So long darkness! So long snow! So long Canadian winter! The Valley Isle of Hawaii awaits!
It’s late summer, and I am sitting on the back porch of my parent’s home searching through the internet on my laptop. The sound of the cicadas is almost hypnotizing, but I do my best to stay focused on my task at hand. I was in the planning process for organizing my Run To The Sun mental health fundraiser, and on the day’s agenda was to find accommodations for my time I’d be spending on the island of Maui. Airbnb and other vacation rental sites were my current web interest in hopes to uncover some prime real estate to rent for the two months I was planning to train in Maui prior to tackling the 70 kilometers, and nearly 11,500 feet of elevation gain of a sea to summit run to the summit of Haleakala.
Excitement was running through my veins as I thought about the event, and how wonderful it would be to continue with this gloriously warm weather in the blah days of November, and dark, numbing weather of our Ontario winter months. But the more I scrolled through the sites, the more that I quickly realized that there would be no way I would be able to afford multiple months at any of these places. Not even close. Rental properties had considerably increased since the last time I was on the island.
It was time to explore Craigslist (the American version of Kiijiji). But damn, even as I searched through that budget site, place by place, the apartments were either still too expensive, required a long term lease, or were on the wrong side of the island for what I wanted it for. A part of me wanted to immediately go out and rob a bank. But the more mentally balanced part of me over ruled that thought and decided to simply be patient and continue to search each day until the right place became available.
Two or three weeks later, as I had hoped, a true possibility presented itself on the Craigslist website. Whether it would be the ‘right’ place for me, I really had no idea, but the rental ad stated the it could be rented on a month to month basis, which had been a problem with a couple other earlier possibilities, it was close to being in my price range, and it was located in relative proximity to the mountain. I felt that I needed to be near the mountain in order to properly train for my upcoming December run. And from the map that I was looking at, this place seemed to be in a fairly ideal spot for that. I knew it wouldn’t be a large space, but it looked to have everything that I would need, and the photos that were posted conveyed a cute and tidy studio space that I was sure I could inhabit comfortably.
I contacted the property owner lickety-split, and then promptly received a phone call back from him stating that his garden studio would be available in October, which also happened to be the month I was hoping to head there. Perfecto. The landlord, who went by the name, Elam, was very friendly, and let me know that he would be willing to pick me up at the airport on my arrival, and also make sure he helped me get around until I figured out my own transportation. That right there was a very big sell. How could I say no?
It’s late evening, October 17th, I’ve managed to clear customs (http://www.thewergs.com/2018/11), I sat through the five and a half hour flight from Vancouver, and the plane was set to land at Kahului Airport, on the island of Maui. Elam had contacted me prior to taking flight from Vancouver to say that he would be waiting at baggage claims, so I was nice and relaxed as I exited the plane.
As he had promised, Elam, greeted me at baggage with a friendly, yet distant energy about him. He was a Panamanian holistic minister who lived most of his life in the ‘stars’, as I would learn and come to understand over the next two months. After loading my luggage into his jeep, he took me on an adventure of a ride to my new home. We took winding roads through jungle landscapes to the upcountry area of Haiku. Turned right at Hanzawa’s Country Store. And then there, one exact mile from County Road 365, at the top of Awalau Road we turned into a somewhat hidden driveway. I remember being in an uneasy state the entire ride while we rounded one blind corner after another, moving at quite a speed. I just had to trust that anyone coming the other way was as accustomed to the roads as he was. It had taken about 30 minutes to arrive at what I would call home for the next two months. And just as advertised, the garden studio was a tiny place. But because it sat on a large property, I figured I would never feel boxed in. I couldn’t really grasp where I had travelled to over that half hour drive from the airport, and I also couldn’t really decipher the true landscape of the property now that darkness had fallen, but it was obvious that I was at least slightly isolated in what I could only describe as a jungle. But the sky was clear and the air was warm, and I was excited knowing that after a much needed sleep, I would be waking up to beautiful sunshine.
Exhausted from the days travels and events, I dropped my stuff by the bedside, set my head down on the pillow and swiftly drifted to sleep.
As I slowly began to open my morning eyes I could sense the gloom of the day. But the sound of what I thought was a waterfall brought me to life. No way! I friggin’ love waterfalls! And right in my backyard?! Time to rise and shine, as my mother would always say. Widening my eyes as I sat up, I glanced in the direction of my kitchen window with excitement. Maybe I would be able to see it from inside? But to my dismay, I did not see a natural waterfall, but rather, a rain induced waterfall coming off the side of my roof. It was absolutely pouring outside. I stood up and sauntered over to the front entrance, pulled the curtains back and slide the door open. I then stepped forward under the overhang and surveyed the landscape. The outside was beautiful and lush with wonderful greenery. There were giant banana leaves acting like umbrellas for the crab-spiders while they bounced around in the breeze holding tight to their shimmering webs. As I looked down to see the puddle beneath me, a small gecko retreated under the house. Smirking at the sight of this little creature, I thought how this was not quite the way I pictured things to look when I arose on my first morning, but no worries, it was just my first morning. There were many more to come. The rain clouds shall pass.
Day 2-7. (Scene: Me staring out my kitchen window watching the sheets of rain come down)
Hmmm. Maybe there is a reason why everything is so big and lush? Maybe the giant banana leaves are umbrella-like for a reason? Maybe they call this area a rainforest ……for a reason?!
Over the last few weeks there were lulls where the rain will slow or stop all together, and the sun will come out briefly to give a warm hello. But they always seemed to be short lived. Turns out I am located in one of the rainiest sections of the island, in the rainiest time of the year. I hadn’t quite done my homework on that.
As the weeks have gone on, there have been a few ‘full’ sun days to come along, but one thing I can count on is that the rain will return each night to sing me to sleep.
