The Pleasure Island

2010_8_08 Pleasure Island
My wife has been to the Hawaiian Islands several times and even lived there one year (1950) when her father, who was a career navy man, was stationed at Pearl Harbor. It was during that year, when she was ten years old, that her romance with the tropics began. While I talked about going to Europe, the cradle of Western Civilization, where all the great art that I was familiar with was housed in famous, historic museums, like the Uffizi and the Prado, she always wanted to see and experience the tropics. It’s all a matter of personality and personal leanings, what predispositions are locked in through one’s DNA. While we were both Gemini’s, she was strong on the sensate level, having unbelievable hearing capacity—she could hear a car door shut a block away—with an acute sense of smell and a good grasp of what was going on inside her body, which was involved in her choice of becoming a dancer and dance teacher; while I, in telling contrast, was an intuitive/feeling type with low-grade sensate capacities. She always managed to convince her mother, Florence Baker, now deceased, into going to Hawaii numerous times and to Mexico, Costa Rica, Bali, Northern Australia, Java, and Borneo. The one time I was included in their travel plans we went to the British Isles (1998) where I had my fill of great Museums, Cathedrals, Monasteries, and places like Avebury and got a first-hand sense of the age and history of the UK. Avebury blew me away. Just think: While the Egyptians were creating a dazzling civilization in the third millennium BC, a culture was flourishing in southern England that lasted some 2600 years, a culture centered on circles of stone and rituals that ranged over a large landscape. Without being there I couldn’t realize the full import of the place. I felt a lot of magic at Avebury and an ancient presence by being there.

Volcanologists and Geographers think it took between three to five million years of volcanic activity for the Hawaiian Islands to form, and many more eons for soil to develop. James Michener in his book HAWAII gives a detailed account of what the building of the islands was like, all the steps in the process, the many failures and repeated successes, the long trek toward geographic maturity, with a full complement of trees, vegetation, flowers, birds, fish and other animals. The first migration to the islands by Pacific people who could make a lengthy journey by large canoe took place between 300-1000 A.D. The immigrants came from Marquesa Island, where Herman Melville landed when he jumped ship in 1841. They were Polynesians calling themselves the MENEHUNE, which means “the little people.” The second wave came from Tahiti between the years 1000-1240 A.D. The first white man, Captain Cook, anchored off Waimea Bay in 1778, which is on the southern coast of Kauai. That was the opening salvo of Western influences in the islands. In 1820 the first Christian missionaries arrived. They were Protestants, Congregationalists.

When we visited the Kauai Museum in Lihu’e I picked up a pamphlet full of basic information about Polynesian culture which I found illuminating. I also read a pictorial book with lengthy captions about the American experience in Kauai. Talk about a study in contrast! Polynesian society had no concept for ownership and was virtually communistic in that they shared what they had communally produced. They had no concept for the ownership of the land or water; that was impossible because they belong to the Gods not men. They saw themselves as the Stewards of the land and water and a Chief Steward allocated area rights and use of these communal resources. He was aided by a council of helpers, as it were, lesser chiefs. There were basically three main occupations: fishing, farming, and harvesting forest products. Their products were shared by all members; no one went without as the harvest was divvied up and shared.

