Happy Diwali

Festival of lights – celebrates victory of light over darkness

Early morning prayers mark the start of 5 days long Holidays

Wishing you light and Happiness on Diwali !!

Kauai Lua’u

The term Lua’u means a leaf as well as a feast in Hawaiian language. Smith’s Luau is offered daily. We attended the Sheraton Hotel Lua’u in Poipu on the beach as the sun set over the horizon behind us casting rainbow over the Lua’u stage. Food was nice (plentiful vegetarian options for me), including island desserts like coconut cake and guava pie. The show was quite entertaining and educational, though amateurish at times as some members in the cast appeared to be high-school kids.

Some snapshots an entertaining evening

Kauai – Fruits and Flowers

Enjoying tropical fruits – mangoes, papayas, guavas, lychees, custard apple (sita-fal), pineapple and jackfruit are some of the pleasures of visiting Hawaii. Farmers markets are excellent as you can get locally grown fresh produce at inexpensive prices. Roadside stands offer sugarcane juice, coconut water and if you are lucky boiled peanuts in their shell.

 

If you have heard of Ava Puhi Shampoos lately, they use extract from ginger leaves. However, the commercial products well mask the aromatic smell of ginger leaves with other stronger fragrances.

Our hike guide was a botanist. She introduced us to Noni fruit, which was used by Polynesians for treatment of many ailments. These days Noni juice has become a health drink. But, the fruit stinks worse than  moldy cheese – at best.

In Kauai, you can see all these fruits in one place at the Hawaiian Village, located close to Lihue off the Wailua river.

Kauai is called the Garden Isle, and aptly so.. It is lush green and not as commercialized as the other islands. There are a couple of botanical gardens near Poipu. But, tropical flowers are everywhere.

A lizard basking in mid-morning sun @ the Hanalei overlook..

Kauai

 

Sunrise @ Kappa Shore

Taro Fields – Dawn reflections @ Hanalei

 

Patchwork of Greens – Hanalei river flows through Taro fields

Hanalei Beach Pier

Hanalei Beach

Wai'oli Hui'ia Church

Waimea Canyon – Grand Canyon of the Pacific

Inside the Canyon during Helicopter tour of the island

Day Hibiscus flowers washed ashore @ mouth of Hanalei river

(This variety of hibiscus flower blooms during the day and falls in the river in the evening. In the morning the river is full of flowers and some get washed to the bank of the river where the river joins the Pacific Ocean at Hanalei beach Park).

Hawaiian Birds

Like people, most birds commonly seen in Hawaii today are not native to Hawaii.  Michael Walther’s page on Hawaiian Birds is a great resource for bird identification.

Alien Birds

Java Sparrow

Japanese White-eye

 

Pet Peacocks @ Hawaiian Village, Kauai

Roosters and Chicken roam freely in Kauai

(They will wake you up sometimes in the middle of the night)

Native Birds

Gallinule

 

Nene

(Related to Canada Goose , Nene is the State bird of Hawaii)

Kauai : Napali Coast

 

One of the most photogenic coastlines on the north side of Kauai, as photographed from air.

Running Y Ranch , Klamath Falls, OR

Running Y Ranch is a working Ranch with horses, and farming near lake Klamath in Oregon. With great views of Mt Shasta and Mt. McLoughlin, a golf course and some of the best opportunities for bird-watching, this is a great place to relax and unwind just across the border from California in Southern Oregon. Crater Lake National Park and Lava Beds National Park are located within an hour from here. Collier Park located 40 minutes away off Hwy 92N has excellent paddling opportunities.

Mt Shasta lit by evening sunlight

Mt McLoughlin and golf course view from resort unit

Worldmark, Running Y Ranch resort furnishings further help to soak in the Ranch environment.