Hawaii Part 3: A hitchhiker’s guide to Hana

It was unfortunate that my travel companion felt that any decision I made that was different than what she wanted to do meant I wasn’t enjoying the island.  It translated to me not spending Tuesday morning writing to the noiseless beat of the energy of Hana driving me to write, write, write.  It did mean a different kind of adventure.

My first hitchhiking lesson.  We walked toward a new beach we wanted to explore, stopping to stick our thumbs in the air accompanied by hopeful grins.  In about five minutes time an older man picked us up and took us to the general vicinity of the red sand beach.  We walked around looking for this beach that was supposedly different from the others – namely it was red – but also known for its coral and snorkeling.  Instead we found a resort that fenced and gated off all access to any beach.  

About as close to the other beach as I could get.

We gave up and went back to Hana Bay.  When we got hungry we ate at an outdoor Thai food place that had some of the best Thai iced tea I ever had (hence why I document it here) and some pretty good Pad Thai (my standard by which to judge all Thai restaurants).  While eating I got a call from someone who’d answered the craigslist ad I’d placed the day before asking for a local guide.  It would be fortuitous, but more on that tomorrow. 

Best. Thai. Iced. Tea. Ever.

The kitchen - a lot of the kitchens in Hana were semi-outdoor, I noticed.

The surfboards announced the specials and if they were open!

After lunch we went our separate ways, with "A" going with her friend to try another way to hike into the red sand beach and me going into town in hopes of mailing my postcards and finding the local art gallery.  We were each successful.  She did some major hiking and found what she was looking for, and I mailed my postcards. 

Then I did some exploring around Hana.  The first thing I notices was there are more churches in Hana than anything else.  Next to the post office was a gift shop.  It was a strange shop, stocked to the ceiling with random merchandise, some of which were everyday items with the word “Hana” hand written on them after the fact. 

The art gallery was amazing.  The local art ranged from minimalism to sculpture to portraiture to photography.  I took my time and enjoyed every quiet step.  It’s just something I like to do when I visit somewhere.  I must check out the local art gallery or museum.  It’s as if by doing such you get to know the people and the place that much more.

Exploring downtown Hana...

Just outside the art gallery.

These were some gorgeous sculptures outside the gallery.

I finally headed home, aching and in need of somewhere comfortable to sit.  But I had to hitch a ride.  I started walking down the Hana Highway.  At first I focused more on taking pictures than on getting a ride.  But then the pain got worse and I got serious.  It took some time, but a mother with a little one in the back seat picked me up.  She was on her way to the library and my lodging was right before the library.

I may have been hitchhiking, but I had a pretty great view!

That night I cooked seared ahi and my napa cabbage salad for dinner.  I couldn’t slice it up on a plate a serve it pretty like in the restaurants because the knives in our kitchen left much to be desired, but trust me, it was perfectly raw in the middle and divine.  

My rare, rare cooking.  You can't see it well, but that ahi was delish!

I went to sleep knowing our guide would be there early to pick us up the next morning.  We’d managed to track down a local who was also some sort of natural healer, personal trainer, and massage therapist.  We’d find out so much more.  And there will be good reasons to not use names relating portions of this tale....