The Decompression of a Boomer

Tuesday, January 24. Day 5. (Or is it day 6? Jeez, it’s flying by…)
We are headed to Kauapea “Kay-oo-uh-pee-uh”
(about every one of these Hawaiian beaches and trails sound the same to me) Beach, otherwise known as ‘Secret Beach.’

The waves are magnificient.

We climb the rocks for a better view (you can see the Lighthouse in the far distance).

“Mountain Goat” is always ahead

and usually higher than the rest of us.

Uh, maybe we don’t want to get too close …

It might be approaching high tide

Don’t see anyone swimming…

We’re headed back to the car now.

Thank goodness we’re at sea level. I wouldn’t want to be climbing this hill in high altitude, I’m gasping for air as it is.

We drive to the Ki Lauea (great Scrabble word if you’re burdened with vowels) Lighthouse. I didn’t capture a picture of the Lighthouse, I don’t know why, you see it in lots of brochures. But I did capture a great view from the Lighthouse of the coastline (and Secret Beach, where we just were).

We learn about the Red-Footed Boobies

that are nesting all over Crater Hill

there, across the cove.

We’re pretty pooped at this point (literally) so we return home.

Except Eric is restless and hyped up to check out the ‘Hissing Dragon’ at Makapili Rock, or what I understand as ‘Rock Beach.’ He piques David’s and my curiosity and we decide to come along.

He had found the exact route to the Hissing Dragon by way of a one-lane dirt road that we drive on for almost a mile. Then it turns into a mud hole, so we pull off and walk the last half-mile of road

to get to the rock bench that runs along the shore to Makapili Point.

Rock bench? I was thinking ‘beach’ which is why I’m wearing flip-flops.

We climb over rocks for the next 45 minutes. I take no photos, I’m so focused on every step, and fearful of falling, or losing a flip-flop, breaking a flip-flop, stubbing my toe, breaking a toe …

We can go no further now. David and I meet up with Eric sitting on a rock.

“So where’s the Hissing Dragon, Eric?”

We wait around for a few minutes. I’m thinking of how I could catch a helicopter back.

Suddenly we hear a sucking noise coming from this crevice in the rock cliff a few feet away.

David walks over first. The water comes foamimg up and blasts out of the hole like an explosion. Holy %$*#!

I flip-flop over there and wait with my i-phone. Nothing happens for several minutes. Then the sucking noise… I take a photo. I take another photo, then another…. WHOA!

I fly 10 feet back from the thing. I’d hate to experience this exploding geyser at high tide.

We start heading back.

I’m flip-flopping at a ferocious pace to keep up with David.

Waves come thrashing up through rock crevices along the way.

What’s this thing?

Some kind of omen?

That white speck against the patch of green up there is Eric.

He waits for us to catch up.

Are you serious? I’m supposed to get up there?

This section is pretty sketchy. Especially in flip-flops. With your stomach tied in knots.

We’re back off the rocks now, away from the shore.

If you do get your rig this far in you may not get it back out.

What happened to these people?

We’re walking on the road again, headed to the car (sounds like a verse to a song, and I feel like singing it, too).

Yay! Whew! What a relief to find the car, undisturbed, right where we left it, was it two hours ago?

If you ask me, this whole excursion had all the makings (and evidence??) of a death march. (…Eric)

Yeah, well, I gotta admit, that Hissing Dragon was pretty cool.

This entry was posted on February 8, 2012 at 8:35 am and is filed under Kauai, travel. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.