I've only been in Hawaii one day, and I already know I've found paradise. The last time I felt like this, I was in Edinburgh and got off the bus, walked up a short, hilly road...and saw a street lined shoulder-to-shoulder with the most beautiful buildings I'd ever seen.
It's the same sort of feeling here, except it's not a manmade beauty, but one of nature. Even just landing was spectacular, with lagoons, white sand beaches and the bluest blue waters. And then getting off and going to baggage claim? We walked outside and there was an ocean breeze whispering through the palm trees (of which there's no shortage here).
Everything I've seen, no matter how tired I was (3h sleep the night before, and then 15h on planes and in airports), was just...awesome. On the bus ride into the city, exhausted and freezing from the A/C, there was a baby beside me who kept grinning at me and giving me his slobbered-on felt toy. We played games, giving it back and forth (although he had an edge because the toy was looped to his wrist), and that was it: the aloha spirit had taken over me.
75 minutes later, I arrived at the hostel and the people behind the counter were super friendly, showing mock horror when I joked about using Canadian quarters for the lockers (they changed my dolla bills into American quarters). A short while later, I'd changed into my bathing suit and was swimming in ridiculously warm waters, and learned a lesson the hard way: while the water is shallow, there are giant rocks underneath. That part wasn't so bad and I learned to look down before I stepped, but nothing prepared me for a big wave that swept me backwards, and I stubbed my toe hard on a rock; first injury of the trip.
After a quick dip in the water (first time in the Pacific Ocean!), I walked over to a grassy patch and took a seat, waiting for some sort of show to start. It ended up being a hula/music show and while it was absolutely Cheesy Tourist Fare, it was exactly what I needed. An hour-ish later, and several sets of songs and dances—a family was even called up, and the poor mother probably shouldn't have worn pink shorts over her wet bathing suit—I took a stroll down the boardwalk and looked for food.
By the time I got back to the hostel, it was about 4am my time and I was more than ready to bed. What I wasn't ready for, though, was waking up at 04:30 and not being able to get back to sleep.
So I didn't.
I pulled on a pair of shoes, grabbed some money, and walked down to the beach again. At 05:30, there aren't many people there and I had the sand pretty much to myself. There were a couple of surfers in the water, which was really cool to see, and I stood at the water's edge and let the ocean splash me up to my knees while the sand sucked my feet under a bit.
The sun was going to be coming up soon, so I padded barefoot across the street to Kapiolani Park and watched the sun come up, not 30ft away from these really twisted, gnarled trees (I'll have to look up what they're called). I could hear birds cawing and chirping in the branches but couldn't see them, and it was just the most peaceful thing ever.
Today's plan? I'm getting a moped and going to jump off a couple of falls, do some hiking, and just see where the aloha spirit takes me.
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