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<title>Hawaii - Road to Hana</title>
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    <tr><td class="DateDiv">December 12, 2007</td></tr>
    <tr><td class="TitleDiv">The road to Hana</td></tr>
    <tr><td class="StoryDiv">

<p>Despite our early rise, we got off the ship close to 9 am. Nothing special during the next hour: airport shuttle ride, car rental, driving. With the exception of some thick clouds surrounding the Haleakala peak, the weather seemed to cooperate with us. The first pull out - as soon as we reached the coast - revealed a sunny bay with turquoise water and bubbling white waves. We only stopped a couple of times until we reached the fruit stand - marking the trailhead for the Twin Falls.</p>

<p>The first of the two waterfalls was very easy to reach, but not very spectacular. Two guys were defiantly jumping and swimming in the freezing water. The second waterfall was less accessible (including walking through water or balancing on some wet rocks), but a little nicer. The group of Germans who was enjoying the cold water made it quite difficult to take a picture suggesting solitude. There was another little and hidden waterfall at mile 11, but wasn't really worth the stop. </p>

<p>Mile 13 finally started to show the Hawaii I was expecting: sharp-edged mountains reaching abruptly the ocean, lush green valleys. Some orange flowers and a black sand beach came as extras. The road going down to the beach was (too) well-hidden, but it was better not spending too much time there. A few short stops followed to see Ke`anae and the Waikani Falls. Unfortunately the weather stopped cooperating until we reached Wai`anapanapa State Park. </p>

<p>We spent more than one hour at at the park: we went down to the black sand beach, got some water in the shoes, then watched the waves breaking into the rocky coast. Honestly, all the waterfalls on the Road to Hana were disappointing - the first one resembling what I expected from Hawaii was Wailua Falls on the road after Hana. Our last target was the South part of Haleakala National Park and was aimed at seeing the Sacred Pools and Waimoku Falls. Unfortunately it was too late for the 2-mile hike (and Lida only had her flip-flops with her)... we made it to Makahiku Falls, which is about half as tall as Waimoku Falls. At this point I started to regret the time we spent hiking to the Twin Falls. </p>

<p>Driving back the road to Hana in the dark was fun, except when we got stuck behind overly cautious drivers (which only happened a couple of times). We made it to the ship on time to see Ray Mogenis in a show that gave me a strong deja vu - I had the feeling that I've heard most of his jokes in other circumstances. Only Blue Lagoon was open for late dinner and the food was not that great. </p>

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<tr><td class="StoryDiv">
This is part of our trip to Hawaii:
<UL>
<LI><a href = "1208.html">Diamond Head</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "1209.html">Driving around Oahu</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "1210.html">Pearl Harbor</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "1211.html">Volcanoes National Park</a></LI>
<LI>Road to Hana</LI>
<LI><a href = "1213.html">Haleakala and Makena</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "1214.html">North Kohala</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "1215.html">North Kauai</a></LI>
<LI><a href = "1216.html">Waimea Canyon</a></LI>
</UL>
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