With the support of the Moloka‘i community, Makani Kai Air now offers five daily roundtrip flights between O‘ahu and Moloka‘i. Before that, it was just two daily flights and one round trip on Sundays.
This is great news for the isolated island of Moloka‘i, which has an airport too small for large planes. Makani Kai specializes in smaller turbine and twin-engine planes (nine passengers per flight). The carrier also operates Makani Kai Helicopters.
Visitors will also benefit from this increase in daily flights, as a more affordable way to island hop. Flying on a smaller charter plane is much simpler, too. Passengers can bypass TSA security and hop right on to the plane.
The airlines recommends people arrive just 15 minutes prior to departure; yes, 15 minutes. That's because Makani Kai terminal is located on the other side of Honolulu International Airport and away from the congestion. Plus, parking is literally right at the terminal.
As a bit of a warning for you passengers who get nauseous easily, riding a turboprop can get a little bumpy. They're so small that even the slightest gust of wind will rock you, so hang on and take your Dramamine!
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
What do you think the shape of Moloka‘i resembles?
Some say it looks like a wooden shoe, while others think the island resembles a fish. I think the fish one seems more plausible; wooden shoes were sooo yesterday's fashion.
If you get a chance to see Moloka‘i from outer space (or on Google Earth), then imagine that the head of the fish is facing east, its blunt tail faces west and a dorsal fin rises from the fish's back on the north shore. That dorsal fin is actually the Makanalua Peninsula, which juts into the Pacific and is placed below some of the highest sea cliffs in the world.
This flat section of land is divided into three districts: Kalawao district (eastern edge), Kalaupapa (western edge) and Makanalua (center). Kalaupapa is where people with leprosy were forced to live in exile during the 1800s. They lived under the care of Father Damien de Veuster and Mother Marianne Cope. Both have since become Catholic saints.
Two distinct shield volcanoes make up the island of Moloka‘i; they're known as East Moloka‘i and West Moloka‘i. The highest point on the island is located in East Moloka‘i, standing at 4,970 feet tall. But the most distinct geographic feature of the island are perhaps those tall sea cliffs we often see in movies, like Jurassic Park III. They're the tallest in the world and are a result of a catastrophic collapse millions of years ago.
Whether the shape of a shoe or a fish, Moloka‘i will always remain the friendliest of the Hawaiian Islands. I can't wait to one day be able to visit this magical place.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
I had started a post a while back about how unbelievably delicious Moloka‘i bread is, particularly, the "Moloka‘i hot bread." An oversized dinner roll stuffed with a sweet, sugary glob of goodness; the goodness being cream cheese, cinnamon and your pick of a fruit filling. I could go on and on about how it tastes the best when it's really hot, as in straight from the bakery during those late-night runs, as it's been deemed on the island.
No more hot bread for now…until the bakery cleans up its act, literally.
I never got around to finishing that post. And now, it looks like I won't be for a while. All those scrumptious details I began writing, null and void. Why? Because the state Department of Health recently shut down the famed bread makers, better known as Kanemitsu Bakery, for its unsanitary conditions. It wasn't a complete shock, however, since they've been in the news recently. First, a $90,000 penalty for similar violations during routine inspections in March. Then earlier this month, an anonymous public complaint alleging that insects and foreign substances were found in the bakery's bread rolls led to a second investigation. Hence, its closure this week after finding "serious deficiencies." Rodents, gross.
Of course, it's always sad to see a mom-and-pop close. But in the case of Kanemitsu Bakery, it's more disappointing, almost selfish. Why didn't the owner take action after the first round of health inspections? Why risk the safety of his loyal patrons by continuing to operate a facility that had already been revealed as unsanitary. Did I mention, rodents? Unclean food preparation surfaces, lack of soap and hand towels and the list goes on. Was he just too proud or just too lazy to face the facts that – what I'm now finding out from my friends – had been apparent all these years. Dust-covered pastry displays – oh, and the flies inside – hadn't gone unnoticed. In fact, some laughed when I brought up the bakery's closure with them. It's about time, they told me.
In the owner's defense, maybe he couldn't afford to pay the fines. But that's still no excuse to continue business as usual. Do what any other business would have done – shut down temporarily and figure it out. Did he think the problems would just go away or be forgotten? Yes, Moloka‘i is a small island, but it's difficult to forget about the huge bomb that's been dropped on this culinary landmark which has made an island staple for decades.
