Author: Michael Eaton

Back to Honolulu. And yes, I did find some friends with a car to drive me. Some of us were hurting from the night before so we got a late start. And a flat tire.

But what seemed like a hurdle actually turned into quite the treat. Because when all they have at the rental shop are Ford Mustangs that’s what you get as a replacement. Cruising around Hawaii in a convertible is unsurprisingly blissful.

We moved along to a short hike not more than a half-hour from the city. And the hike was short too. About 20 minutes walk to a small waterfall and a natural pool to swim in. Besides the three of us, there was another small group of natives who we chatted up. It was a relaxing afternoon.

Then on to the beach in Waikiki before checking into the hostel. I am starting to get rid of the farmers tan that I have and I couldn’t be more pleased.

I had a mostly quiet night because I am traveling to New Zealand today. I was able to link up with a few friends I made when I had first arrived and they gave me a proper sending off. On to the next.

A pretty quiet day today. I had the opportunity to head to a party last night but I decided against it. I am pretty happy that I passed it up because I was able to get an early start this morning.

The forecast called for rain in the afternoon so I made a point to head over to the beach before it did. It’s about a 30-minute walk from the place I am staying. I read a bit, stretched for a while, and then listened to a Spanish podcast while sitting on the beach.

Afterward, I thought it would be a good idea to try to hitchhike since it was a bit of a walk back to the Airbnb. I was a bit nervous because this would be my first time trying. But no issues – the first car I flagged down stopped for me. Sam is from Boston and has been living out of his car for about two weeks. Ever since he arrived in Hawaii.

Hitchhiking seems like something I can do easily and it is something I’d like to try to do more of while I am traveling. I don’t think I will ever rely on it, especially to travel long distances between cities. But it can be useful to travel short distances around town.

After getting back I watched the Super Bowl with some of the people staying at the hostel. I was actually pretty surprised to learn that most of the European people that were staying in the hostel followed American football closely. The sport is really starting to grow around the world. I thought the Super Bowl was really good this year. The game, the commercials, and the half-time show were all spot on.

Tomorrow I am going to head back to Honolulu and my new friends Nick and Fenia are going to drive me. They have a car and they are planning on heading that way anyway so it’s going to work out alright. Like I said I have been getting lucky. My plan was to bus around the island but I haven’t had to yet.

Yet again I find someone with a car. I’ve gotten awfully lucky the last few days because I am realizing that having a car on this side of the island is essential. We moseyed over to get breakfast; just a super quick one-hour ride away from the town.

I didn’t realize the breakfast place was so far away or else I wouldn’t have gotten in the car! I was a bit frustrated because I wanted to do a hike on the north side of the island. And breakfast became a full-day affair. A bit of a miscommunication.

To be fair, the breakfast was very good. They had these guava pancakes and, while they were tasty, they were a bit sweet for my taste. When we were done eating we decided to do a different hike than the one we originally intended on. It didn’t make sense to drive back. It would have been another hour or so and rain was in the forecast. We had to get moving.

We did this trail called Pu’u Ma’eli’eli trail (good luck pronouncing that) and it actually was a really solid track. With the exception of all the clay mud on the first part of the trail. More on that later.

It did rain, especially on our way up the trail. But it wasn’t so bad. More of an on-and-off drizzle if anything. It was roughly two miles up and then the same path back to the trailhead. The views made trekking through the rain worth it.

The way down was a bit tricky. The mud was so slippery! Thankfully, there were some ropes set up that we were able to use. But the last section coming down the hill was nearly impossible. Falling down wasn’t an option, it was a requirement.

When we got to the end of the trail we encountered these four women. They totally embraced the situation and were just sliding and playing in the mud. They were completely covered with the exception of their faces. But they didn’t care, they were having the most fun out of anybody there.

All in all, everything turned out okay. I didn’t get to the trail that I originally wanted to but this trail was good in its own right. I will definitely learn how to go with the flow on this trip. Sometimes things don’t go according to plan but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. Just look at the girls in the mud.

Yesterday three of the friends that I made at the hostel and I rented a car and we drove around the whole island of Oahu. It worked out really great because I was able to get to my AirBnB in this town on the opposite side of the island called Haleiwa. The bus was my only other option and it would have taken about two hours. So I got a bit lucky here.

We got going at about 9 o’clock and hit the road 30 minutes later. The first stop was Koko Crater, another trek similar to Diamond Head. There used to be a tram there and it’s just a straight shot to the top along the track. It is not very long but it does get very steep. By the end, I was exhausted because I had to climb uphill for ¾ of a mile. But the views were totally worth it.

After the hike, we moved along to Hanauma Bay, a nature preserve within walking distance. It’s a coral reef tucked into a bay. We were able to snorkel there and I saw different types of aquatic life. The fish didn’t even get afraid of me; they just let me swim right up to them. I guess they are used to humans.

We stopped off for lunch and then we kept on driving. I found that the waves on the north side of the island were much larger. Obviously, there must be a reason for it but I am not aware of exactly what that is. I will look into it at some point.

The north shore is a world-famous surf spot for this reason. We stopped off at a beach closer to my AirBnB and there were a bunch of surfers riding some of the bigger waves. We didn’t find out until later that we were watching a high-profile surfing competition. There are a lot of people out here just for the tournament.

The town itself is very much a typical Hawaiian surfer village. It’s so different from Honolulu in that most of the people who live around here are native Hawaiians. You can feel the laid-back vibe this place has to offer. Most of the people I have met check the boxes for all I was expecting a Hawaiian surfer to be: friendly and relaxed. I’m happy to have escaped the city for a few days.

The trip has officially begun. I spent a day in San Diego with Dylan and I’m glad that I stopped off there. He is watching my cat, Einstein, and I got to see him before I left. That made me really happy.

I got into Hawaii around lunchtime and went directly to the hostel. The location is great actually. About two blocks from Waikiki Beach which is the main tourist spot. It couldn’t be better.

After checking in I decided to walk the beach for a little bit. I was feeling a bit run down like I was getting a cold, so I figured the sun could only do me good. The beach is actually much smaller than I thought it would be. It is a long beach but it’s only about 100 feet wide.

The hotels are built up to the edge of the beach and it can be a bit crowded. They have boats coming in right onto the beach and people are constantly getting on and off for tours. It was fun to walk for a bit and do some people-watching.

My plan was to have a quiet night after making dinner but that didn’t exactly happen. I met a few people and found that some of them were also traveling for a year or more. One girl had just started her trip and Honolulu was her first stop, same as me.

A few of us decided to link up the next day and hit some of the popular spots together. Diamond Head is a well-known place to visit and naturally is super touristy. It’s an inactive volcano that overlooks Honolulu and it only takes half an hour to hike to the top. You can see it in the background in the picture above.

We didn’t stay too long but we got some awesome photos. Sometimes you have to bite the bullet and do the touristy activity. There’s a reason why everybody wants to partake in the first place.

Afterward, we came back into the area and laid by the beach for a few hours. I need to get rid of the farmer’s tan that I have but it’s not easy. We’re discussing renting a car between the four of us and taking a trip to the other side of the island tomorrow. I am staying in an AirBnB over there and it would be ideal if we can manage to do that.