The ancient division of the land into 5 districts still makes sense because they are logical and make perfect sense geographically. Spiritual concerns were considered too, indeed, they had a high priority. Throughout Kauai can be found stone platforms called HEIAU, sacred places, locations of special power (Mana), where worship, ceremonies, and dances took place in celebration of the gods and the bounty of the land and water. HEIAU were found throughout the traditional 5 districts. 17 were located in NA PAULI District, which is located on the inaccessible and rugged western coast of Kauai. NA PAULI, which means “the cliffs,” was and still is accessible only by boat. There is some evidence that at one time there were some settlements in the region, but there is none today. Below NA PAULI was the district called KONA, the leeward southwestern area, including Waimea Canyon, which makes it by far the largest district. KONA was the only part of the island that has desert-like conditions, which makes it similar to Molokai, another island that Sue and I have visited. It likewise was desert in the west and jungle in the east. There were 81 HEIAU in Kona, more than anyplace else. The rest of the south shore and going up the eastern shore was PUNA, which means “spring.” as in water. The district had 13 HEIAU. One was near Aloha Hotel and Lydgate Park. There will be more about those places later. PUNA was and still is the fertile land between the Wailua and Hule’ia Rivers and where the islands two largest towns are located, Lihu’e and Kapa’a, the former being the seat of government and the latter the commercial and tourist center of the district. The airport is also in the district, in Lihu’e. Up the eastern shore was the district called KO’OLAU, meaning “windward.”It has remnants of 20 HEIAU. It was a smaller district whose major town is Anahola today, which is located on the coast. And finally there is the district that encompasses the northern coast, HALELE’A. We made three trips up to that region, to snorkel, swim, and see the wet and dry caves. The girls also shopped in Princeville. 22 HEIAU were found located in this northernmost district.

I considered bringing in the Americanization of the Hawaii at this juncture; you know, the negative influence of the missionaries, the degrading of the Polynesian /Hawaiian culture, the rise of entrepreneurial capitalism that eventually changed the face of the islands, the legacies of the rich American families, and such like. But I decide against it; first of all those facts are pretty well know on the mainland. Instead I’d like to share a story about Herman Melville who jumped ship in the Maquesas in 1841, the Pacific Islands that sent the first migration to the Hawaiian Islands. Raised in a Calvinistic family in Massachusetts the puritanically inclined Melville was astonished, to put it mildly, at what he encountered, for example, to quote from his novel about the experience, TYPEE, “ I saw seven beautiful young women, swimming quite naked, except for a few green leaves tied round their middle.” He wasn’t used to such sights and frank behavior and he quickly became infatuated with one of the girls, Fayaway by name, who he has immortalized in his tale about his sojourn on the island. He paints a picture of her as an incredibly free and lovely woman, who was utterly comfortable with her nakedness, like our Ryder can be. There is one scene of particular vividness that is quite memorable and says so much about Pacific Island people at that time. Melville had been lounging with Faraway in a canoe on a lake when the trade winds begun to blow. She stood up, removed her sarong and spread it out like a sail, her body and arms acting as an improvise mast. The sail caught the winds and the canoe motored right along to shore. Melville never forgot that sight of Fayaway and the freedom it showed him. He spent some happy weeks there living with the islanders but it was bound to end. But one of the chiefs forced him to exam just how western he was. He wanted to tattoo something on Melville’s face. Just about all the men had and markings all over their bodies, and faces, which is so in these days in America. But that’s where he felt he had to draw a line in the sand. Changing his appearances so drastically would not go over too well in Boston or New York society in the mid-19th century. Decorating his mask or persona was too much; he couldn’t allow it. Shortly after that he fled and found a ship that would take him back to America. In later years he must have looked back at those few weeks as a dream, something unreal. Fayaway’s image probably haunted him to his dying day in 1891.

Duke, the ex-surfer turned real estate magnet that rented us the house, came to Kauai thirty years ago to surf. Fine and dandy, but he ended up needing a kidney transplant, a story he has written a book about and is trying to publish, so far unsuccessfully. He blames all the “wipe-outs” he experienced as a surfer for the kidney loss. He claims the whole episode of the transplant was a life and death struggle that should be of interest to others. Whatever, since the transplant he has gone on to carve out his second existence on the island and seems to be doing quite well. He told Sue he is interested in selling the house we stayed in and his house, a smaller one story house that sits in front of the place we rented. He wants $1.35 million for the property. The house certainly suited us, much better than the Aloha Hotel, which was Sue’s first choice for nostalgia reasons. She and her mother had stayed there in 2002, the year before she died. Duke’s house was a two story house with plenty of room for nine people. The family members of our two daughters slept on the first floor where there was also a bath and a laundry room. The second floor consisted of a large family room with a nice kitchen at the west end, a 52 inch SONY Bravia Television against the south wall and a bedroom and bath for Sue and I off the family room on the north. There were two couches and recliner to sit on and stools around an island counter to eat on. There was also a veranda that look toward the Pacific Ocean, which we could see a strip of from the veranda. I’d estimate that the beach was about 300 yards from our house. The three boys took possession of the TV right away, although we had access after they went to bed and we used it to watch all three movies of the Bourne series.

