We took a small two lane road out to a waterfall overlook. From the overlook you could see about half of the waterfall. The travel guide had mentioned that it was possible to climb down the hill and see the waterfall from the bottom, but all that stared back at us was a large green fence and "do not enter" signs. Discouraged we walked down the fence line. A mostly toothless man who was making small trinkets out of palm fronds grinned widely at us and asked if we were planning to take the hike down. "We'd like to", I responded. He grinned even more and took us down the fence, showed us where to go around and how to use the rope system to get to the bottom. He said a Californian had fallen in near the bottom of the falls, got stuck under the powerful water, drown, and then his family sued Hawaii for not blocking the trail that takes you down there. The fences went up and the trail blocked. Damn Californians always ruining everything! He assured us that as long as we didn't fall in and drown we would be fine. Good tip! He said minute 1 was extremely steep, minute 2 was a slippery mess and minutes 3-10 were just fine. "10 minutes down, 15 back up." Hesitantly we followed his instructions (minus Granny), and made our way down. Ropes strung along the trees helped us down. Boy was the hike worth it! Amazing! We scraped our way back up and took off for the next stop.
All week we had been trying to see this botanical garden or that botanical garden. One was back down the too crowded road, and one wanted $50 a person to visit. I really wanted to try out my new camera lens. So we found one on the south shore in a resort area that was FREE. Now that's my style. You get what you pay for. It was pretty, and lots of beautiful orchids lined our path, nothing spectacular, but again, it was free.
Kauai Coffee was the last stop before heading back home to clean up for the Luau tonight. Miles of coffee trees every way you look. We missed the flower bloom, but all the little bean or "cherries" were coming out. Mom and Chris got to sample about 20 different kinds of coffee. When they couldn't sit still any longer we headed out.
Cleaned up a bit into "nice" beachwear for our luau. What an awesome experience! I liked this way better than the helicopter. We got seats right in front of the stage. Dinner was served with a big ceremony bringing in the pig. We all tried Poi...it was gross. Becca went on stage and learned to hula and then she got to dance with one of the dancers (a super hot guy) during the show. Of course, would it have gone any other way? It was an amazing time for sure. Her favorite dancer "looked like auntie".
As I sit on the front porch typing this, two young men drove by on bicycles...one carrying a dead rooster presumably for dinner. Two nights ago we ordered "ribs" and I am fairly certain we got wild boar. Things here on the west side of Kauai are apparently still quite primitive.
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