Bamboo and Brewskies

Saturday afternoon Lulu, our roommate, Airen, and I hopped in the WWOOFer ride (pictured in the dictionary next to the word "jalopy") and puttered down the Hana Highway to hike in the Bamboo forests. This was a hike out of a travel brochure. The trail started out in a labyrinth-like fashion as we darted through darkened paths lined with sky-reaching bamboo. The noise of the bamboo swaying into each other above us was kind of creepy and made me think of the maze in the Goblet of Fire (You know what I'm talking about Harry Potter nerds.) Unlike Harry and Cedric, however, we three wanderers emerged from the bamboo and found no death eaters waiting for us--only four INCREDIBLE water falls and a floating dead boar (more like a moving carpet of maggots in the shape of a pig--the smell was something to behold.) Luckily, we had decided to power through to the last waterfall and did not swim downstream of Ms. Piggy who was hanging out in the pool below the second waterfall. Words can't do the scenery justice and we couldn't bring a camera because swimming and slipping were inevitable. Suffice it to say, I couldn't believe my luck to be walking through something so beautiful with someone (Airen) who knew where she was headed.

Sunday was a bit more decadent. Lu and I headed off with our coworker, Len, in pursuit of good brews and ended up at Maui Brewing Co. a little bit North of Lahaina. I had already tried their mainstays so I went for the more peculiar pints this go round. I had a "hot blonde" which was a chipotle lager that paired really well with the calamari starter we ordered. Lulu got a coconut porter that had been aged in rum bottles. It was quite good. We also sampled a Belgian-style tripel called Father Damien's and some sort of quirky wheat beer, but I don't remember what the quirk was and it was too banana-ee for me. The beer was wonderful and the pub made me feel like I was in San Diego (which i guess is nice after all) but what was awesome about this day was that, on the way to the brews, Len was nice enough to drive us around the island and give us a tour that only a local could. We drove through the old sugar cane factory which looks exactly like it did in late 1800s and is still in use. The size of the, in Len's words, "small" molasses holding containers were mind-bogglingly large. He also showed us a number of choice beaches and snorkling spots that i look forward to revisiting.

Today was a half day of work as it is labor day. Seems I have taken on the job of measuring the temperature of the various piles of compost (shit) around the grounds. So, you know... that's fun. I also learned how to turn and make a bed which was exciting and harvested some green beans. Now I'm going to figure out something for lunch.

Peace!

CMC