Wailua River Mouth

Speaking of scooping, I saw and odd sight at Wailua beach last week and went home to get my camera. I parked between the two bridges and walked across the road next to the one-lane bridge:

Is that another courageous surfer trying to stop a super Caterpillar from invading Kauai? And just what exactly is that excavator doing on the beach? Perhaps a little context will help:

After a day of rain, and with more in the forecast, the county (or maybe the state, I’m not sure) dredges out the mouth of the Wailua river to keep the water from rising inland.

Most rivers in Hawaii still have a natural outflow to the ocean, and the beach sand acts as a natural dam that creates a wide lagoon inland. And right now at the beginning of summer, ocean currents and wave action deposit more sand on the beach, which is why most of the beaches are wider in the summer. But that creates problems when there are out-of-season rain-storms as we’ve had.

But what about the surfers?

When the lagoon is breached, the strong flow of water creates standing waves coveted by the surfers—the mythical infinite wave. Because these waves are usually too small for surfing, body-boarders flock to the site to jump in and try to ride one until the sands shift and the wave forms elsewhere. From what I could see, the waves weren’t very convincing and none of them had long rides. I’ve heard of surfers digging the channel themselves to drain the lagoons at the smaller river-mouths, trying to create their own wave. I don’t recommend the practice, because storm runoff and standing lagoon water have high levels of bacteria and pollutants.

It looks like the body-boarders weren’t the only ones having fun. Who would not want to play with such an enormous sand toy—and get to dig real channels with it? When he was done with the channel, he spent some time flattening out the piles of sand, so the beach looked natural again.

After watching them for a while, I found another spot to view the river and noticed that there were two channels for the river to flow in. I had assumed that the sand had blocked the river almost completely, as happens on the smaller rivers, and the excavator had to create or enlarge it. But the natural channel is the one on the right, and they doubled the outflow of the river by creating a second channel through the sandbar.

It’s a good thing too, because we had over an inch of rain a few days later.

While I was down by the bridge, I saw this strange sign warning paddlers about dangers under the bridge. I think that the old reinforced concrete on the bridge was flaking a bit and pieces would fall off. That would explain the stucco coating you see here, to protect the remaining concrete from the salt spray. But why then did they leave the sign?

Not to fear, the bridge was recently tested and still found to be very solid. Originally a railway bridge for sugar cane hauling trains, it will be retrofitted with two lanes of traffic and the future bicycle path.

Moving around a little, I found another little strip of land that is seldom seen. This triangular area is hidden between the access to the one-lane bridge, the river, and the Aloha Beach Hotel. I had never noticed the nice little grove of palm trees here. Off to the left in the distance are the ruins of the Hikina a ka la heiau and Hauola, the place of refuge, at the edge of Lydgate park.

The only reason I took this picture is because this is undoubtedly where the future bike path will go, when they managed to connect downtown Kapaa to Lydgate park. So this is the “before” picture, and I’m anxiously awaiting the chance to take the “after” picture.

The Tamba Island

I’m always intrigued by the variety of stickers you see plastered on signs around Kauai, a sort of local graffiti. They’re usually surf-related, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out what they mean. This one was self-explanatory, but very cleverly placed:

Tamba is a small surf shop on the main highway, north of downtown Kapaa in the same plaza as the Kojima store. I first noticed it when they celebrated surfer Andy Irons’s world championship victory with a window painting that said “Andy, you da man!” (I wish I’d gotten my picture with it). I didn’t know anything more about it until I read an article in this week’s Kauai People weekly. Apparently, Tamba is the owner’s middle name, originally the name of a tribal chief in Kenya.

By the way, the Kauai People weekly paper is a great source of local news. It is owned by the Honolulu Advertiser, but they have local journalists, for example Kauai Eclectic blog writer Joan Conrow is a frequent contributor and wrote the Tamba article. They always have stories about 2 or 3 local people, usually small-business owners, volunteers, and other people who make a difference on the island, as well as local events and festivals. Residents get the paper in their mailbox every week, but it’s also available online.

Mele Kalikimaka 2007

I’ll be traveling back to the mainland so I won’t be on Kaua’i for Christmas, but I did get to see some of the season’s local events.

First off, the Light Parade in Lihue on December 7 was cancelled due to rain. I suppose with all the preparation it takes, they couldn’t just hold it another night. You can see my pictures from last year. I think there is another, smaller light parade in Waimea town, but it’s too far to drive with a toddler in the evening, so I don’t know how it went.

Later that week, there was the Kaua’i High School Chorus’ winter concert. The high school in Lihue has two singing groups, the Singers pictured below and the Chorus. I wish I got a picture of the Chorus, because the women were wearing solid white and red mu’umu’u (aka mumu), the long flowing gowns made popular during the Victorian monarchy period.

The program included traditional pieces such as Haydn’s Gloria, and to my great delight, some in Hawaiian. Even though I’m a neophyte, I love choral music, especially at Christmas time. I also think traditional pieces in Hawaiian have a special significance. Historically, the Hawaiians only had chants, not music, and the melody of hymns with words translated by the missionaries was one factor that drew them into the first churches. So for me, religious music in Hawaiian is a look back into the past to when western and Hawaiian cultures first became meshed together.

So it was a real treat to hear a version of Handel’s Messiah in Hawaiian. The choral director, David Conrad, explained that the Messiah in Hawaiian had never been published, but he found the translation on a program from a Kapa’a school concert in the 50’s. I looked on the internet, and it seems there used to be an annual performance of the Messiah in Hawaiian (in Honolulu), so it’s not unknown. There was a performance again this year, but the article doesn’t mention whether it was sung in Hawaiian.