Duke was a good landlord, fixing a couple of minor problems when asked to do so, but otherwise he never bothered us. However, on his own initiative he called the local police to rid our ‘back yard’ of some homeless people who were camped out near the river 50 yards from our house. There was a boat launching and return operation off the river a little further up; they were very busy every day. Since I more or less camped out on the veranda, reading and writing in my journal on the table out there, I tracked what was going on. On Saturday 22 boat were launched into the river and washed down when they return. Even the MENEHUNE had a word for “salt encrustation” which is why every boat was hosed down when it was removed from the water. Most of the boats were from 20 to35 long with holds for fish in the stern. Presumably they were commercial fishermen.

Something we learned right off was the chicken was king on Kauai. Roosters,, hens, and chicks were everywhere, obviously having a status on the island comparable to the cow in India. They ran free, usually in small groups, pecking away and disappearing at night. And I must say we were not bother by insects, except for small ants. Ryder called them “the tinys.”I bought a small wooden carving of a rooster and a so-called “red dirt T-shirt” with a Rooster depicted on it. We have soaked that shirt seven times and some red dirt is still coming out of the material. When I asked Sue what breed was the rooster on the island, she answered, “It’s a plain old rooster.”

Talk about cock-of-the-walk! There were plenty of young males walking around strutting their stuff for the pretty young hens. It was a kind of parade in all the shopping areas. The boys wore only bathing trunks and flip-flops, while the girls preferred shorts, take tops and flip-flops. Everyone was on the prowl in the tropical meat market. There were beach bums, surfers, college students on summer vacation, hedonists of different nationalities and inclinations, and hangers-on just looking for a hand out or a good time. No doubt the mild weather and soft, sensuous air lent itself to sensual engagement and play. The island’s physical character and splendor seemed designed for adventure and romance. We also took note of some not-so-young-anymore hippies left over from a bygone era. We saw a few up along the northern coast, more or less tucked here and there in the jungle.

The young people in our party spent a good deal of time visiting several beaches on different parts of the island, from north to south and the eastern shore. Two were “baby beaches” near Lydgate State Park, which is part of the Hotel Aloha complex, where one HEIAU was located. Connor and Ryder frolicked in the water with their mom and dad. They went to swim in the ocean at least 5 other times. I went with 4 out of the 6 times and took loads of pictures each time. By the end of the trip I had taken 158 pictures, while Nasima, who has a more expensive camera took close to 400 pictures, a good 100 of which should be edited out. Po’ipu Beach on the southern coast was fun for all. There were sea turtles to be seen close to shore and two seals who like to snooze on a sand bar while kids played around them. I took one picture of Sue in her new orange shawl that I bought for her in a shop in Princeville on the Eastern Shore. After swimming we all went to a famed hamburger joint well known for its tropical burgers. They had 12 varieties and to our surprise and delight they were quite good. The crew went to Tunnel Beach three times, with me going with twice. It was just about in the middle of the Northern Coast, a spectacular spot. It’s near Ha’ena, with a huge U-shaped beach and a camping area, with excellent snorkeling. Nasima went back alone one day to swim and snorkel for two hours. Frankly, I was surprised at her swimming ability. Where we parked our cars the cliffs went straight up about 2500’ and there were wet and dry caves at ground level that the boys just had to explore. One day we drove to the end of the road which was no more than 5 miles pass Ha’ena. It just abruptly ends. From that end point to a place at the center of the Western Shore called Polihale State Park there is no road, no access by vehicle. This is the Na PAULI Coast. I’d estimate it was about 20 to 25 nautical miles, accessible only by boat. Nasima and Aaron will long remember Tunnels Beach because they managed to touch some huge sea turtles. I’ll remember Tunnels Beach because under the Ramada where we ate lunch I found a poster of the “Laughing Jesus.” Naturally, I took a photograph of it. It was a quite unexpected find.

