Day 3, Wailua Falls

Here we go, day 3, Saturday.  The highlight of today was time spent with some locals.  We drove back to Wailua Falls so we could all see it this time.  Near the falls we discovered vendors who were weaving items out of coconut palm fronds; Don and Cheryl.

Cheryl is weaving a small basket which Carol is now the proud owner of. To the left of Don you can see an open-topped hat which he was working on as well as the bags which are holding the coconut palm fronds they cut fresh that morning.

This is a very cute fish on a rod which Don was able to make very quickly.  He offered to teach us if we came back in a couple days.  It was a deal we couldn't refuse.  We hope to be able to teach our students to make these fun fish.

Nearby, we found Don and Cheryl's friend, Wilson.  As Don said, Wilson doesn't talk much but he's a good listener.  He started out as an alternative Jack-o-lantern.  And of course the name Wilson is from the Tom Hanks movie, "Castaway."  We have discovered that several people here have their own form of Wilson.  We liked the lei and head scarf.







Oh, yes.  Nearly forgot something -- Wailua Falls.  Here they are!

If you're feeling ambitious, go back to Day 1 and see how much the falls have diminished in the last two days.  The first picture was taken after a couple days of heavy rain, just prior to our arrival.  This picture was after two days of only occasional rain showers.  We enjoyed noticing the difference.  By the way, these are the falls shown in the opening scene of Fantasy Island.  This is a view from the south while the show used a view more from the northeast, but they are the same falls.

This photo is of an acacia wood tree (acacia koa) at the top of the falls.  They originated in Africa but were brought here and have thrived.  They are now considered to be endemic.  The Hawai'ians are proud of their Koa trees, from which they make beautiful jewelry, bowls, hair clips, you name it.

When we headed back to our car, Don had gotten a coconut for us and is here seen opening it.

While Don worked at opening the coconut with his knife and machete', Cheryl showed us where they planted a baby coconut palm tree.  It is now two months old.

Deanne had never had fresh coconut milk so she's about to give it a try for the first time.  (Funny how Cheryl, who lives on the beach, now looks like the tourist while holding Deanne's camera, water bottle, coconut and palm frond grasshopper!)  Don is giving the sign for, "hang loose," which is the thing to do here while being photographed.  So far, the people of Kauai seem to be living up to that motto.  :)

 

Here is Deanne trying the coconut milk.  It was so fresh.  It was really sweet and amazing -- much better than what comes from a coconut on the mainland.