I slacked off this morning due to being up way too late working last night. I didn’t set my alarm clock because I didn’t want to wake the entire forest and lodge (bungalow is open air).
When i did leave I started driving to Teahupoo. It really isn’t possible to see the big waves from the shore, so tomorrow I intend to take a boat trip around the end of the island that has no road.
My next stop was the Belvedere lookout, unfortunately what was a nice day turned into a rain storm just as I was arriving. I did stay a while and try to wait it out, but the clouds were just not giving up. I took a short walk around the hiking path, but because I had sandals and not boots I decided not to do the complete 2.5 kilometers. I will go back when the weather is clear.
On the way back down from the viewpoint I found these interesting trees.
I drove around the rest of the island to Tautira. Part of the road goes further, but I had enough stress of narrow, one and a half way roads for the day. Tautire had a nice black sand beach park. The park even had a bocce ball court. The beach itself wasn’t spectacular, but the view from it was. Of course I had Charlie Brown syndrome and the clouds moved in while I was standing there. The beach had very fine black sand.
On the drive back I stopped to take a few pictures of the cascades.
Now I was getting hungry, so I stopped at the US Embassy yet again. It’s expensive, but all food here is expensive, even in the grocery store. But it is probably the most affordable restaurant here.
I stopped at the ATM to get some more cash for tomorrow’s boat ride. The ATM my card works at is conveniently next to Carrefour so I stopped in there as well and bought some ham and biscuits (cookies).
On the way back to the lodge I stopped at Maui Beach. The water was still very clear even with the rain and there were a few fish I could see from the shore. I didn’t see much coral from the shore and the sand was white, but a bit coarse.
Back at the lodge in time for the non-existent sunset. It would be spectacular from here, but it’s still raining.
I know it was a light day today, but there really isn’t all that much left to see here on the island, so no reason to try and set the world on fire.
I decided to try one of the local beers, it was alright.
Today’s timeline:
