Free Wi-Fi

Update: Thanks for the comments, I’ve added those locations to my list below. It seems like old town Kapaa is the newest surf spot. Plus, now I’ve done some more research, though only on the web not in person.

In an email, Tara asks:

i am new to the island and love your blog. i’m a writer searching for cafes or coffee shops w/free internet on the island; my old stomping ground was the cow’s end in venice, ca and i miss it. do you have any pointers?

I have been thinking this would make a good post topic, but I wanted to do more research before writing. I’m learning that’s not the way blogging works, so I’ll just give you what I have for now:

• The Small Town Coffee Co. across from the library in Kapaa has free wi-fi, I just confirmed that on their website. They’re in a quaint location, and even with no parking to speak of, they are always busy, so they must be doing something right. I’m not going to do a full review, but the coffee’s good, their barista is a two-time barista contest winner. The inside is a bit rustic, but I prefer that to any shiny new chain store, and it reminds me of one of my favorite cafés, Simple Pleasures Café in the outer Richmond, SF.
• Shawn says Java Kai, the other independent coffee shop in old town Kapaa, has it and so does their other shop in Hanalei.
• Jonathan reveals that Blossoming Lotus, also at the light in old town Kapaa has a “freely accessible signal,” but since I actually don’t have a laptop or an iPhone, I don’t know if that’s equivalent.
• Kukui Grove mall outside of Lihue has signs throughout their interior walkways and food court that wi-fi is available and free.

In the comments Shawn also links to a website with wifi-search, both free and for pay. There are some discrepancies in the data (and it is likely to be outdated quickly), but it gives a few more free ones:

• The Shack restaurant, now Polynesia Café but I don’t know if they kept the wi-fi.
• Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, next to Foodland in Waipouli.
• Aloha Beach Hotel (was Resort) in Wailua.
• Starbucks in Kukui Grove (but the one in Borders nearby and the one in Kapaa are for-pay).
• Grinds Café (more of a diner than a café) in ‘Ele’ele.
• Waimea Brewing Company (micro-review: good beer too) and Waimea Plantation Cottages

You can’t search the whole island, so here are all cities/zip codes with results: Waimea, ‘Ele’ele, Koloa/Poipu, Lihue, Kapaa, Princeville, and Hanalei. Also, Hanapepe, and Kilauea have some new cafés and bookstores that would be likely candidates, does anyone know if they do wi-fi yet?

I’ve never actually used any of these access points, so I can’t tell you the quality of the signal and the connection. If readers know of other places, let us know in a comment.

Kalalau Logistics

I wanted to give some details about the food and equipment I took on my recent 2.2-day hike on the Kalalau trail. While a 2-day hike is different from a 5-day outing, this can give an idea of the minimum needed. Here I am all ready to go at the trailhead:

Food for 48 Hours

The advantage of going for only the weekend is that I didn’t need to carry much food. To reduce weight, I decided to eat cold so I could leave the campstove. I mixed some peanut butter and jelly into a plastic container, and I took 1 large tortilla for each big meal (4 in all). I couldn’t stand PB&J by the last day and didn’t finish it—next time I’ll take humus. For breakfasts I took granola bars and dried fruit, and for the rest of the day some trail snacks (salty nuts and crackers, dark chocolate, and hard candy). One of my favorite trail snacks are Iso Peanuts, sometimes called Mochi Balls: they’re Japanese and made of a peanut coated with rice-cracker and various flavorings–carbs, protein, fat, and salt in a convenient package.

For drinking, I took only one 1.5L bottle of water and the water filter with purifier drops. Seeing how I probably sufferend from low electrolytes, next time I will try to take some powdered sport drinks (PDF and others).

Minimal Equipment

On this trip, I tried out a light-weight travel hammock which I cover with a plastic tarp against the rain (I hear there are all-in-one hammock “tubes” that would be perfect). My bedroll is a fleece sleeping-bag, light-weight but sufficient (almost, as seen above). I hike in shorts and a shirt that are not cotton, because they dry faster and carry moisture away. The shorts are actually a bathing suit, so I don’t have to deal with underwear and so I can jump in the water anytime. I wore one change of clothes and carried another for sleeping and for the hike out. Only take clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty, the mud or dust can stain even synthetic fabrics.