Reading the list of health violations has definitely made me lose my appetite for Moloka‘i hot bread or any menu item, for that matter. I can think of a dozen adjectives to describe my disgust. "Yuck," "gross," "distasteful." But "shame" comes to mind. How embarrassing for the bakery that has, over time, become a first stop for many of our visitors, a place of nostalgia for many of the locals. I know that until I hear that they've met all health standards, I won't be directing any of our readers their way.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Lately, there's been nothing but good news for the Moloka‘i leprosy settlement of Kalaupapa. Despite it once being a place of loneliness and sadness, Kalaupapa has now become a sight of closure for families who lost loved ones to the deadly disease.
There are currently less than 20 surviving patients living on this isolated peninsula.
Many years later, after getting the go ahead from President Barack Obama, these families are now working diligently to construct a memorial in remembrance of the deceased patients laid to rest in unmarked graves. Seven thousand unmarked graves, to be exact. Also this year, an important figure of Kalaupapa had been canonized as a Roman Catholic saint. Mother Marianne Cope joined Father Damien, both of whom cared for Kalaupapa leprosy patients in the 1880s, as Hawai‘i's two saints.
Today, the unique history of this place lives on and has been captured through the works of local photographer Wayne Levin. From 1984 to 1987, he was invited to document the Moloka‘i settlement. The photos eventually culminated into a book published a few years later, called Kalaupapa: A Portrait. While it has been out of print for several years, more photos have been compiled for a second book that's expected to publish later this year.
Wayne sets up his Honolulu Hale display of photos at Kalaupapa.
You can see his works on display until June 5, 2012 at theHonolulu Hale. "Kalaupapa: E Ho‘ohanohano a E Ho‘omau" honors and perpetuates the settlement and the role it has played in developing our island history.
KALAUPAPA EXHIBIT / May 17 to June 5, 8am-4pm weekdays (Free) / Honolulu Hale, 1000 Fort Street Mall, Honolulu, HI 96813 (Map)
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Even before warming their toes in Hawai‘i's sandy shores, visitors have most likely already warmed their hearts with the island's beautiful voices that ring so brilliantly throughout the world. From our archipelago in the Pacific, singers like Don Ho and Braddah IZ are just a few of the performing gems that have made a global impact on the music industry. Today, a new generation of up-and-coming musicians and singers are taking the stage and following in the footsteps of Hawai‘i's musical fore-founders.
Take Jason Poole, for instance. He calls himself "The Accidental Hawaiian Crooner" and has an inspirational story that we don't often hear.
Jason Poole shares his love for Hawai‘i at the "Pakele Live!" event in Honolulu.
Years ago, the Pittsburgh-born singer somehow found himself knee-deep in mud on the remote island of Moloka‘i – a complete 180 from his life prior, when he lived in the hustle-and-bustle of New York City.
I had the privilege of meeting Jason at the recent ‘Ohana Festival, where he performed – barefoot – his second of three acts under the hot Honolulu sun. We talked story backstage; he told me his life story, and I listened. But when he played the ukulele and sang "Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai" by Hawaiian culturalist and kumu hula (hula teacher) Aunty Edith Kanaka‘ole, I couldn't stop listening!Here's this guy, who just got through telling me he was born and raised on the "mainland," jamming to an old Hawaiian song that even I don't know the words to; and he was having so much fun doing it – bouncing on the balls of his toes, shifting his weight from one grassy patch to another. It amazed me at how accurately and effortlessly he pronounced each Hawaiian word in the song; the soft, raspy undertone in his voice told me why the latter half of his stage name was "Crooner."
VIDEO: Jason gives the Hawaii Vacation Blog a barefoot performance backstage.
After graduating with a vocal performance degree from Carnegie Mellon University, he worked for a corporate entertainment giant, training new hires, in NYC. He auditioned here and there, but he knew he needed something more in order to attain his childhood dream of being a singing "Super Star." Jason was just plain unhappy with his office job in the city. Then one night after another lousy day at work, he unexpectedly found himself tearing up with joy, as the lush voice of Braddah IZ rang through his Big Apple apartment. Little did he know, that commercial on his TV set would change his life forever.
"I was in a bad mood and felt betrayed by my body and the tears," he said. "But (the song) rocked me to my core. I wanted to, needed to, find out what this music was that had affected me so deeply."
