Vacation Pictures: Part 2

The first four days of our trip were just go-go-go! It was a lot of fun. We really did cram everything into those first few days.

On the second day of our trip, we woke up super early (3:00 am- which was actually only 6:00 am to us since we were still on California time- so not too bad) and flew to Moloka'i for the day. We drove around the island a bit and grabbed some breakfast at a local "famous" bakery. Unfortunately the thing they are famous for is something that you have to preorder the day before. We didn't know that so of course they were all sold out. We still had some nice pastries though.

After breakfast, we drove to a beach. We had some stuff on the agenda so we didn't go in the water but we still wanted to look around and see if it would be something we would want to come back to do some other year. So we explored.
The beach was very pretty and there was no one on it. Just us.

At about 8:00 in the morning, we headed over to this ranch where we saddled up on mules and headed down over 1600 foot sea cliffs down into the leper colony. You can't get into the leper colony without a guide and permit. It is very restricted and if you don't obey the rules they have in place, you will be fined and kicked out for two years time. My mule was acting funny from the get go and I became a little freaked out. See how his ears are back?? Yeah... should have asked for another mule right then and there.

Here is a view of the cliffs and the colony where the people with leprosy (Hansen's disease) live. there are still 20 patients living there. Hansens disease is not as contagious as once thought. Only 4% of the entire population has the gene which makes you susceptible to the disease. They found a way to stop the disease so the people living there now are no longer contagious though they may have some lasting affects of the disease, like blindness, hearing loss etc.

On the way down, my mule was a complete psycho maniac. He kept trying to get in front of all the other mules and would often take the outside corner of the sea cliff (literally a cliff, no railing, etc) and try to kill us both. Other times, if he got too far from the other mules, he would just take off running down the cliff and scare the poop out of me. He ran so fast and would not listen to my "Whoa!!!! Whoa!!!!" or my pulling back on the reigns. He was a jerk! Also, he would run so fast that my boobs would completely come out of my bra and I would have to tuck them back in during times where I felt it was safe enough to let go and no one was looking. My mules name was Makani which in Hawaiian means "Wind". On the way down, I figured he was named that because he wanted to run like the wind. on the way up, I realized it was probably for his horrible gas that he was expelling all during the trip back up the cliffs. I kept having to apologize to the guy behind me and say "I swear it's the mule!!!" He would really let them rip and loudly. So maybe he was named Makani because he liked to break "Wind"!! Who knows.

Here's a view of the cliffs we just came down. It was a beautiful view from the top and the bottom. I just wish I hadn't been so terrified the mule was going to run off the side of the cliff and kill us both. It would have been a little nicer had I a mellow mule like Mister Studly's.

Here is a picture of one of the three churches there. This is the famous one because "father Damien" came to moloka'i, set up a church for them and didn't treat the people there badly like others did. He ended up contracting the disease (must have been one of those 4%) and ended up dying there. He is to be made a saint at the end of this year. Oh... and there was an LDS church there too. It was one of the three. Yay!

This is where we had lunch. it was very beautiful but sort of sad as well.

See the triangular island in the background?? This is where they would kick the people with leprosy off the ship and have the swim to shore. They would round up all the people with the disease, ship them off to Moloka'i and then because the shore was rocky, they would kick them off the ship in order to not wreck it. They had to get off. If you have leprosy, you have breathing issues and numbness in your appendages. So imagine what it would be like to swim (if you could even swim in the first place) about 200 yards to shore without feeling in your legs or arms and not being able to breathe. There is no way of knowing how many people did not make it to shore. Very sad.

Here's Mister Studly's nice mule. He led the pack all the way down and up the cliffs. So Mister Studly got to see everything before anyone else. He's a stud. Hence the name right?

This beach is very restricted. If you go on it, you can be fined and kicked out for 2 years. it was very beautiful and it was green sand beach which is very rare.

Here I took a picture of myself being a nerd. The ride back up was a lot easier and my mule was more mellow on the way up so I had a nicer time then.

Mister Studly leading the pack!

Sorry for the next picture, but I just had to do it. Before we had to be at the airport to fly back to Oahu, we did a little bit of sightseeing. We hiked to a lookout and then we saw a sign that said "Phallic Rock" Well, both of us being immature as we are, decided we just had to go up this trail to see the rock.

And here I am with the boy part shaped rock. Yes, I'm hilarious! (and immature)