Paia and beyond...

The early morning line at tiny Anthony's Coffee Company in the town of Paia was almost to the door when we arrived, but we amused ourselves reading the signs and mugs with sayings like "visitors must be approved by the cat" and "if a man is alone on a desert island, and no woman hears him speak, is he still wrong?" Java in hand, we headed out, and didn't get far along the road when we had to stop to watch the surfers.  We were on the windward side of the island, the tropical and windy side, good for surfing, kiteboarding and windsurfing.
We were headed for the famous road to Hana, the narrow, winding road that hugs the coast; it has 19 single lane stone bridges, where you have to stop to see if you can cross, or if you need to wait for someone else. There are no shoulders on that road, and in some places you have a rock wall on one side and a dropoff on the other... but the views are astounding.

We stopped to walk on a narrow trail in a bamboo forest (tall and impenetrable), to climb up to a viewpoint at the top of the Waikamoi Nature Trail (like a jungle with vines climbing up the tall trees), and found the little dirt road down to Honomanu Bay, a black sand beach where we ate our lunch. Then it was time to head back; we'll save the rest of the drive to Hana for another day or even for another trip, maybe one where we stay in Hana and explore the area. 
On our way back through Paia we stopped at Ono Gelato for a delicious treat before looking around some of the interesting stores. In a shop where I found cute flip flops on sale and local handmade soap (Kula Herbs - plumeria scented) they were selling bags made from old windsurfing sails! How clever is that?
Photo by Navin75 on Flickr