CAIT AROUND THE WORLD

January 28, 2023 — I slept in until around 8:00am in deference to the previous day’s early start (and lack of sleep). I didn’t really have much of a plan for the day, although I was going to check out the Halona Blowhole, which is a natural phenomenon created out of volcanic formations.

I also had to check with the front desk at my hostel to find out how to check out the following morning, since I was leaving before reception opened for the day, and arrange transport to the airport the following morning because it didn’t look like there were any buses that actually went to the airport terminal so early in the morning.

I ended up booking a hotel shuttle bus from my hostel to the airport, then went out to the beach to have a banana for breakfast. When I returned to check directions to Halona, I found that I had missed the bus and the next one wouldn’t come for an hour. With that, I decided against waiting and headed out for Manoa Falls — the bus for which was leaving in fifteen minutes. It required a transfer and I had a moment of panic when I couldn’t figure out where to walk to for the second bus. Thank goodness, Google Maps still has GPS capability even without wifi. I was able to figure out where the stop was using the live map and my photo of the directions.

I met a couple who was also waiting for the bus to Manoa Falls when I made it to the stop. They had been waiting for half an hour. We all had our fingers crossed that my directions were right and that a bus was coming in the next few minutes! Thankfully, they were.

As we drove into the Manoa Valley, the rain started. And it did not let up until I was back in Waikiki over an hour later. I’d been wondering since I arrived if the mistiness I always saw hanging over the more mountainous regions of the island was rain or fog, and I got my answer today. Rain!

It was a wet walk up from the bus stop to the trailhead for Manoa Falls, but thankfully the visitor’s centre was selling emergency ponchos, which I figured was better than nothing. I also traded $10 for $1 bills because I didn’t have enough change for the buses back to Waikiki.

It was a beautiful — albeit wet — walk up to Manoa Falls. The views along the way and at the end were so worth it and I have to say, the rain made the hike that much more special. I didn’t get drenched, thank goodness, and my stuff stayed mostly dry — or at least didn’t get any wetter — thanks to the poncho.

I also have to say here that I was so impressed with my running shoes! If you’ve read my packing list, you’ll know that I decided on Adidas Rain Ready Trail Shoes instead of Vessis (which are waterproof) because Vessis just didn’t work for my feet. First, my running shoes worked amazing for grip while I was on the trail, and second, my socks and feet actually were dry for at least the first fifteen minutes of the trail itself. That’s not including the wet walk up to the trailhead. So if I ever get caught in just a little rainstorm…doesn’t look like I’ll have to worry about wet feet! Of course, my feet and shoes were sopping by the time I got back to the hostel, but the fact that they lasted so long really impressed me. (Side note—I had to dry them that night and left them outside originally, but that wasn’t doing much. I ended up putting them in front of a fan in the hostel room and it worked wonders! My shoes were totally dry by morning and I was able to wear them on the plane like I had planned!)

After I made it to the falls, I headed back down the trail and waited for the bus once again. Another couple was waiting at the same time as me, and they had actually also been on the same bus on the way up. On the first bus, I had thought they were speaking a language other than English because I couldn’t quite make out what they were saying, but I found out while waiting for the bus that they’re Australian! From Sydney, NSW, actually. I mentioned that I was actually heading to Australia the following day, and we had a nice chat. It was really cool to meet people from Australia the day before I left; it made me that much more excited again to go.

When I returned to the hostel from my hike, I took a really nice, hot shower, changed, and had my leftover pasta from the previous night.

I decided to take a walk a little while later and I watched the sky turn from blue to purple in the evening light. I wandered along Kalakaua Avenue and found a postcard to send home. Up another little ways, I stopped for gelato (strawberry lemonade and mango) and ate it on the way back to the hostel.

I packed up the majority of my stuff that evening so that I could easily head to the airport on the shuttle the following morning, then headed to bed early.