Along with the minimum saftety equipement (hat, sunscreen, knife, whistle, lighter, and emergency mylar blanket) and some accessories (camera and GPS), I could fit all this in a day pack, which probably weighed around 20 lbs (10 kg). Even without the hip support of a full pack, this was by far the most comfortable pack I’ve carried into Kalalau. Because of the heat, I really recommend carrying as little as you possibly can, it only adds up to extra strain, effort, and fatigue.

For shoes, I usually go with full height hiking boots when I have a full pack. I have weak ankles and need the extra support. With the lighter pack, I was comfortable with the running/trail shoes I have. Trail shoes have the advantage of being lighter and breathing better, but make sure they have plenty of big tread, anything else will slip too much. I do not recommend hiking sandals (Tevas or Keen) unless you’ve hiked extensively in them before–same goes for flip-flops that the Kalalau “hippies” wear on the trail.

Finally, you can see in the first picture that I hike with poles. I always take them for backpacking and almost never for day-hiking. Since they mainly help me balance a heavy pack and take some strain off my knees, I considered not taking them. They can get in the way in the overgrown sections, and they do cause a bit more erosion. But they also allow me use my arm strength for walking faster, and they are useful for stream crossings, so I took them. If you have poles and are used to them, I recommend you use them on the Kalalau trail.

More on Parking

Hikers can understandably be worried about leaving their car several days unattended at the trailhead parking at Kee Beach. I have an old island car that I’ve left parked there up to 5 day without incident. I do lock it (on principle), but mostly I leave nothing valuable in the car, even out of sight. I do leave a towel, a change of clothes, some water, and other worthless car junk, but always in the open, not in a closed bag. Obviously, rental cars are more conspicuous, so never leave anything you can’t loose, even if you are just going to the beach. That way the worst thing that happens is that you have to deal with insurance, should anything happen.

I actually haven’t heard of break-ins at Kee Beach, but I’m sure they occur, it’s one of the most remote places and there are no people around at night. There is a ranger stationed there as part of the Haena State Park, but I don’t know if they patrol at night. Leaving your car at the campground at Haena beach should be safer because there are people around, but that’s no guarantee, and you then have to walk or get a ride 1 mile (1.6 km) to and from the trailhead. The surest thing is to be dropped off if you can arrange it, though you need to set a pick-up time and ask your driver to be willing to wait an hour or two for you, in case you’re late hiking out. Needless to say that catching a plane the same day you hike out of Kalalau is tempting fate.

Updated Feb 18, 2008: I gave some more details in a comment reply on another post. Also, I have heard that you can sometimes park your car at the YMCA Camp Naue in Haena. They will charge a fee, but it’s probably the option that is most safe. Depending on who else is using the camp, you may also be able to camp or bunk there before and after hiking the Kalalau trail. Their phone number is (808) 246-9090, and I found more information at the Frommer’s travel site (even the official YMCA website links there). Thanks to Mary Jo in the comment below for finding out that the YMCA camp is not an option. I had heard about the camp from several sources, including the link above, but I failed to confirm my information directly with the YMCA poeple.

Scott Hawaii

I have endorsed flip-flops by Scott before, and just bought myself another pair because the outer sole was wearing thin after a year of constant use. From the tag on the new pair, I was happy to find that it is a Hawaiian brand. It always feels good to buy from local businesses, even if the manufacturing is inevitably off-shore:

Scott Hawaii was founded in 1932, manufacturing plantation boots for the sugar and pineapple workers in Hawaii. During World War II, because of material shortages, production was switched to sandals and flip flops to service the large number of military personnel passing through Pearl Harbor. Since then, we have focused on providing comfortable footwear in Hawaii for locals and tourists alike, as well as those outside Hawaii who embrace our casual island lifestyle. Every pair we make is hand crafted with the best quality and most durable materials available for comfortable, casual footwear.

