Whale watching on Molokai (Sheraton Ranch/UA F)
Feb 12, 2003, 12:42 pm
#1
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Whale watching on Molokai (Sheraton Ranch/UA F)
We first visited Molokai in July and immediately decided to return in February for the height of whale season.
We checked in at the UA 1K/F counter at SFO for the flight to HNL and the agent asked to see the credit card I used to purchase my tickets. I handed her my Starwood Optima, my primary card, and she said that wasn’t the correct card. It hit me … I used my Hilton Optima for a few months late last year because they were offering double points. I never carry that card. The agent was very kind and said she could either cancel those tickets and recharge them to the Starwood card or seeing as they were purchased four months ago any problems with fraud would have shown up by now so she left them as is and made a note for the agent on the return. It’s nice to see agents who really understand the reason for rules and don’t just blindly follow them.
Our upgrades had cleared a few days in advance and she handed us boarding cards for 1E&F.
I’ve gotten accustomed to preflight mimosas on these flights and sadly all they were offering was orange juice and water. They didn’t board any champagne.
The purser on this flight was wonderful, a charming man who grew up on Maui and now lives on Oahu. He approached me first for my meal choice and thanked me for flying 100K. There were three meal choices and none were vegetarian so Rod and I each just had the salad with a very weak wasabi dressing, some red potatoes and asparagus. Fortunately they did board wine and Bailey’s. Dinner was followed by the usual sundaes.
Throughout the flight the purser remembered my name and seemingly most everyone else’s. I meet someone and forget their name two seconds later so I was most impressed. But even more impressive he was the purser on our return a week later. He immediately recognized me. He came up with Rod’s name right away and first remembered that mine was Scandinavian and then came up with it too. Amazing. A lot of people criticize the older flight attendants, I find them to be some of the best.
The movie choices were grim so I spent much of the flight chatting with some Danish folks seated across the aisle.
We landed on time in HNL and then took the Wiki-Wiki to the interisland terminal. From there we walked commuter terminal where the Aloha Island Air flights to Molokai depart from.
We had all carry-ons and our two larger bags we were able to gatecheck so we could get them quickly planeside upon landing.
Island Air uses a Dash 8 to Molokai. I had 1A with a lovely view of port propeller. The flight’s only about 15 minutes long and as we descended just before reaching land I was able to spot two whales.
The Molokai airport is not the smallest airport I’ve been in, but it's up there. On arrival checked bags are unloaded on benches on one side of the walkway and the rental car desks are on the other. Having only carry-ons we were the first in line to pick up our rental truck from Budget.
Seven months ago we rented possibly the same truck and it had less than 1000 miles on it and was nice and clean. This time the truck had just 8000 miles on it and the red dirt was everywhere – inside the guages, in the air vents, everywhere. It was clear they’d cleaned it as well as they could, but Molokai is tough on cars.
As you pull out of the airport you’re greeted with a sign: “Aloha. Drive slowly. This is Molokai.” There are no traffic lights, no traffic to speak of, few stop signs. It’s a pretty relaxed place.
The entire island is 38 miles long and 10 miles wide. Much of it is pretty inaccessible though as there are steep cliffs – the steepest ocean cliffs in the world at more than 3000’ – and lots of forest.
The Sheraton Molokai Ranch and Lodge is about 10 miles away on the dry side of the island and by dry, I mean dry. It’s basically barren ranch land and lots of bright red dirt. There are no trees to speak of except for those few planted by the resort. Last time we were there the grasses on the ranch land were gold; this time they’d had a little rain so they quickly greened up.
Last time we split our time between the tentalows down on the beach (a 20-minute shuttle ride from the lodge) and the lodge. This time we opted for the lodge. The tentalows are cheaper, include breakfast and afternoon snacks, but they’re also very rustic. The solar showers operate on a pull cord so you kind of get military showers. Get wet. Release the cord to soap up. Rinse off. If you manage to rig a system where you get water nonstop, there’s no hot water left for the person following you. They can also be a little noisy (the flight path from Oahu to Molokai goes right over the beach village) and I heard some people say that they’re a little cold in February. In August we found them a little hot as there’s a fan, but certainly no A/C.
