxidation of the iron in the soil.

When Hawaii went out of the sugar growing business, some farmers got smart and discovered that coffee grows very well in Kauai. You have probably heard of Kona coffee, but they have larger coffee fields here in Kauai.

The Na Pali coast has no roads or resorts on it, and is particularly known for its sharp cliffs and steep canyons. Yet, the early Polynesians often lived in valleys in this part of the island.

Many waterfalls are double or triple falls. This one was used in the movie Jurassic Park. The first Indiana Jones  movie was filmed here in part as well as South Pacific and Blue Hawaii. The resort office keeps a collection of movies filmed in Hawaii, and we have watched several this week. It's fun to recognize a landmark you just saw in a movie!

The clouds built up as the afternoon progressed, but that didn't bother us. By 4:30, it was raining though, which is common here. If you ever get a chance, take a flight around the islands. It's the best view you will find!