The Iao Valley walls are steep and as I pass houses built in the cool shadow of its ridges, I'm reminded of my Dad's fervent declaration that he'd never live in a house at the bottom of a hill. He was a pragmatic bloke, so nothing as new age as 'energy' or 'vibe' would have sufficed for his Yorkshire man's reasoning.....those are my terms. Though I did think today he was ahead of his time in the feng shui department. Iao has both a stunning beauty and a palpable intensity that (imho) only the thickest of skins would miss. Some say it's because of it's bloody
history, I say listen to your instincts and (surprise-suprise) I don't live a the bottom of a hill either.
On my ride, I pass the house of a hundred palm buckets. Being a symmetry appreciator I always look forward to peddling by their impeccable orderliness. Sunday instead, I appreciated their seasonal touch and as a bonus, my parking lot starting point was filled with County of Maui vehicles, all of them white!
The Iao Needle is what everyone comes to see, but I was more interested in the locals who ignored the 'Please stay on the path' signs.
The stream below the Needle was rushing and swollen due to the early morning thunder and lightning, which had abieited by the time I'd finished my tea and toast. If that were me (which it never would be), I too would be limpet like and clinging to a warm rock as that mountain water is freeeeeeezing.
Cat napping in the sun, this wild moggy wasn't bothered one iota by the approach of a spandex wearing, camelback packing, ipod listening, bike dismounting paparazzi.
Further down the Iao Valley the rushing stream begins to trickle.....
.....and even there it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.
Since returning from Europe my exercise flow has slowed to a trickle. In an effort to rejuvenate my mojo I've agreed with myself to exercise everyday for the next few weeks, even if it's only a few push ups. In this spirit of this pemature New Years resolution, I took a little bike ride from Sakamoto Pool to the Iao Needle. It's an appealing route as you start in a relatively urban surrounding and quickly get enveloped by nature.
The Iao valley is narrow and it's cliffs so steep, that it's next to impossible for the sun to spill on to the road that takes you to the needle. It's a sacred place to the Hawaiian's as not only was it was a burial ground for the ali'i (chiefs), but also the site of a bloody battle in which King Kamehameha fought the Maui army in his quest to unify and rule the Hawaiian Islands. Soldiers bodies were said to have blocked the Iao streams flow.......and now you have to pay to park there.
Blimey, I didn't mean to get all serious, but that's the energy of the valley-intense. Still, the steady up hill climb is well worth it to watch to taro grow and marvel at the grassy cliff fingers.
My reward was perfectly reheated carbo load of dashboard spaghetti.
Always room in a post for a classy palm tree.
At home things were not quite so energetic, look at these two lazy layabouts (oh the judgement from one who was just there)!