The lodge has luxury and deluxe rooms and I forget which is which. One is in the main building (can be noisy) and is a small room with a king bed and a balcony. The beds have quilts and are decorated in a ranch motif. The only nice thing about being in the main building is that the great room they have is really attractive and a nice place to sit with a drink by the fire and listen to music. The outer buildings have larger rooms with a king bed and a second lounging bed. They either have a patio or balcony. All the baths have showers and clawfoot tubs. The fridges come empty except for two bottles of water that are included in the resort fee and are replenished daily.
The infinity pool up top is small but nicely heated. Internet use is included in the resort fee too and there are two computers at each site – the lodge and the beach village. They’re extremely slow though.
When we arrived we immediately saw Bo in the parking lot. He’s somewhat of an ambassador for the hotel and just a wonderful person who will do anything for you. He grew up on Molokai, moved to Florida and only recently returned to work at the hotel. He said the hotel has been booming to the point they’re having difficulty meeting guests needs to the extent they’d like. On such a tiny island – population’s somewhere around 6 or 7000 - it’s not easy to find workers.
We relaxed a bit and made reservations for the lodge’s pasta bar that night. On Wednesdays they offer made to order pasta with your choice of ingredients – garlic, olives, tomatoes, shrimp, peppers, onions – and sauces. That plus a salad, bread and dessert are a bargain at $15 a person. Regular entrees at the lodge range from $15 to $28 and salads and desserts each run about $7-8.
The food is adequate – the chef is a former military chef – but he’ll do anything for you (there are no vegetarian entrees and on both trips he’s gone out of his way to make whatever we request) . The staff tries hard but is slow – you might wait 20 minutes for your check – but like the sign said – this is Molokai. Slow down.
Next: Private beaches and getting sprayed on by whales
We checked in at the UA 1K/F counter at SFO for the flight to HNL and the agent asked to see the credit card I used to purchase my tickets. I handed her my Starwood Optima, my primary card, and she said that wasn’t the correct card. It hit me … I used my Hilton Optima for a few months late last year because they were offering double points. I never carry that card. The agent was very kind and said she could either cancel those tickets and recharge them to the Starwood card or seeing as they were purchased four months ago any problems with fraud would have shown up by now so she left them as is and made a note for the agent on the return. It’s nice to see agents who really understand the reason for rules and don’t just blindly follow them.
Our upgrades had cleared a few days in advance and she handed us boarding cards for 1E&F.
I’ve gotten accustomed to preflight mimosas on these flights and sadly all they were offering was orange juice and water. They didn’t board any champagne.
The purser on this flight was wonderful, a charming man who grew up on Maui and now lives on Oahu. He approached me first for my meal choice and thanked me for flying 100K. There were three meal choices and none were vegetarian so Rod and I each just had the salad with a very weak wasabi dressing, some red potatoes and asparagus. Fortunately they did board wine and Bailey’s. Dinner was followed by the usual sundaes.
Throughout the flight the purser remembered my name and seemingly most everyone else’s. I meet someone and forget their name two seconds later so I was most impressed. But even more impressive he was the purser on our return a week later. He immediately recognized me. He came up with Rod’s name right away and first remembered that mine was Scandinavian and then came up with it too. Amazing. A lot of people criticize the older flight attendants, I find them to be some of the best.
The movie choices were grim so I spent much of the flight chatting with some Danish folks seated across the aisle.
We landed on time in HNL and then took the Wiki-Wiki to the interisland terminal. From there we walked commuter terminal where the Aloha Island Air flights to Molokai depart from.
We had all carry-ons and our two larger bags we were able to gatecheck so we could get them quickly planeside upon landing.
Island Air uses a Dash 8 to Molokai. I had 1A with a lovely view of port propeller. The flight’s only about 15 minutes long and as we descended just before reaching land I was able to spot two whales.