On the way home from Tunnels Beach we stopped at Anini Beach, which was just north and east of Princeville. We had to drive a few miles off the main highway, through some beautiful and lush country with quite a few nice homes, some barely visible from the road. After we parked at the beach we had to cross a large grassy area where several people were at established camps, some quite large and well organized. The beach itself was a narrow strip of sand and I parked my collapsible chair so I could sit with my feet in the water. The boys were more interested in building sand castles than swimming. It was Nasima again who did the snorkeling; indeed, she went so far out I could barely see her. At one point I felt a bit concerned, but it was all for naught; she came in all smiles and happy over the eel and the colorful fish she had seen. She even took seven pictures with her underwater camera. I took great shot of Sue coming out the water, a picture I later titled “Venus Rising from the Sea.”

We finished our penultimate day in Kauai by returning to the restaurant we had found and greatly enjoyed on the day of our arrival, Kauai Pasta. It was right on the main drag of Kapa’a, only 2 miles from our house. It was superb both times we were the. Nasima actually ate there three times, once alone with James on a “date.” She was much impressed with the place, which is saying a lot because she tends to be fussy about food. I had spaghetti the first time and two appetizers the second time, Bruschetta and five garlic meatballs. The food was excellent on both occasions. (We had done the same thing in London in 1998, going to the same Tandori Restaurant in Kensington that we had discovered our first day in town. It was an East Indian meal to die for. The two meals rate as classics for this family, the best ever anywhere.)

Our one other excursion came a couple of days before that last trip north. We drove southwest to Waimea Canyon after we made a stop at the Kauai Museum in Lihu’e. The museum is basically an anthropological assessment of the human history on the island presented with artifacts and loads of pictures. To do an adequate job of appreciating all that was there you would need two or three days, there was that much to read. I did pick up a free booklet on ancient Hawaiian culture which I have used extensively in this account. I also bought a book called KAUAI TALES, 18 stories basically about the mythology of the beginnings of the land and the people who were here in the beginning. I haven’t dented it yet. The gift Shop many other offerings, all of them very expensive. I wanted a beautiful hardwood cane I coveted as soon as I saw it, as I am using a $20 metal cane I bought at Walgreen’s. But when I saw the wooden cane was priced at $270 I lost interest in a hurry. There were many other craft items drastically overpriced.

Our trip to Waimea Canyon was a bust because Liam got car sick, puking on the way up and down the twisty mountain road. We only made it halfway —there were 18 miles left to an outlook where the canyon was really spectacular to see and photograph—because Liam wasn’t going to enjoy it, so we cut the excursion short. The other mistake we made is we went there too late in the day when too many dark shadows in the interior depths had taken away some of the photogenic possibilities, although I did manage to get a few good shots. Coming from a state that has the Grand Canyon, I wasn’t overawed by Waimea Canyon. Nonetheless, I am glad we did see it.

On Friday morning July29 we had to vacate Duke’s place at 11 A.M. because he had a cleaning crew coming in at that time and new tenants were arriving at 3 P.M. We got out with no time to spare, but what to do next was the problem because we weren’t scheduled to fly to the mainland until 10 o’clock that night. We needed to find some kind of base for several hours, especially with three high energy boys with us. After Suzie mentioned the possibility called a “day rate” Aaron got on his cell phone on found us a deal at, of all places, the Aloha Hotel, which was close to the airport. We could stay there for $90, so we took it. For Sue there was a sweet irony to end up where she wanted to begin at one time. Later Sue and our two daughters, who loved their grandmother, laid their leis on the junction of the Wailua River and the Pacific Ocean where, at one time, Florence requested her ashes be scattered. Staying at the Aloha Hotel gave the ending of the trip a certain poetic resonance for Sue; it was fitting and right that the hotel worked into our departure day. It rounded things off for all of us. The idea of Florence’s ashes to be distributed in Hawaii got vetoed by Uncle Jim, the only sibling left alive. He decided that her and his ashes should go in a grave next to their mother who is buried in Tennessee where she was born. Uncle Jim is 91 and lives in Detroit.

