Aloha! Welcome to Hawaii! We are now completing the first week
of a two-week holiday in celebration of an anniversary. The last time we took
such an extensive holiday (ie on our own!) was 10 years ago, also for an
anniversary. Being in a tropical location right near the beach (which is kind
of like we do in Netanya) is pretty cool, so it is a good opportunity to share some
important survival tips for those of you who would like to travel to this part
of the world. One more note before we launch this guide…as you know, this is
also the way we wish everyone a wonderful Shabbat! One little detail: the time
in Hawaii is 6 hours earlier than Montreal, and 13 hours earlier than Israel!
It was pretty confusing calling Israel last night (Thursday) and talking about
what we would be doing tomorrow (ummm, today) when it was yesterday while we
were speaking to our kids in Israel today. Did you get that? Anyway, as we move
into Shabbat on Maui, most of you will already be much later on Friday, or even
Saturday when you get this. So, it is a Shabbat Shalom and Shavua Tov (Have a
great Week) message all at the same time
Now the guide to Maui!
Survival Guide for the Kosher Traveler in Maui: The first
question everyone asked us when we planned this trip was “What will you eat?”.
I think that if we were going to Bombay or Cambodia that would be a complicated
question. But in Maui, no sweat. First, we rented an amazing condo, right on a
beach, next to a pool, with a big kitchen. By coincidence it is the only one in
the area with a Mezuzah, as it is owned by a Larry and Miri, a couple from
Vancouver. The condo has all the comforts of home, including a well-stocked
kitchen with a self-cleaning oven and a cupboard full of spices from Trader Joe’s
including Montreal Steak Spice! Then we went to Costco. Costco in Maui has more
kosher products than Montreal’s. Plus a huge selection of fresh fish: Hawaiian
Mahi-Mahi, two types of salmon, halibut, haddock, tuna, you get the drift
(LOL). Plus the Costco here has Kosher wine, cheese, and tons of other stuff.
The local Safeway has another huge, American selection of products (including
frozen unbaked Challot), and of course, there is the fresh produce. The
pineapples, mangoes, papayas, melons, etc. No traveler is starving here, kosher
or not. 
Of course, there is also Chabbad (which is located near the
Airport, which we are not) and a small synagogue called the Jewish Congregation
of Maui, under the leadership of Rabbi David Glickman. My Uncle Peter and Greta
were married there. It is a unique synagogue, which meets the needs of the
eclectic Jewish population who live or visit here. For example, the synagogue
functions as a Conservative synagogue, but there is a fold away Mechitza
(partition that separates men and women) as is found in an Orthodox shul. This
Shabbat, they were celebrating two events: a destination Reform Bat Mitzvah,
and a Shabbat afternoon Bar Mitzvah. The synagogue is only a 20 minute walk
from where we are staying, but one needs to walk along a highway with no real
sidewalks, so I think we will pass.
Survival Guide for the Rain Forest Traveler: On Wednesday,
we decide to visit an area called Ole’o Gulch, home to a national park with
waterfalls and “seven sacred pools”. In truth, there were only 4 and they weren’t
really ever sacred, but I digress. To get there, we could take a costal road, with a 20 mile unpaved
stretch, or a narrow winding road through the rain forest. We decided to take the
coastal road, but as we reached about 45 minutes into the trip, we learned
that it was closed 4 miles from the park. So, we turned around and went the
other way. This was quite an experience; the road was gorgeous, but it is
advertised as having 617 twists and turns and 57 single lane bridges. It came
as advertised: the ride of 80 km took nearly 3 hours! We did see a few
beautiful waterfalls, gorges and a bamboo forest, but the drive was a bit hair
raising, stopping to let people pass, having to break and yield, etc. The park
was lovely; we took a couple of mile hike to a waterfall, then a second trail
to the pools, which were full of bathers splashing around. We, of course,
heeded the signs about the dangers of swimming off the rocks. After about 2.5
hours in the park, we headed back along the costal road (see above). You
remember those 20 miles of unpaved roads? They were not joking. We twisted and
turned along a remarkable stretch of roads that hugged the cliffs above
beautiful beaches. Fortunately, there were almost no other people on the road (obviously,
smarter than us) but we got home just a bit exhausted but ready for the
obstacle course driving test! 
Survival Guide for those who need their Starbucks Fix (or
Gap or Hilfiger…): On Thursday, after a great long walk along a very uncrowded
and pretty beach, some splashing in the waves on boogie boards (Thanks Rivka!) we
decided to go to the old town of Lahaina, which is a pretty town build along a
beach. Front Street is the main drag for shops, with 3-4 blocks of pretty
boutiques, tourist shops, fish restaurants and cafes. It was very quaint, and
included an outdoor Hawaiian music concert and a Hula exhibit. That and a
gorgeous sunset made for a great time. But, in case the funky Hawaiian theme gets
to be a bit much, the last block of shops is a big outlet mall (outdoor, of
course, no snow here)
and you can shop at the Gap, American Apparel, and all your other favorites.
Across the street is McDonalds, Starbucks, and a couple of other icons. Who
said Hawaii is roughing it? In fact, we have passed Starbucks almost
everywhere, except along the twists and turns of the rain forest.
Survival Guide to relaxing on the Pacific: Ok, so what is
the best way to decompress on a holiday? How about a 5 hour cruise on the
pacific and snorkeling? We signed up with a company called Sail-Trilogy (highly
recommended) who were fun, super accommodating, and navigated the very high
winds along the Maui coast like pros. We were supposed to go to Molokini Crater,
but because of 45 knot winds (hang onto your hats!) we only went to Oluwalu
Reefs, where there was an amazing coral reef with beautiful fish and a sea
turtle or two. Now, if you are a swimmer or enjoy the water, snorkeling is a
natural. But I have to admit, I am a real land animal (after all, I am a
Taurus). The last time I snorkeled was almost 15 years ago. It took me a good
10 minutes to start to trust the snorkel and the flotation device I was using.
Most everyone else was splashing around and seeing the sights. But slowly,
getting used to the rhythm, I let myself glide along the water and view the
sights. It’s like being in an aquarium, with sea creatures passing you by. If
you don’t splash too much, they go about their business and it’s quite
spectacular. Then, we cruised slowly back to the harbor, with beer and mai tais
served by the friendly crew, and saw a school of dolphins! All in all this is
THE way to decompress!
Stay tuned for more tips and adventures next week!
We wish everyone a warm and restful Shabbat, and great week ahead!
Barbara and Bruce
PS: Did you know that the national fish of Hawaii was named
by an Israeli? He saw this grey fish in the market and asked “Mahi? Mahi?” (What is it? What is it?)