[on the back:] Made in China

They also have a small website, www.scotthawaii.com, which is worth visiting for the retro flash animation and nice Hawaiian slack key guitar music. The model that I have found at Kmart on Kauai is their men’s Makaha, though only in plain black.

Please note that I am in no way affiliated with Scott Hawaii, I’m just a satisfied customer recommending what seems to be a quality product.

Cold Spell

Back at the end of November, I metioned putting on a long sleeve shirt on a cold 62 °F (16.5 °C) morning. It turns out we had a warm and dry December, but the rainy weather of the past two weeks has kept temperatures low again.

How low? Well, I’ve been wearing long sleeves again, not just at sunrise, but most of the day. And then I’ve been wearing socks in and around the house, much more than I ever did last year. But I have to admit that socks look and feel funny with slippahs (slippers, flip-flops) :

I’m not sure if the locals ever wear socks with their slippahs. I walked around the neighborhood like this and talked to some of the kama ‘aina (island born) neighbors, but they were too polite to mention my fashion faux-pas. One solution to the funny feeling between my toes is to wear Tevas (sports sandals):

However, I am sure that I’ve never seen a local or a resident wear Tevas, with or without socks. Only the tourists wear them—locals prefer their slippahs or just tennis shoes.

If you take a close look at the first picture, I am actually modeling two lowly, yet critical, pieces of gear:

• Scott brand slippahs. If you’re a mainlander like me and you try to wear the cheap $3 flip-flops, your feet will hurt sooner or later. First, the foam sole compresses over time and you feel every sharp pebble, and then the lack of support will flatten the arch of your shoe-trained feet. Locals who grew up in these are immune, tourists can get away with wearing them for a week or two, but if you want to wear slippahs for more than a month, get something bettah.

  Scotts cost $18 at K-mart, but they have a real rubber sole and arch support. My pair has lasted through a year of constant usage and long walks without hurting my feet or ankles. You could probably hike in them if you wanted to imitate the locals. However, if you just want camp slippahs in Kalalau (or in the Sierra in the summer), take the $3 kind because they are much, much lighter.

  And no, I don’t play the guitar or the ukulele, I just liked that design better than plain black.

• White tube socks. Kauai’s red dirt is famous for it’s ability to stain or color your clothes. Since most hikes on Kauai are either muddy or dusty, your shoes and socks will get dirty. This is why the local hike in slippahs, but my feet need trail shoes or hiking boots, which means I need socks.

  You can see that mine have some local color, but sometimes they’re just so muddy you don’t want to wash them with anything else. And some of the less traveled trails are overgrown with invasive plants full of burrs that are near impossible to remove. So, after a good adventure, you sometimes just want to throw your socks in the trash. Instead of tossing expensive hiking socks, I just buy a 12-pack of the cotton tube socks every year, white being cheap and easy to find.

Underwater Camera

Here is my new Pentax WPi underwater digital camera. As far as I know, it is the first digital camera that doesn’t need a special waterproof case. I really wanted to buy this camera because there are so many fun things to do in the water on Kauai, from snorkeling to kayaking and hiking behind waterfalls (and swimming across rivers). Also, it sometimes rains on hikes and it convenient to not worry about the camera getting wet.

This photo is a mirror image that is rotated to show the camera better:

The camera does have some underwater limitations, it can only be immersed for 30 minutes up to 5 feet (1.5 m) deep. So it’s perfect for snorkeling, but can’t be used for diving. I took some underwater pictures yesterday afternoon, and the quality of the underwater photos is very good. They are not perfectly sharp, but it was hard to keep still in the waves. The results would be even better on a calmer day with brighter sun around noon.

The colors are slightly blue and green, as shown in the following raw image I took in full automatic mode. The images I posted were color corrected to look more natural. There is an underwater mode which I will try to see if it adjust the colors automatically.