But a few months after this epiphany, Jason actually ended up getting his "big break," literally. He was 28 years old when a "freak accident," as he put it, happened. It left him with a broken hip; hence the stage name – "The Accidental Hawaiian Crooner." (He also "accidentally" fell into Hawaiian music.) Doctors told him he wouldn't walk again without a limp. When he was a teen, they told him he wouldn't sing again, as Jason also battled an eating disorder that damaged his vocal cords.
(Left) Jason jamming the ukulele in NYC's Central Park. (Right) Dancing hula after recovering from the accident.
But through the power of Hawaiian music and dance, Jason pushed past those hiccups. Dancing hula got rid of his limp and brought him closer to the culture he'd soon be calling his own. That's when he decided to attend a legendary music camp on Moloka‘i, which brought a handful of Hawaiian musicians together to mentor aspiring performers from around the world.
Little did he know, he'd be returning to the concrete islands with even more inspiration; this time, from a Hawaiian kupuna (elder) named Pilipo "Pops" Solatorio. Pops wanted to teach Jason about the Hawaiian culture and its repertoire from Hawai‘iʻs golden age of song because he recognized Jason's passion for music. After numerous trips back to the islands, Jason slowly evolved as a person and as a performer. Pops not only started calling Jason Iakona (the Hawaiian name he gave him), but he called him his hānai (adopted) son as well. In the old Hawaiian ways, hānai didn't require legal documents or lawyer fees; it simply meant you'd take that person under your wing to be cared for and included as part of your ‘ohana.
Jason and Pops sharing smiles and shakas on Moloka‘i.
"I think the most important thing I've learned from Pops is that we stand on the shoulders of everyone that has come before us," Jason remarked. "I love the image of a chain with many, many links. I'm just one of those links. And there will be more after me. I'm honored to be a part of a tradition from Moloka‘i (and specifically Hālawa Valley) that goes back so many generations."
Today, he continues to visit the islands and shares what he has learned with others back home. In fact, he just rang in the new year with a traditional Polynesian practice – the blowing of a conch shell near the Hudson River. How awesome is that! When he's not on the road, he teaches NYC elementary students how to play the ukulele, an instrument they probably woud've never had the chance to hold or to hear otherwise.
Instead of having a big band or a full orchestra, Jason Poole jams to the music from Old Hawai‘i. Hawaiian grandmothers swoon at the sound of his voice, even crying with delight as soon as he plays Hawai‘i's most beloved songs. He may not be Hawaiian, but he definitely has proven himself to be a Hawaiian at heart.
Photo Credit: Jason Poole; Jon Yamasato (first photo)
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
The names of the 8,000 leprosy patients who lived and died at Kalaupapa will be brought to life with a memorial in their honor. It will list each name and not only serve as a tribute to these individuals but as a tombstone for many of them as well.
This comes at a time when Hawai‘i may soon be getting its second saint, two years after St. Damien was canonized. Marianne Cope helped patients for the last 39 years of her life and was known by all as the "beloved mother of the outcasts."
Thousands buried in Kalawao and Kalaupapa can finally rest in peace.
There are 951 marked graves at Kalawao (the original settlement) and Kalaupapa, meaning almost 7,000 who were isolated on the peninsula and died there do not have a tombstone. Families of these nearly forgotten patients can now find closure when visiting this Moloka‘i memorial.
In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the Kalaupapa Memorial Act into law. Now a two-year environmental assessment is being conducted at the chosen site, within the Old Baldwin Boys Home at Kalawao. Once that's done, a competition for memorial designs will be opened to the community with continued efforts to raise money for its construction.
Subtle Kalaupapa Details
Visitors can access Kalaupapa by light air craft, mule ride or hike. They're able to sign up for a guided tour, but it's rare for visitors to actually meet and spend time with patients. The leprosy isolation law was lifted in 1969. However, many patients have chosen to stay. Currently, there are less than 20 surviving patients, all older than 70, living in Kalaupapa.
Even after patients were allowed to leave Kalaupapa, they chose to stay. It's where their disfigurements were most accepted.
A group from Kamehameha's Kapālama and Maui High School campuses got a rare opportunity to talk story with some of the patients during a recent visit – getting an inside perspective of life on the secluded peninsula. Kumu (teacher) Hans Wilhelm, Kahu (priest) Kalani Wong and their students spent time there, just a few months before the memorial was signed into law.