The hotel had a nice pool that we all swam in the later afternoon and , silly me, I forgot to put , sun protection cream on so I got pretty burned, which was terrible timing, given the fact I was looking at a long redeye flight back to Phoenix. After a mediocre dinner on the outside balcony at the hotel, we headed for the airport. The airport was chaos as several airlines had that redeye flight. I came very close to passing out in the Security line. Nasima noticed how white I looked so she took up to the front of the line and got me through in a jiffy so I could sit down for a while. I think it was the effect of the sunburn that got to me, as I felt hot and depleted. I felt a bit better by the time everyone else was through Security. After takeoff my problems got worse. Liam went to sleep next to me and put his legs across my lap, effectively trapping me. After a while Nasima saw I was uncomfortable—she had the window seat—so she took Liam’s body on her body and they somehow managed to sleep that way for a few hours. I never went to sleep, as the hum of the jet motor is too dominating for me to overcome. By the time we got to Phoenix I was mush, and I was even worse by the time we got off the plane in Tucson. One pays a high price to get to paradise and back.

I pretty much surprised my family by remaining even-tempered throughout our stay on Kauai. I was a little worried myself, but I was fine from the start. I knew I needed a change of scene, to be refreshed and the island gave me what I needed. As for the bickering the first couple of days I felt I had no dog in that fight. I was along for the ride—period. Sue had doubts I could get along without my “tools,” my computer, writing emails, sports on TV, the evening news, political events, my desk, and playing pool twice a week. No problem: Being on vacation meant being disengaged from those realities, at least for a while. One mainland friend complained I didn’t have a laptop computer to stay wired. I had to laugh at that. Vacations are a removal from ordinary reality, a challenge if you will. However, I wasn’t completely cut off from some of my usual habits. I did read three books while I was there. On the plane to Kauai I started reading THE GLASS RAINBOW, James Lee Burke’s latest novel. I finished it 4 days later and in my humble opinion it was one of his best books. Then I moved on to Dennis Johnson’s spoof of crime novels called DON’T MOVE. As I read it I realized it was actually a film script in novel form and I am sure if will soon appear as a movie, in the tradition of satirical stories, the kind we associate with Elmore Leonard. I also brought a book of crime short stories called THE BLUE LAGOON. I read two in Kauai, one by Mike Connelly, the other by Alafair Burke, James Lee’s daughter, who has appeared repeatedly in his novels. Both were excellent. I stayed home on two occasions to be alone for a short spell, and to read and write in my journal. But otherwise I made a conscious and determined effort to join in the activities, at least from the sidelines, behaving like a 74 year old geezer with health problems and who has trouble walking any great distance

To conclude: Kauai is called, among the Hawaiian Islands, “The Garden Island.” It is called that for good reason—because of its superabundance of luxuriate vegetative and floral excess, which suggests The Garden of Eden , or an earthly paradise of green splendor, dotted by a palette of vivid reds, yellows, tan, and blue, blue waters, with a dome of wondrous clouds overhead and around the island to cushion its beauty. The island’s wonderful and plentiful beaches have waves that invite and challenge surfers from all over the world. There is something intoxicating about being here. I suppose it is a high bestowed on human beings by the natural beauty and softness of the place. It uplifts you like a gentle giant and invites you to drift like a cloud, rolling, wavy and at ease, content to be what it is and demanding nothing else. I told Sue that that I’d like to spend what time I have left in Kauai, and if it could be worked out, in that area near Anini Beach. She liked hearing I felt like that, but her answer was about what I expected”We couldn’t afford to live here.” I guess I’ll have to start playing the lottery.