Anyways, I recorded the first minute of the Messiah sung in Hawaiian–that is unfortunately all my camera would record. It is titled Ka Nani O Ka Haku and translated by David Kalama, according to the program. Click here to play the music file in a new window or browser tab.

They did light the county building despite the weather, and we went to see all the decorations the following weekend. Santa was there as well, but our daughter is only 2 and is still afraid of him. If you’re on Kaua’i, the decorations inside the County Building will be open from 6pm to 8pm every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday through December 30th. The trees on the plaza in front of the building are lit up like last year as well.

Just outside the door, a Hawaiian Snowman is staying cool dancing the hula:

Inside the theme is that Santa’s “Gone Kauaian:”

Other than this display where Santa’s surfboard is being pulled by roosters, it was not particularly Kauaian:

It was however, definitely Hawaiian:

As every year, the display focuses on the homemade Christmas decorations of Auntie Josie, a Kekaha resident who filled her home with decorations every year and invited the public. When her husband died and she could no longer put on the display, it moved to the County Building for all to enjoy. Last year, some of the decorations were looking worn, but this year they were all spruced up, and volunteers contributed new ones.

I particularly like this Filipino Parol, which, as the little sign says, is a traditional Filipino Christmas decoration representing the Christmas Star. This particular one was made in 2006 by Allan Villaflor in commemoration of the centennial of the arrival of Filipinos in Hawaii:

Auntie Josie’s decorations often recycled everyday items such as bottle caps. My favorite is this wreath using six-pack rings, they look exactly the opposite of trash now:

The cane train was again the children’s favorite display, though they probably didn’t notice the Christmas tree made of Spam-brand cans:

Another new display was these nutcracker dolls, one pair dressed as old Hawaiians, the other as “new” Hawaiians:

So now I wish you all a Mele Kalikimaka e Ha’oli Makahiki Hou (Merry Christmas and Happy New Year).

Mellow Dog Needs New Home

Update: Jackson found a great home in Kalaheo thanks to the other neighbors. We plan to go see him again sometime.

This plea is mostly for Kauai residents, but it will give a “slice of life” on Kauai to others.

Last week, our neighbor Joe behind our house died quite suddenly. He was an older man who lived alone, and when another neighbor saw his lights and TV on all night, he went to check on him in the morning, and notified the police. Joe was a kind man loved by all of us. He knew everyone on the street and introduced us to them when we first moved in. Just like that, on a sunny Aloha Friday in a tropical paradise, we were all reminded of our own mortality.

Since we knew Joe a little from being around him nearly every day, the other neighbor and I stayed around and helped the emergency personnel and the police collect information. Joe was a retired teacher from Kapa’a High School, and because Kaua’i is a small place, one of the medics remembered having him as his French teacher. I speak French and I never knew Joe taught it or we could’ve practiced together. I also learned Joe used to do a lot of hiking decades ago, but I never had the chance to ask him what Kaua’i was like back then.

Sadly, Joe leaves behind his dog named Jackson. He’s been heartbroken ever since, moaping about and not eating much. We are taking care of him so that the authorities don’t put him in the animal shelter.We take him for walks and he does respond to the love and attention that we give him, so he should be OK. But Jackson needs to find a new home before the family sells or rents out his house.

Jackson is an older dog who loves to go for walks and short runs and seems healthy. He does like to chase birds and cats, which is why we can’t keep him. Otherwise, he is very mellow and obedient, with a wonderful temperament and is friendly to all, even other dogs. He is fairly big but great around kids—he is my daughter’s best doggie friend.

If you or anyone you know might want to adopt Jackson, please email me at andy@great-hikes.com.

Share the Abundance!

There’s a new website in town with a great idea: share the abundance of fruits and vegetables from your backyard.

A neighbor of mine with a big yard and lots of fruit trees had the idea. He had so much fruit that he couldn’t give it all away and some inevitably went to waste. Plus I imagine he got tired of eating the same fruit day in and day out, not to mention offering the fruit to everybody again and again.

There’s always been informal sharing of produce with family, friends and neighbors on Kaua’i, but this is the age of Web 2.0, and it was time to make a website. The idea is simple and easy to use: anybody on the island can post a short message offering what they have, and anybody can search by produce type or location. Send an email, give them a call, stop by on your next errand, and soon you’ll be enjoying home-grown fruits and vegetables. It’s all free and based on goodwill, so go ahead and try it.

And it works! We already traded lilikoi for avocados and lilikoi juice for coconut water. A lot of people are looking to trade for something else, but I’m sure people are willing to give away small amounts, too. Or this can be your incentive to plant a garden and some fruit trees, so you can join in the trading.

What I really like about the concept is not just keeping all the fruits and veggies from going to waste, but also the sharing of healthy food within the community and creating new connections based on sustainability.

Disclaimer: my wife made the website, and the neighbor who owns it has given me free fruit in the past.

PS: I heard the newspaper is going to run a story about the website (sorry for the scoop), so I predict this is going to become very popular soon. [Update: here’s the article, with a really good tie-in to the whole issue of eating locally and sustainably. Keya Keita is the new features writer at the Garden Island, and she’s been writing some really insightful articles about interesting people and places several times a week–she raises the bar for local bloggers like me.]