They sang Hawaiian songs and played the ukulele with patients, as well as helped clean patients' yards. One woman had not been able to walk through her overgrown yard for years since her husband passed away. As the group cleared out the four-foot-tall grass, they found some vegetables her husband planted. They then harvested and prepared the vintage veggies for her to finally enjoy.
Students clear out chest-high grass from patients' yards and other areas on the penninsula.
The students and chaperones were able to see the original holding station where families visited the patients. Before the sulfone drug was discovered in the 1940s as a cure for leprosy, patients could not come into physical contact with outsiders for fear of spreading the bacterial disease. Instead they could only talk to their families from behind windows enclosed with bars.
The group even got a sneak peak into an archival area, where the patients' belongings are collected after they pass away. Everything from religious items to teddy bears to paintings by the patients get stored there for safekeeping. It has not been decided yet, but the items will either become a part of a museum or given to the patients' families.
(Left) Holding station where families visited patients. (Right) Special spoons that made it easier for patients with disfigurements to eat.
There are several little details within the community that visitors may not easily notice, such as the feral cats' strange behaviors or the importance of June in Kalaupapa. Because no one under the age of 14 has been allowed to visit the area, many patients have treated the cats like children. And the cats, in turn, act like humans – sitting on tables and giving visitors inquisitive looks. And for those who live in Kalaupapa, "Christmas" comes a little later in the year. An annual oversized sleigh in the form of a barge brings supplies and big items that can't be brought by plane to the secluded peninsula. They appropriately call it, "Christmas in June."
A patient's painted illustration of Kalaupapa's only bar called Elaine's Place.
Visiting Kalaupapa is an experience in itself, but it's the history you'll find nestled between the houses, within the people and buried in the soil that really brings this place to life. And with the soon-to-be memorial, the people of Kalaupapa will find their way back into history while making the history of Kalaupapa even more complete.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Favorable winds brought the first visitors to Hawaii in wood canoes. When they returned to stay, they followed the stars. Young sailors and older guides have now followed that ancient path to the Hawaii islands in double-hulled canoes. They commemorate not only their ancestors but also the bold Hawaiians who reclaimed their cultural heritage with the first Pacific crossing in 1975 aboard the Hokule‘a from Hawaii to the islands of Polynesia.
The canoes from Tahiti, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, New Aotearoa, New Guinea, Vanuatu, Kiribati and the Solomon Islands are sailing together in a voyage titled "Te Mana O Te Moana." They left the Marquesas on June 2 and arrived in Hilo on June 16. They have been welcomed on the Big Island of Hawaii, Maui, Molokai and now Oahu this weekend. They will stay on Oahu for an oceans conference at the East-West Center before sailing to Kauai in July. The plan is to continue on to California after stopping in Hawaii. Look at a map of the Pacific Ocean at this point, please, to get an idea of the magnitude of the undertaking. These large canoes are really tiny splinters of wood floating across vast expanses of water, powered by enthusiasm and guided by the past.
The gathering this weekend was emotional for many on both sides of the ocean. The Oahu welcome in Kaneohe Bay was at the same cove where the Hokule‘a set sail decades ago. There was singing, dancing, food and much laughter. The intrepid island crews paid tribute to the sail that inspired them and the heritage that guided them. It was wonderful to be welcome as an observer and con-celebrant. The more we learn about one another, the more we honor the waters that unite and divide us and the common culture that individuates each island. Hawaii is such a special place!
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
The people who help make the islands a great place for a Hawaii vacation also help those who live in the islands. The Visitor Industry Charity Walk raised over a million dollars this year to help local charities. The $1,155,100 is a record for the annual statewide event. Since it began in 1978, the Charity Walk has raised over $23 million for Hawaii non-profits that support people in need across the state.
Almost 11,000 walkers on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and the Big Island of Hawaii took part in the fundraiser. The money goes to more than two hundred local charities. The chairperson for this year's Charity Walk was Kelvin Bloom, president of Aston Hotels & Resorts. He said called it a "record-setting gesture" by people in the Hawaii visitor industry. "It's an unprecedented outpouring of kindness and kokua that exemplifies our aloha spirit. A big mahalo to all of the thousands of folks who participated and gave so generously, especially considering the tough economic times," Bloom said in a news release. The walk is a project of the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association.