The Molokai airport is not the smallest airport I’ve been in, but it's up there. On arrival checked bags are unloaded on benches on one side of the walkway and the rental car desks are on the other. Having only carry-ons we were the first in line to pick up our rental truck from Budget.
Seven months ago we rented possibly the same truck and it had less than 1000 miles on it and was nice and clean. This time the truck had just 8000 miles on it and the red dirt was everywhere – inside the guages, in the air vents, everywhere. It was clear they’d cleaned it as well as they could, but Molokai is tough on cars.
As you pull out of the airport you’re greeted with a sign: “Aloha. Drive slowly. This is Molokai.” There are no traffic lights, no traffic to speak of, few stop signs. It’s a pretty relaxed place.
The entire island is 38 miles long and 10 miles wide. Much of it is pretty inaccessible though as there are steep cliffs – the steepest ocean cliffs in the world at more than 3000’ – and lots of forest.
The Sheraton Molokai Ranch and Lodge is about 10 miles away on the dry side of the island and by dry, I mean dry. It’s basically barren ranch land and lots of bright red dirt. There are no trees to speak of except for those few planted by the resort. Last time we were there the grasses on the ranch land were gold; this time they’d had a little rain so they quickly greened up.
Last time we split our time between the tentalows down on the beach (a 20-minute shuttle ride from the lodge) and the lodge. This time we opted for the lodge. The tentalows are cheaper, include breakfast and afternoon snacks, but they’re also very rustic. The solar showers operate on a pull cord so you kind of get military showers. Get wet. Release the cord to soap up. Rinse off. If you manage to rig a system where you get water nonstop, there’s no hot water left for the person following you. They can also be a little noisy (the flight path from Oahu to Molokai goes right over the beach village) and I heard some people say that they’re a little cold in February. In August we found them a little hot as there’s a fan, but certainly no A/C.
The lodge has luxury and deluxe rooms and I forget which is which. One is in the main building (can be noisy) and is a small room with a king bed and a balcony. The beds have quilts and are decorated in a ranch motif. The only nice thing about being in the main building is that the great room they have is really attractive and a nice place to sit with a drink by the fire and listen to music. The outer buildings have larger rooms with a king bed and a second lounging bed. They either have a patio or balcony. All the baths have showers and clawfoot tubs. The fridges come empty except for two bottles of water that are included in the resort fee and are replenished daily.
The infinity pool up top is small but nicely heated. Internet use is included in the resort fee too and there are two computers at each site – the lodge and the beach village. They’re extremely slow though.
When we arrived we immediately saw Bo in the parking lot. He’s somewhat of an ambassador for the hotel and just a wonderful person who will do anything for you. He grew up on Molokai, moved to Florida and only recently returned to work at the hotel. He said the hotel has been booming to the point they’re having difficulty meeting guests needs to the extent they’d like. On such a tiny island – population’s somewhere around 6 or 7000 - it’s not easy to find workers.
We relaxed a bit and made reservations for the lodge’s pasta bar that night. On Wednesdays they offer made to order pasta with your choice of ingredients – garlic, olives, tomatoes, shrimp, peppers, onions – and sauces. That plus a salad, bread and dessert are a bargain at $15 a person. Regular entrees at the lodge range from $15 to $28 and salads and desserts each run about $7-8.
The food is adequate – the chef is a former military chef – but he’ll do anything for you (there are no vegetarian entrees and on both trips he’s gone out of his way to make whatever we request) . The staff tries hard but is slow – you might wait 20 minutes for your check – but like the sign said – this is Molokai. Slow down.
Next: Private beaches and getting sprayed on by whales
Feb 12, 2003, 2:39 pm
#2
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A whale of a show
The ocean is quite a distance from the lodge so the view is not the greatest. Still, we managed to see the splashes of some breaching whales and their blow.
Molokai is not an island that makes itself easily accessible. It seems to be a place that reveals itself quite slowly. Sure, there are a few guide books and a couple of organized activities, but to really find the good stuff you have to talk to the locals and explore.
