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Swine flu escape to the Hawaiian Islands...we're talkintravel
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photos by Rich Carlson/foto-op
If the Swine flu has you doubting travel, the Hawaiian Islands and their friendly people will take your fears away and add some spirituality to your soul. The next time you go to Hawaii, instead of bringing back puka shell necklaces and a shaking hula dancer for your car’s dashboard, take home the aloha spirit; a new way of living. If your idea of fun is not lying on the beach with an umbrella drink every day, there’s a rich history to the Islands just waiting to be discovered by tourists.
According to one descendent of King Kamehama, Haoles (white people) need the spiritual help. Kauila Clark, one of only five legally certified master spiritual and physical practitioners in Hawaii, says Haoloe means the walking dead. “When ancient Hawaiians would greet each other they would breathe into each other’s mouths so when they met Captain Cook in blank year and he stuck out his hand, they thought he had no spirit.”
Until the missionaries arrived, Hawaiians communicated orally, keeping their healing secrets within their families. “The elders have decided we need to share our knowledge or it may be lost forever,” Clark says. In Honolulu, Denise Moreland and Clark lead a “Journey in Authentic Hawaii.”(www.tourtalkhawaii.com). You can also purchase self-guided audiotapes of this trip for your car.
Tourists are invited to splash in the sacred pools of Makapu`u which is reputedly heals injuries. Each visitor is given a ti leaf, (long and green) which Hawaiian legend says brings good luck. As they hold it, Clark leads them in a chant asking permission to enter a nearby temple, a stack of rocks formed in a circle. One half of the circle has female energy and the other male, so they complement each other.
Clark is on the Board of the Hawaiian Healing Center, (www.waianae-comp.org) www.shopwaikiki.com where locals pay what they can afford. This site is adding a new wing designed to compete with high-end spas, complete with five star dining. Clark also performs traditional Hawaiian weddings where men and women exchange leis rather than rings.
If those mai tais are slowing you down, you can still find culture on the beach. For instance, the annual men and women’s outrigger canoe races from Molokai to Honolulu land on the sand in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village, (www.hiltonhawaiianvillage.com). Polynesians navigated the South Pacific in canoes almost 1000 years before Columbus landed in America. Outriggers are considered more than a means of transportation; teamwork and a sense of extended family (ohana) are experienced during the journey. Last September some women from Santa Cruz competed in this annual race.
In addition to sponsoring local the Hilton Hawaiian Village, the most profitable Hilton Hotel in the world, offers lessons in hula dancing, playing the ukulele and creating leis and shell jewelry. Ever Friday at sunset, there is a free King’s Jubilee, a traditional Hawaiian music and dance celebration ending with a brilliant fireworks display. This fall, the Hilton re-opened a 1950’s lagoon that is free to the public. The water in the historic Duke Paoa Kahanamoku Lagoon is now continuously changed due to saltwater wells 250 feet below the surface of the ocean. All of the surrounding landscaping has plant species that are native Polynesian.
Waikiki, which went into decline in the 90’s, has undergone a major renovation. Located on the new Beach Walk, Trump tower condominiums, starting at a million dollars, sold out in hour, before they were event constructed! Nearby store windows for high-end designers make great window-shopping but if you want to spend your money guilt free, visit the newly revitalized Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center (www.shopwaikiki.com. A large portion of sales is donated to students attending the Kamehameha schools.
Big Island
The Big Island of Hawaii is becoming so well known as a spiritual destination that it has a center for Wellness Travel Association, (www.wellnesstravelhawaii.com),
says Jessica Ferracane with the Big Island Visitors Bureau. (www.bigisland.org). “Just coming to the Islands can be a healing in itself,” says Ferracane. “Hawaii has always been a place to go unwind, but now more of the traditional healing methods are in use. You can have a lomi-lomi massage, (a vigorous kneading that pounds out a body’s knots,) but instead of lying in an air-conditioned room, you are on the ocean hearing crashing waves, feeling the trade winds on your back. It transforms you to another place and yet it’s so close to California.”
“Hikers will often stumble across ancient petroglyphs, black and even green sand beaches, and huge green sea turtles proliferate on the Big Islands shore, because scientists say they feel safe here,” says Ferracane.
The Hilton Waikoloa Village (www.hiltonwaikoloavillage.com) has restored the “Kings Road,” a dirt trail enclosed by a small rock wall. Markers along the way point out historical sites, including ancient petroglyphs. The free walk has the ocean on one side and a golf course on the other. Originally the path Royalty used to send messengers to pick up fresh fish, today the anomaly between the black lava rock and lush green fairways is striking.
The Hilton and its Dolphin Quest attraction recently won the Hawaii Green Business Award for preserving Hawaii's natural resources. Dolphin Quest educates young people about conservation, but adults can also have fun petting the docile mammals and watching them swim under you. If you dine at any of the Hilton’s outdoor restaurants, don’t be surprised to see spontaneous performances of fire breathers and hula dancers.
Of course, the most famous landmark on the Big Island is the Volcano. Located on the green side of the island, it has thermal ponds, lush-rainfall-and waterfalls. “At Volcano Park, the Goddess Pele is creating new works on daily basis,” says Ferracane. Perhaps inspired by Pele, this region has become a large artist colony. Ferracane also recommends visiting the summit of Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest mountain when measured from sea level. Several countries have set up space observations labs here and every Christmas visitors can star gaze from huge telescopes for free. Hawaiians believe this is the spot that earth and sky meet and where life started.
The only downside to this side of the Island is that it might be difficult to find a place to stay. In January 2008 Ahu Pohaku Hoomaluhia, (sacred stones) will be the first new resort on the Big Island in ten years. A nine-room eco-friendly spa retreat on 60 oceanfront acres, (www.hawaii-island-retreat.com) it’s located in North Kohala (the birthplace of King Kamehameha the Great. The resort, which includes a 1,200- square-foot yoga studio, produces its own electricity via solar cells, and grows much of its own food, flowers and herbs.
For those on the more adventurous side and/or with lighter wallets, Yoga Oasis (www.yogaoasis.org) has rooms as low as 75.00 a night or you can bring your own tent and camp for only $45.00! A spiritual and educational community, it’s located in an endangered Hawaiian rainforest. Be forewarned though, the retreat warns visitors there are lots of bugs, mongoose and other wild critters nearby.
Just as living the Aloha Sprit is not easy, describing it is also difficult. Clark says all values come from Aloha.
“It is the creator and the life force. The Aloha spirit means there is no right or wrong, only that we learn from our mistakes,” he says. Vendors at the Farmer’s Market told me it means you respect the land and only take as much as you need. Kalae Miles (MMiles35@yahoo.com), a Hawaiian musician who frequently performs in Santa Cruz, says the Aloha spirit is unconditional love. “Hawaiians are immediately open,” says Miles, who has invited strangers to his home in O’ahau when they couldn’t book a hotel room. Ferracane explains it this way, “The Aloha spirit is when you walk across the street and a 20 dollar bill flies out of your purse and someone picks it up and hands it to you. Or you admire a lei at the farmers market and the vendor gives it to you. The great thing is, you don’t learn the Aloha spirit at Aloha 101, you just come to Hawaii and feel it here.”
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