2,100 Maui walkers raised the most money this year with $470,000 – also a record for the island. Oahu had the most walkers with 6,500 while Molokai's 50 walkers added $5,000 to the total. The walks were held on different days in May on the various islands. The Oahu walk was May 21; it began and ended at Ala Moana Beach Park, following a route through Waikiki and along the Ala Wai Canal.
Walkers were treated to local food and music on each island. Prizes at the Oahu finish line included restaurant certificates, hotel stays and a grand prize trip for two that includes airfare and hotel accommodations. If you live in Hawaii, where do you suppose that grand prize trip takes you? To Las Vegas, of course.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
It will be soon easier to fly to Kauai and Molokai. The Hawaiian islands each got news of changes in Hawaii flights recently.
Kauai
Alaska Airlines will begin nonstop flights to Lihue, Kauai from San Jose and Oakland, California next week. The flights from San Jose will operate on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday each week. From Oakland, the flights will operate on four days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
Molokai
The goal for air service changes on Molokai is to allow residents of the Kalaupapa area to leave when necessary, especially for health care. Many people with Hansen's Disease still live in the former leper colony. Yesterday, Hawaii's senators announced that the U.S. Transportation Department will subsidize regularly scheduled air service to and from Kalaupapa. A carrier will be chosen through a bid process. The estimate is that the current Hawaii airfare of over $500 will be cut in half.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Reusable bags at a Kaua‘i grocery store.
(Photo by Dennis Fujimoto. Used by permission of The Garden Island newspaper.)
A ban on the distribution of plastic bags at all retail establishments in Kaua‘i and Maui counties went into effect January 11 (Maui County includes the islands of Lana‘i and Moloka‘i). Distribution of plastic bags at check out stands, cash registers, points of sale and points of departure is no longer legal. Businesses will provide recyclable paper bags or reusable bags for purchases, in accordance with the Plastic Bag Reduction and Prohibition Law.
Plastic bags provided for produce, bulk food, or meat, within a grocery store, supermarket, produce or meat market are not included in the ban.
As you can imagine, some folks are upset. An article in The Garden Island newspaper reflects this discontent. Martin de Bergerac of Houston, Texas, said he loves visiting Kauai but is disappointed about the plastic bag law. “Are there not recycling plants to effectively deal with plastic bags? I feel this decision really should be reevaluated for the benefit of the numerous visitors who support day-to-day life on Kauai.”
Kaua‘i is a very small island and we do our best when it comes to recycling. But, casting this large net will do a better job of preserving our islands. These bags find their way into our oceans where marine life mistake it for food or, they become entangled in the debris. Americans throw away 100 billion plastic bags a year and recyle only 0.6 percent according to The Garden Island article.
Marine life can die when they mistake plastic for food. (Photo courtesy County of Kaua‘i.)
Kaua‘i County’s website states, “The world's ‘great garbage patch’ can be found floating between Hawaii and San Francisco. This garbage patch is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and thousands of pounds of our discarded trash, mostly plastics.”
Local businesses are ready for the change. Outrigger Hotels provide reusable Eco Tote bags to their guests, Big Save supermarkets switched to recyclable paper bags and, Walmart will sell reusable shopping bags at 25 cents each.
I suggest buying a nice tote with a Hawaiian print when you arrive, they are available for purchase at many souvenir shops, and keep it in your rental car. That way, you will have a bag for your purchases, a way to carry them home and a practical memento.
Since 2006 Bruce Fisher has been publishing the Hawaii Vacation Blog and the Hawaii Vacation Connection Podcast which, create daily content about Hawaii Travel and Tourism. This Blog is the only online resource providing Hawaii-based information aimed at travelers seven days per week. Postings reflect the Hawaiian Islands, their culture and their lifestyle as accurately and thoroughly as possible.
Published by Bruce Fisher
Almost 11,000 walkers on Oahu, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and the Big Island of Hawaii took part in the fundraiser. The money goes to more than two hundred local charities. The chairperson for this year's Charity Walk was Kelvin Bloom, president of Aston Hotels & Resorts. He said called it a "record-setting gesture" by people in the Hawaii visitor industry. "It's an unprecedented outpouring of kindness and kokua that exemplifies our aloha spirit. A big mahalo to all of the thousands of folks who participated and gave so generously, especially considering the tough economic times," Bloom said in a news release. The walk is a project of the Hawaii Hotel & Lodging Association.