We spent the first day driving wherever a few dirt roads would take us and then walking further to secluded beaches. Nothing's fancy on Molokai. Of the major islands in the chain it's undoubtedly most like Hawaii was long ago. There are no trophy homes, no fancy resorts (the Sheraton's pretty understated), no well-known chefs or chi-chi restaurants. Natives, those with 50 percent or more Hawaiian blood, can homestead on Molokai for $1 a year. The people are very resourceful and are good at living off the land - they fish, grow taro (and a few other things), hunt deer and boar. Everyone shares their bounty. Life is simple and most seem to aim to keep it that way. Signs saying "No cruise ships" are prevalent and the Molokai Ranch has come up against quite a few obstacles in trying to expand. We were told that even trying to get a permit for a whirlpool spa has been a challenge.
We relaxed on "our" private beach most of the day, watching whales swim past and sometimes put on a brief show.
Back at the lodge there is a small market across the street with very reasonable prices. We picked up beer, wine and orange juice and some other snacks.
We had dinner at the Molokai Pizza Cafe in town - basically one street with a couple of markets, a dive shop and a bakery. There is also one nice craft store in town with wood carvings, jewelry, pottery and glass etchings all made by Molokai artists.
Friday we went out on the boat Fun Hogs with Mike, a Haole who grew up on Oahu and moved to Molokai 10 years ago. If you want to go whale watching or fishing, Mike's pretty much the only game in town.
Mike's filled with stories - some may even be true. There's the one about the whale that jumped into a Boston Whaler, not doing a bit of damage to itself or the boat but breaking the knee of the woman whose lap he landed on; another about a whale who breached under a Zodiac and sent a researcher flying 80 feet into the air. True or not, they're fun.
Rod, Mike and I were the only ones on the boat and we first found a mother and calf swimming not two far out of the marina. Mike was more interested in finding males chasing a female so we headed the other way and found three humpbacks swimming together. One - a huge white guy (scratches?) - hung around us for well over an hour and breached at least 25 times. We cut the engine and they swam so close at times we could see the individual barnacles on their flukes. We also got hit by the spray from their blow holes several times - ahhh to be spit on by a whale. It was clear Mike believed his own stories and was pretty cautious as he seemed to fear this guy landing on his boat.
After several hours we made our way back to the marina and offered Mike a tip, which he refused.
From there we headed to the most happening place in Molokai - Hotel Molokai. Every Friday from 4-6 p.m. is happy hour and the whole island gathers there while the older folk sit around a table with their ukeleles and sing Hawaiian songs. It's shoulder-to-shoulder people and drinks are cheap. This is also the hot spot for dinner. Reservations are necessary unless you don't mind eating about 10 p.m. The menu is steak and fish so we passed.
Next: The former leper colony
[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 02-12-2003).]
The ocean is quite a distance from the lodge so the view is not the greatest. Still, we managed to see the splashes of some breaching whales and their blow.
Molokai is not an island that makes itself easily accessible. It seems to be a place that reveals itself quite slowly. Sure, there are a few guide books and a couple of organized activities, but to really find the good stuff you have to talk to the locals and explore.
We spent the first day driving wherever a few dirt roads would take us and then walking further to secluded beaches. Nothing's fancy on Molokai. Of the major islands in the chain it's undoubtedly most like Hawaii was long ago. There are no trophy homes, no fancy resorts (the Sheraton's pretty understated), no well-known chefs or chi-chi restaurants. Natives, those with 50 percent or more Hawaiian blood, can homestead on Molokai for $1 a year. The people are very resourceful and are good at living off the land - they fish, grow taro (and a few other things), hunt deer and boar. Everyone shares their bounty. Life is simple and most seem to aim to keep it that way. Signs saying "No cruise ships" are prevalent and the Molokai Ranch has come up against quite a few obstacles in trying to expand. We were told that even trying to get a permit for a whirlpool spa has been a challenge.
We relaxed on "our" private beach most of the day, watching whales swim past and sometimes put on a brief show.
Back at the lodge there is a small market across the street with very reasonable prices. We picked up beer, wine and orange juice and some other snacks.
