Diamond Head

The plan was to get going early and hike to the top of Diamond Head. Due to some marital miscommunication (yes, that still occurs even after 48 years of marriage) we didn't get going quite as early as anticipated. And even though the peak is less than two miles from where we are staying, it takes 10-15 minutes in city traffic to get there. That meant that the parking lot at Diamond Head was already full. We had to park in another lot a bit farther away.

Nevertheless, we and hundreds of other people began the climb, about 500 feet of vertical elevation with only about 1/3 of a mile horizontal. We have climbed tougher hikes, but the crowds and the necessity of wearing face masks made it seem a bit harder than it probably was.

There are still remains of the Army artillery fire control station at the top, and the views in all directions were as anticipated. The guidebooks suggest coming down on an alternate path, but we could not find any other path that was not closed off and unavailable, so we returned as we had come. The round trip took about an hour and 20 minutes.

From Diamond Head we continued east on Highway 72, along the southeast coast of O'ahu Island, to Koko Head District Park. Koko Head is less famous, but is supposed to be much more spectacular than Diamond Head. It is also a much, much more arduous climb. We skipped it. Instead, we visited Sandy Beach (which really didn't seem any more sandy than most beaches) where we watched some obviously experienced surfers riding waves considerably larger than we had seen yesterday at Waikiki. This beach was also much less crowded, and was a very pleasant place to sit and enjoy the ambiance.

After an hour or so, we continued east and northeast on Highway 72, stopping several times at overlooks. One of the first was the Hālona Blowhole, a natural formation in the lava rock where sea waves push into a cave, are compressed, and water shoots straight up out of the hole. (No photo of the blowhole, as it's very difficult to time and capture the waterspouts. But the area, above, is pretty.)

Yeah, that little bump on the horizon is Maui

We also hiked the Makapu‘u Point Lighthouse Trail. This is another very popular walk, though not quite as steep or crowded as Diamond Head. The view from the summit is spectacular on a clear day -- and today was so clear that we could see all the way to Puʻu Kukui peak on Maui, about 70 miles away, with Moloka‘i and Lanai Islands in the foreground!

On the way down, Mary spotted a disturbance in the sea, just off shore, and called me to look. There was a lot of splashing and turbulence in the water, and it almost seemed to be swirling around, like a whirlpool. A young woman, who happened to be a resident Hawaiian, stopped near us and thought that we were probably seeing a group of sharks swarming on the carcass of a dead whale or some other animal. But then it was over. Quite a sight! (But alas, nothing to photograph.)

We had packed a lunch, and stopped at Waimānalo Beach Park, in the village of Waimānalo, to eat it. This is a very pleasant spot, with beautiful turquoise water.

We then turned west on Highway 61 to Nu‘uanu Pali Lookout, which was a splendid view, but highly over-rated by the tourist books. They charged $7 to park there "all day," where there was little to do but walk to the overlook and walk back. It was the most expensive 10 minute parking space I ever bought.

The rural areas of O'ahu are much different than Honolulu, and in many ways, more pleasant. We shall be exploring more of them in the coming days. But just relaxing and enjoying the sun and warmth are also quite nice.

Dinner was at a Japanese noodle spot Mary read about, that turned out to be just around the corner from our condo. We went rather early, since we are still struggling with this time zone, and walked right in. But by the time we left, the line was out the door and down the street. Not only was the beef noodle bowl delicious, but watching the cooks scurrying around, bantering in Japanese, was kind of a kick.