Kaua'i, Hawai'i (28th of March to 2nd of April 2019)

We landed in Honolulu on the 28th at 2 pm. We only spent 1 night in Honolulu because we would come back at the end of the Hawaii trip. We spent the night walking around the center of Honolulu and Waikiki beach. On early morning of 29th March we took our flight to Kaua'i, the garden island. As soon as we picked up our rental car we drove up north and stopped for a nice breakfast in Hanalei, a little charming town with about 400 inhabitants. Our goal was to reach the north-west part of the island and drive until the end of the road before the cliffs of the Nā Pali coast would stop us. However, shortly after Hanalei the road was closed, due to the floodings of last year. So we returned to Hanalei, went to the beach and explored the shops of this little town. After lunch we drove back South in the direction of Kapa'a and stopped different times exploring the surroundings. We stopped  at the farmer's market and bought apple bananas, a smaller type of banana which is supposed to have a slight apple taste (I didn't really feel it though).
In the evening we met our couch surfing hosts Phil and Julia. Phil is a real Polynesian, born and raised in Kaua'i. Julia is from Austria and living on the island since 1.5 years. They welcomed us warmingly and offered us the first traditional Hawaiian meal: Kalua pig, a whole pig prepared in an underground oven, the imu.
On the following day we drove to Waimea Canyon, the Grand Canyon  of the Pacific. This canyon has been eroded over the years by wind and water and displays the most beautiful colors of red rock and green forests. From one point of the park, there is a nice view of the Nā Pali coast, caractherized by sharp cliffs that drop straight into the ocean. The Nā Pali coast is not accessible by car, but can only be visited by boat or look at from above the sky.
Sunday was a more relaxing day. We explored the south-east of the island, Poipu Beach and surroundings. First we admired the spouting horn, a hole in the cliffs where water is regularly expelled by high pressure, which creates a nice water blow. Then we went to the beach, but first we needed to buy a beach towel. We didn't pack one deliberately, so that we could buy one from Hawai'i as a souvenir.
In the late afternoon we returned to our hosts and attended to a drum and fire dance class (organized by Phil). He taught us different ritms and sounds typical from his culture and showed us how to dance with fire. The sounds of the drums were just awesome! We cooked dinner for our hosts and some of their friends and room mates and had a very nice evening together.
On the following day we took a tour organized by Phil. He brought us to the jungle and showed us different plants, flowers ans trees used for food, medicine or crafts in the Polynesian culture. We cut some bamboo and later on crafted a nose flute with dry bamboo previously harvested. Nose flutes are played with the nose because the air coming from the nose is considered more pure than the one passing through the mouth. And the sound of it is just beautiful (if you can play it). For lunch we returned to Phil's house. Julia had prepared a very good lunch with some typical hawaiian foods, like Kalua pig, cooked taro roots with chese, pineapple hummus and coconut candies. Also, Phil showed us were how to open a coconut, nose flutes and bracelets made of raffia. It was a great experience and we learned a lot about Hawaiian culture!
We spent the rest of the afternoon in Kapa'a, toured the shops a little bit.
We had our last dinner with Phil and Julia and had our last chats. On the following morning, the 2nd of April, we flew to our second Hawaiian island: Maui.
Our experience in Kaua'i was great and we are very thankful that we had the chance to meet and interact with all the nice people we met!