I have a growing interest for the flora and fauna on Maui. This trip, I spent much more time observing and appreciating the natural wonders - in categories that span from rain forest flora to cactus in Kihei & Makena, the beauties of Hibiscus, Plumeria, Spider Lilly, Begonias and so much more provide an almost unsurpassed visual treat.
I also saw some amazing birds. Amongst the many Rock Doves (the Hawaiian name for 'pigeon'!) we spotted Yellow Faced Grassquits and Greater Necklaced Laughing Thrush (you think I'm making this up, don't you? I'm not! BTW both of which are found elswhere than just Hawaii) and many others. One bird I observed was the most brilliant blue I have ever seen. One of the Grassquits I saw had almost a perfect Nike Swoosh just under its eyes (talk about product placement, is there any place in the world without the Nike logo or the Starbucks mermaid?).
We visited the Maui Ocean Center at Ma'alea Harbor, and it was fantastic! We had driven by it for years and never gone in. It's now a must see. You go through a series of rooms with aquariums designed to show off and educate on the underwater life at different depths, with a plethora of exotic fish and other magnificent ocean critters on display. There were two defninite WOW moments - the first was a floor to ceiling cylindrical (I'm guessing about 400 gallon) tank with nothing but jellyfish in it. They had a black light on the tank, and supressed lighting and some kind of new age music playing. It was hypnotic to watch the graceful movements of a deadly species. Speaking of deadly species, the second wow moment was walking around a corner and into a viewing room where you observed a SEVEN HUNRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND GALLON aquarium. Yup, that's 750,000 gallons! It had all kinds of smaller species, a bunch of sharks (tiger, hammerhead, and some others) and curious sea rays (sting rays) that would glide right up to the glass and observe you with a cold, predator's eye. They feed them a few times a day to supress the shark's appetites taking the edge off of their aggressiveness.
What really surprised me though was a fish called a Jack. Not too impressive looking (especially
in this lousy image I found), but here's the kicker - these guys are among the most aggressive among predatory species. The week we visisted the Center, they had just introduced a young Tiger Shark into the tank. The Jacks did not take lightly this intrusion, and constantly harassed the shark, to the point that it started to become exhausted and the staff feared that the constant annoyance would fatigue the shark to the point where it would become fragile and undergo physical attack. Yup, to my surprise Jacks are aggressive enought to take on a shark!
Well, of all the species we observed I must say that most exotic, interesting and puzzling were of the human nature. Here's a sampling of what we observed:
- Midwest/Southern/East Coast Tourists - easy to spot with their conservative dress, slight accents and references like "this tastes so much better than hot dish". The male of the species typically has a large, burnt belly which he will bring back to Boston, Birmingham or Biloxi.
West Coast Tourists - Pacific Northwesterners can be identified by their wearing of socks with flip flops, and standing out in the rain just like they do in Seattle or Portland. Southern California visitors are almost indistinguishable from island residents with their tans and tattoos. I'm not sure why they come, as I think Maui is just an extension of the So Cal lifestyle (or the other way around!) - Condo Sales Staff - impeccably dressed in an Aloha shirt with white linen slacks, these are sharks of the land locked kind. My favorite one though was one lady who sported a bosom like a Humvee and a carriage built by Kenworth. Don't get me wrong, she was not fat but solid - and big. She was showing a very young couple(they seemed a bit intimidated), perhaps newlyweds; around the premises and I could just imagane what happened in the closing booth - SNAP! Goes the whip against the table. They both jump almost out of their chairs. "You vill purchase ze condo, no?" "No" they respond. "NO, the sales commandant replies, you say NEIN to mein offer?" "No, they reply - we mean yes" and start crying and say "yes, ve vill buy". WHAT, YOU NOW MOCK ME? Hysterical now they sob as she pushes the signature page across the desk. "Come, my liebchins; it shall be alright if you sign" as she clasps them to her bosom. Yikes!
- The twins - this was the awww moment, there were twin oriental girls about 3 years old. They wore matching sunsuits and paraded around the pool with their papa, holding hands, giggling and whispering to each other. Cute was never cuter!
- The hair club for men representative - this guy was fascinating to watch in almost a morbid way. His hair did not really come out of his head as much as it sat on top of his head. I swear, birds were circling looking to roost....
- Tipping Man - he must have weighed about 275-300, and he was laying stomach down on the lounge at the pool. He was reading a book, with his head hanging off of the end. He had found the perfect equilibrium point where if he moved his head, he started to tip. With an ever so delicate push of his finger, he would gently return to the balance position. Amazing.
- Local Boyz - this guy was a nut! I was on the lanai (deck) of our eigth floor unit one day, and looked down upon a public beach access parking lot. This guy drove in, and then his buddy; and they took out their windsurf boards and gear and began setting up. Apparently, they decided after a little bit that the conditions were not quite to their liking, so they went through the ritual again in reverse. Local boy number one was talking to a young lady, and although it was windy and I was high enough I could not hear their conversation, it seemed obvious that he was trying to pick her up (local boy number two had loaded his gear and walked down to the beach). Number one sauntered over to his vintage Jeep Cherokee with impressionable female, and tossed his board on the rack and walked with her back toward the beach. Number two had come up and went over to his truck. Well, the wind was blowing hard and sure enough it picked up number one's unrestrained board and flung it RIGHT ONTO NUMBER TWO'S BRAND NEW PICKUP. Even from where I was I heard a big BANG. Well, suffice to say by the hand gestures I observed they probably don't hang out too much together anymore, at least not that day.
- Finally, there was Diving Man. There's one of these at every pool. As he rose to dive into the pool, everyone got slightly light headed. That's because there was a collective gasp from both male and female spectators as with envy and admiration the sharp intake of breath caused a minor atmospheric disturbance as the momentary lack of oxygen permeated the pool area. His rippled abs caused a refraction of the sunlight across the surface of the pool, it looked like diamonds dancing on the water and that along with his perfect white teeth set in a strong jaw reflected the tropical sun in such a brilliant way that everyone had to put on their sunglasses. He stretched slightly and the expansion of his bicep caused a momentary, minor eclipse as it blocked the sun. The epitome of youth, vigor and health he approached the edge and with just a slight exertion that caused his calves to look like cows, he cut into the water with such grace that not a drop of water was displaced. As he surfaced, he looked to see his wife Sherry pointing out that his clumsiness had splashed about fifty annoyed people! Turns out that I had slipped into a minor fantasy and quickly was returned to my middle aged existence. Sigh.
