Most people, including myself, come to Hawaii first for the world class beaches and amazing weather. Further down the list, and personally my second reason to visit, is the scenery. The islands' violent volcanic formation left behind a variety of structures and landscapes that only enhance the paradise of this Pacific archipelago. In fact, as the Big Island's volcano is still active, the geography is still evolving to this day. Most of the steep, sharp cliffs are covered in luscious green grasses and trees. But some of the most interesting volcanic artifacts are the exposed jet black lava rocks themselves.
Misreading the guidebook had thwarted our activity plans for the day, so we spontaneously decided to drive all the way around west Maui to see what we could discover. (In a rare fit of promotion, "Maui Revealed" is one of the most fun guidebooks I've ever seen:
http://www.wizardpublications.com/maui/maui.html. It is insanely informative, with more detail on finding less-obvious/secret sites than the other books, and written in a sarcastic style that my own hypothetical guidebooks would also incorporate.)
As with the Road to Hana (see a previous post), the northern road is, for long stretches, less complete than most people are used to. The description in "Maui Revealed" leads you to believe the steep, winding, narrow sections of barely-paved road are the most terrifying thing on Earth. Then again, after years of driving up and down Mt. Hopkins in Arizona when I worked on the Whipple 10m/VERITAS telescopes (http://linmax.sao.arizona.edu/help/FLWO/whipple.html) -- a 17 km stretch of unpaved, guardrail-less road that climbs over 4000 feet up the mountain side, where vehicles carry walkie-talkies to coordinate when to pull over to let opposing traffic pass, as there are few areas wide enough for two vehicles -- I have an unusually high tolerance for road "quality." Trust me, it's not bad at all. And the views along the way make it more than worth any white knuckles on the steering wheel.
The first lava-related stop we made was the Olivine Pools. The name comes from the semi-precious Olivine gem present in the rocks, which gives the pools a greenish tint, which is quite apparent next to the piercing blue of the open ocean. A steep hike down a rocky slope leads to a series of tide pools in a field of occasionally sharp rock. With the waves smashing on hardened lava, these pools provide a calm escape to relax up close with the fish. Though many decide to make the more daring leap and plunge into the deep deep waters of the main heart-shaped pool. Exploring around yields remarkable lava structures and reveals an ecological microcosm that, due to recent increases in tourism, is sadly no longer as isolated as it used to be. Regardless, the close proximity of calm vs. rough water is one of nature's dichotomies made beautifully apparent.
While the Olivine Pools exhibit only a little of how the elements can shape rock formations, the populated portion of western Maui has one of the more amazing examples of lava naturally sculpted into unnatural looking designs. Quite removed from the treacherous road to the Pools, our other main stop involved trekking across the golf course at the Ritz-Carlton and past an ancient, sacred burial ground (saved from demolition despite the hotel's best efforts to build closer to the water). The "Dragon's Teeth" are striking depictions of what happens when strong winds and ocean mist act to quickly cool flowing lava, producing sharp grey outcroppings that leave no doubt into why they were so named.
Long days of driving to experience the science of beautiful places definitely deserves a rewarding meal afterwards. And what better place to investigate than the hilariously named Cafe O'Lei. It's not a coffee shop, not Spanish, not Irish, but instead delicious Hawaiian cuisine. I do find it tough to resist such bad puns, and thankfully I was not disappointed.
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