We had dinner at the Molokai Pizza Cafe in town - basically one street with a couple of markets, a dive shop and a bakery. There is also one nice craft store in town with wood carvings, jewelry, pottery and glass etchings all made by Molokai artists.
Friday we went out on the boat Fun Hogs with Mike, a Haole who grew up on Oahu and moved to Molokai 10 years ago. If you want to go whale watching or fishing, Mike's pretty much the only game in town.
Mike's filled with stories - some may even be true. There's the one about the whale that jumped into a Boston Whaler, not doing a bit of damage to itself or the boat but breaking the knee of the woman whose lap he landed on; another about a whale who breached under a Zodiac and sent a researcher flying 80 feet into the air. True or not, they're fun.
Rod, Mike and I were the only ones on the boat and we first found a mother and calf swimming not two far out of the marina. Mike was more interested in finding males chasing a female so we headed the other way and found three humpbacks swimming together. One - a huge white guy (scratches?) - hung around us for well over an hour and breached at least 25 times. We cut the engine and they swam so close at times we could see the individual barnacles on their flukes. We also got hit by the spray from their blow holes several times - ahhh to be spit on by a whale. It was clear Mike believed his own stories and was pretty cautious as he seemed to fear this guy landing on his boat.
After several hours we made our way back to the marina and offered Mike a tip, which he refused.
From there we headed to the most happening place in Molokai - Hotel Molokai. Every Friday from 4-6 p.m. is happy hour and the whole island gathers there while the older folk sit around a table with their ukeleles and sing Hawaiian songs. It's shoulder-to-shoulder people and drinks are cheap. This is also the hot spot for dinner. Reservations are necessary unless you don't mind eating about 10 p.m. The menu is steak and fish so we passed.
Next: The former leper colony
[This message has been edited by letiole (edited 02-12-2003).]
Feb 12, 2003, 4:24 pm
#3
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Great trip report!
We are heading to Kauai and The Big Island for a couple of weeks at the end of February. Do you know if the whales will still be passing through at the end of the month and if it is possible to whale watch from these islands?
Thanks,
We are heading to Kauai and The Big Island for a couple of weeks at the end of February. Do you know if the whales will still be passing through at the end of the month and if it is possible to whale watch from these islands?
Thanks,
Feb 12, 2003, 5:41 pm
#4
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onedog: Yes, peak whale season runs through March. You can definitely see them from shore on the Big Island and there are also a lot of whale watch cruises out of there.
Feb 12, 2003, 6:34 pm
#5
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I saw whale spouts as I landed in Kona a week or so ago. My friend ssaw whales and dolphin north of the airport and turtles on the black sand beach, down south.
My guess is, yes, you will see some too!
My guess is, yes, you will see some too!
Feb 12, 2003, 7:14 pm
#6
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Wonderful trip report. We owned a Bay Villa at Kapalua for many years. Among the things I most miss is watching the whales from our villa. In all of the years that we had our Maui home, we never visited Molokai (although, we always had a clear view of it). Your trip-report has me seriously considering a visit to Molokai. Again, thanks, for a great report.
Feb 18, 2003, 9:46 am
#7
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Kalaupapa
Beginning in 1866 Hawaiians suspected of having Hansen’s Disease (leporsy) were forcibly taken from their families and dropped off with little food and no shelter at Kalawao.They lived in caves and rock enclosures and had no potable water. Early on they moved to the leewardside of the peninsula at Kalaupapa – a remote area of Molokai then reachable only by sea (one side is sheer cliffs the others are ocean). The relocation took place until 1969, more than 20 years after the drug sulfone made leporsy no longer contagious, but did not cure the disfiguring disease. (The disease wrecked havoc on one’s immune system and those who did die died from pneumonia or tuberculosis. For a while people were dying at a rate of one to two a day.) Patients who had children while at Kalaupapa had them forcibly removed and placed in orphanages. The Belgium priest Father Damien traveled to Kalaupapa to live with the patients and care for them and eventually he too fell victim to the disease.
