We're out on the western tip of the Island. The apartment is
a neat little one bedroom ground floor condo with a patio or as they call it
lanai. Our apartment is one of a dozen or so in the complex. There's a pool and
sand beach. To the northwest, we can see the neighbouring island of Molokai,
and to the southwest, the island of Lanai.
They have lots of unusual names here. We have yet to
pronounce the name of the road we live on. It's suggested we refer to it as the
"Lower Road". My strategy for the unusual names is to attempt the 1
syllable ones, note the 2 syllable ones for later, and forget the multiple
syllable ones as we're only here for 9
days before moving on to Kauai.
At daybreak, we woke to the sound of the surf about 30 m (100
feet in the US) from our lanai. The property manager, John, was out doing his
caretaker duties by 6:30 AM. He's obviously keen and we appreciate the results
of his hard work. He's also sociable and doesn't mind sharing his knowledge of
the area. Last night, we just missed his weekly Pupu Welcome Party on Pupu
Point.
Today we were out and about shopping for the basics. So far,
we found the grocery store, farmer's market and a fish market. Generally, the
prices are only marginally higher than in Canada. The best buys were beer, wine
and gas which are actually cheaper than at home.
We swam off the beach out front, saw some colourful fish
while snorkelling, but some large turtles didn't swim into the area until we
were back sitting on our lanai.
The Island is multicultural. For the most part, native
Hawaiians are in the minority compared to the number of vacationers, short and
long term, which are largely from the northern states and Canada. Seeing as
we're part of the majority, when I get my Hawaiian shirt, we'll fit right in and
expect to feel as Hawaiian as the rest of the non natives.
http://travellingwithsteveandmarlene.blogspot.ca/2014/09/do-as-locals-do.html
