Before starting the second part of our Panamericana journey, i.e. backpacking in Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina, we decided to take a break from the long distance bike tour in North America.
We started our holiday with a few days in Honolulu City and around. After strolling around downtown, we dipped our toes into the Pacific Ocean at Waikiki Beach while watching rainbows and a colorful sunset. Both, rainbows and sunsets, we should see many more during our vacation on the island. And now we also knew, why there is a rainbow on the Hawaiian license plate :-). From Hawaii Kai we climbed the old railway trails uphill to Koko Head and enjoyed a fantastic view back to the city and onto Hanauma Bay, where snorkeling was simply amazing. Unfortunately, we didn’t own a water-proof camera to show you the underwater beauty.
While being in the historic centre of Honolulu, we took the chance to visit Iolani Palace, the residency of the Hawaiian Royal Family built in 1882. We learnt that the Hawaiian people early established trading relationships and maintained friendship with European and Asian countries and that Iolani Palace was used as the capitol after the annexation of Hawaii by the US in 1898.
After all - as any other tourists - we were in Hawaii for the beaches, to relax and to profit as much from the warmth and sun as possible! In our rental car we drove around Oahu counterclockwise. We mostly stayed at Airbnb accommodations, but also tried camping. The latter obliged us to diligently follow reservation procedures online up to a month ahead, in order to obtain permits. Sadly, it was only to find out while being at the campgrounds that nobody cared, nor were the parks in any welcoming condition. Therefore, we would not recommend this, but hey, we were in Hawaii and the nature was beautiful, so we decided to make the most out of it and went for a challenging hike in the tropical forest. Translate tropical to multiple intense rain showers per day (after all that's why it's called rainforest...) and you can see where the mud came from! Frankly, we did not realise from the beginning on, what a tropical climate Oahu is experiencing. To us, it made the destination even more interesting!
At the North Shore, the high waves are legendary and a paradise for surfers. We didn't dare to throw ourselves into the pipelines, but were lucky to observe sea turtles from the beach! And on the calmer, less touristy West Coast, a sea turtle even came close by while we were snorkeling on Makua Beach. The day after on the same beach, we could swim with a school of dolphins which came very close to the shore. This was definitely one of the highlights! In terms of animal encounters and seclusion, the region around Waianae was our favourite.
Mahalo Oahu! After these two relaxing weeks, we are ready for backpacking in South America and are looking forward to start this experience in Lima, Peru.
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