Now Kalaupapa is home to about 38 patients who’ve chosen to remain and that number seems to be dwindling daily. We saw two fresh graves and a funeral was taking place the day we visited. The youngest remaining patient is in his late 60s. (Patients were allowed to return to their families in 1969, but many were comfortable staying where they were and others returned after finding their embarrassed families wanted nothing more to do with them.) Kalaupapa is also open to visitors on organized tours. Tourists have a couple of options for reaching the settlement – there’s a mule ride down the sea cliffs, you hike the 26 switchbacks behind the mules or you can fly in on an old (1975?) twin-engine plane. Once a year a barge comes bringing supplies, vehicles and oil to the residents. Having experienced some not so pleasurable mules on Santorini, we opted for the six-minute plane ride.
We left the Molokai airport about 9 a.m. There’s no security there except for the Hawaiian Air flights, which use 737s. Aloha Island Air flies Dash-8s and I guess the TSA figures the threat there is minimal – fly into a beach umbrella or something. Be first on the plane and you can grab the co-pilot's seat. I made sure Rod got this seat because I knew he could fly the plane if necessary and the sight of the radio frequencies taped up for the pilot wasn't exactly confidence inspiring - how difficult can it be to remember a few frequencies when you're making the same runs daily?
The flight goes over the cliffs and lands at the small landing strip in Kalaupapa. From there Father Damien tours escorts you through the settlement via bus. The tour guide is the town sheriff and a patient who was originally tricked by his mother into being tested for the disease. He left a few times, but a few motorcycle accidents landed him back in Kalaupapa. He lost a great deal of his family to the disease including his mother just a few days before, a host of cousins, some aunts and many more. He tells fascinating and heartbreaking stories along the way. I can’t imagine the tours will be nearly as interesting once the park service takes over.
The tour lasts about four hours and takes in both sides of the peninsula. You see the church Father Damien built and was criticized for by his own church. As the story goes the sickest of the patients wouldn’t enter the church because they needed to spit frequently and didn’t want to be disrespectful. Instead, they would gather around the exterior of the church and peer in the windows to hear the service. Father Damien found out the reason they wouldn’t enter and drilled holes in the church floor for them to spit into. He also painted the church in light, bright colors as the patients suffered poor eyesight. When priests were sent from Europe to see what he was doing the holes were ordered to be patched and the church painted dimly. Damien refused and the holes and light colors remain.
If you take the tour do be sure to grab a spot up front as the bus’ PA system doesn’t always work and it’s impossible to hear these fascinating stories if you’re seated more than a few rows back.
We flew back to the main airport about 2:30 p.m. Total cost of the flight and tour was about $110 each and certainly worth doing once.
Next: More Molokai sites and the trip home
Beginning in 1866 Hawaiians suspected of having Hansen’s Disease (leporsy) were forcibly taken from their families and dropped off with little food and no shelter at Kalawao.They lived in caves and rock enclosures and had no potable water. Early on they moved to the leewardside of the peninsula at Kalaupapa – a remote area of Molokai then reachable only by sea (one side is sheer cliffs the others are ocean). The relocation took place until 1969, more than 20 years after the drug sulfone made leporsy no longer contagious, but did not cure the disfiguring disease. (The disease wrecked havoc on one’s immune system and those who did die died from pneumonia or tuberculosis. For a while people were dying at a rate of one to two a day.) Patients who had children while at Kalaupapa had them forcibly removed and placed in orphanages. The Belgium priest Father Damien traveled to Kalaupapa to live with the patients and care for them and eventually he too fell victim to the disease.
Now Kalaupapa is home to about 38 patients who’ve chosen to remain and that number seems to be dwindling daily. We saw two fresh graves and a funeral was taking place the day we visited. The youngest remaining patient is in his late 60s. (Patients were allowed to return to their families in 1969, but many were comfortable staying where they were and others returned after finding their embarrassed families wanted nothing more to do with them.) Kalaupapa is also open to visitors on organized tours. Tourists have a couple of options for reaching the settlement – there’s a mule ride down the sea cliffs, you hike the 26 switchbacks behind the mules or you can fly in on an old (1975?) twin-engine plane. Once a year a barge comes bringing supplies, vehicles and oil to the residents. Having experienced some not so pleasurable mules on Santorini, we opted for the six-minute plane ride.
We left the Molokai airport about 9 a.m. There’s no security there except for the Hawaiian Air flights, which use 737s. Aloha Island Air flies Dash-8s and I guess the TSA figures the threat there is minimal – fly into a beach umbrella or something. Be first on the plane and you can grab the co-pilot's seat. I made sure Rod got this seat because I knew he could fly the plane if necessary and the sight of the radio frequencies taped up for the pilot wasn't exactly confidence inspiring - how difficult can it be to remember a few frequencies when you're making the same runs daily?
The flight goes over the cliffs and lands at the small landing strip in Kalaupapa. From there Father Damien tours escorts you through the settlement via bus. The tour guide is the town sheriff and a patient who was originally tricked by his mother into being tested for the disease. He left a few times, but a few motorcycle accidents landed him back in Kalaupapa. He lost a great deal of his family to the disease including his mother just a few days before, a host of cousins, some aunts and many more. He tells fascinating and heartbreaking stories along the way. I can’t imagine the tours will be nearly as interesting once the park service takes over.
The tour lasts about four hours and takes in both sides of the peninsula. You see the church Father Damien built and was criticized for by his own church. As the story goes the sickest of the patients wouldn’t enter the church because they needed to spit frequently and didn’t want to be disrespectful. Instead, they would gather around the exterior of the church and peer in the windows to hear the service. Father Damien found out the reason they wouldn’t enter and drilled holes in the church floor for them to spit into. He also painted the church in light, bright colors as the patients suffered poor eyesight. When priests were sent from Europe to see what he was doing the holes were ordered to be patched and the church painted dimly. Damien refused and the holes and light colors remain.
If you take the tour do be sure to grab a spot up front as the bus’ PA system doesn’t always work and it’s impossible to hear these fascinating stories if you’re seated more than a few rows back.
We flew back to the main airport about 2:30 p.m. Total cost of the flight and tour was about $110 each and certainly worth doing once.
Next: More Molokai sites and the trip home
Jun 5, 2003, 3:53 pm
#9
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<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by letiole:
..........We flew back to the main airport about 2:30 p.m. Total cost of the flight and tour was about $110 each and certainly worth doing once.
Next: More Molokai sites and the trip home</font>
..........We flew back to the main airport about 2:30 p.m. Total cost of the flight and tour was about $110 each and certainly worth doing once.
Next: More Molokai sites and the trip home</font>
is there more?
Willie
Jun 5, 2003, 8:31 pm
#10
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Location: Fulltime travel/mostly Europe
Programs: UA 1.7 MM;; Accor & Marriott Pt; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 17,832
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">is there more?</font>
I'm trying to think of other stuff now ... there's the hike to the waterfalls at the other end of the island. The resort charges a small fortune to lead you on it, but you can do it yourself. It's tough to find the trail head though. We asked some locals and one gave us a ride in his truck to the head. A ways down the trail you have to cross over the river and it's tough to see where. Do bring bug spray - the mosquitos were thick on the hike, but not so bad any place else.
We shot skeet one time at the ranch, but I think they've closed that now.
We did take a very short hike (walk is probably more appropriate) to see a rock that's shaped like a penis and that women slept under in hopes of getting pregnant (I think they were misinformed). The activity center at the ranch will be able to tell you where it is. There's also a nice lookout there where you can look down at the leper colony.
There are a lot of desolate beaches all over the place. We made our way to lots of those. I think during the season you're going you might find monk seals at some of the beaches.
There are two public tennis courts in town that are in good shape. We played on those a bit. The ranch has tons of mountain biking (bring your own gloves and pads) ... which on the first trip made for a nice visit to the emergency room at the hospital.
The one coffee company in Molokai has a nice gift shop attached and also makes a really good chocolate-coffee smoothie.
That's all I can think of right now, but email me if you have any questions. Mostly it's just a really laid-back place.
