Fresh from the temporary desk of a wanderer.

I have been roaming for two weeks since my last post and now I finally have an opportunity to wrap up my Hawaii experiences in one conclusive entry. Here is what I recall in all its glory from the vestiges of my memory.

A few days before I left paradise I went on a fantastic hike through cow pastures and the odd wooded area. Here is a video of me climbing a vine. Unfortunately I recorded it incorrectly and I was unable to rotate it. Simply pick up your computer monitor and do it yourself!

I really had a a sublime time. As usual, I met many cows and had a fantastic time making them feel at ease in my presence. I only wanted to talk to them but they were obviously taught not to speak to strangers. The hike starts off in town and I made a point of hiking a little past the trail head to obtain pictures of this mighty cross. It marks the spot where the founder of the Hana Hotel is buried.Several days before I left Maui I had the astoundingly good fortune of being able to consume a miracle fruit. I was so shocked that I immediately borrowed my host's "Hawaiian Organic Growing Guide" to record some information on the fruit. The entry goes like this.

"Miracle Fruit, from west tropical Africa, grows on a shrub or treelet to 15 feet (4.5 m) that produces quantities of olive-shaped fruits which have an unexplained and almost unparalleled effect on human tasting equipment. The pulp of the fruit, when eaten, masks or paralyzes the sour taste buds of the tongue in such a way that everything eaten thereafter becomes deliciously sweet, even lime juice. Chemists have found this miracle-fruit-induced sweetness 'more desirable than any of the known natural or synthetic sweeteners.' When the fruit is eaten, the curious, lingering after-effect persists for an hour or more, depending on the amount consumed.
The fruit is at first green, turning dusky red when ripe. It is about the size of a small plum, less than an inch long. When famed plant explorer David Fairchild learned that the fruits were good to eat, he helped himself without paying much attention to the story of their miraculous power. The thin, soft, slightly saccharine pulp failed to thrill him, for he reported the fruit 'not good enough to become excited over, though not at all bad.' Later he found the beer he was drinking too sweet. He tried a lemon, and when it too was excessively sweet, he rushed out and stripped nearby trees of fruit to get the seeds for introduction into the United States. That was in 1919, and 70 years later the trees remain uncommon in the hemisphere. Little cultivation information available; a possible commercial crop? Some trees are growing, and being sold, on Kaua'i and the Big Island."

Like Fairchild I did the lemon test. Then Bert (my host) insisted that I try an onion with this fruity miracle. Wow! Onions and miracle fruit are definitely worth getting excited over! Here is a picture of siblings to the miracle fruit I consumed.
On my last day in Hawaii I had a wonderful time at Little Beach in Makena with Bert. It is a nude beach consisting of many happy hippies. However, as my friend Korey says, I was a creeper as I did not conform to my surroundings. Anyways, I did have an unbelievably awesome swim complete with rock jumping and bloody knees. As I gracefully clambered out there was a "very nice (please insert desired accent)" conformist woman talking to Bert. She then proceeded to give us both very descent hugs. When Bert asked for her name she told us "no names." I think that was because names can cloud our perceptions of a person. Just imagine what I would have thought if she said "Maple árbol". That jokes for you Antonio. I truly had a lovely time there. Here is an aerial video of big beach and little beach.

I would like to conclude by acknowledging and thanking all the people I was fortunate enough to meet in Maui. Especially my fellow WWOOFers, Martin, Ray & Kelly. You are all extremely sublime individuals. Kirk, thank you tremendously for giving me your sisters contact information in Colombia! You are awesome. And of course my worldly host, Bert. You provided me with a platform to enjoy your part of the world to my fullest potential. I had a stellar time.

Aloha,
Zach

P.S. Stay tuned as I am driving to L.A. in the next few days to flaunt my mom and brothers book at the America Book Expo!