Had to wake up at 4:45 am to get to Port Allen by 5:45 am. That was the check-in time for our rafting tour at the Na Pali coast.

By 6;30 am we were on our way in the small rubber boat (same as US Coast Guards use) with our skiper T and his help Cory. At first it was a little bit cold in the wind, we were driving in 40-60 miles per hour, I guess that would be about 35-55 Knots or 64-96 km/h. It was a fun and bumpy ride along the Na Pali coast.

Before we got there though our skipper stopped the boat to watch some dolphins that we passed. At first they were not so playful, probably because it was early in the morning and they were having fly-fish for breakfast hen we popped in. But after a while they started to come closer to the boat and were spin-jumping. Even the kid dolphins tried to spin-jump but with less success than the adult ones. However, the kids really have to learn how to spin-jump – would be an embarrassment to be named Hawaiian spinner dolphins without being able to spin-jump wouldn’t it?

We did small stops like that all the way throughout our raft. Either to watch sea turtles, dolphins, caves, or just to stretch our legs. It was great to be able to come so close to the Na Pali cliffs that you could touch them and to be able to go into the caves with the boat. And great fun to jump on the waves in full (or maybe 75% or so) speed. Although of the 8 people joining the ride only Chie and I seemed to enjoy it.

It was even an American couple on their honeymoon that argued afterwards. The wife wanted to sit in the back were it was less bumpy and the husband wanted to keep on sitting in the front. Apparently they disagreed in who was the most selfish one not wanting to be together with the other one during their honeymoon. Kind of making a hen out of a feather to me, but who am I to tell?

By 11:30 am we were back in Port Allen. Even though it was very nasty to get up so early it felt quite good now because we had been on a 5 hour rafting tour and still had many hours to enjoy left. We went to our favorite beach… Kiahuna.

The waves were big today as well and still fun to play in. Between playing in the waves we were relaxing in the sand. Until one of the waves splashed up all the way to where we were laying. My towel got all wet and we moved to a more secure place. Sounds dramatic? It was not. It happened before and it is just water.

4;30 pm we went back home to take a shower and get ready for dinner. Tonight was our first dinner out. At Roy’s.

We started with grilled shrimps with kim chee amd wasabi souce. Then Chie had a teriyaki grilled salmon on rice and I had a filet mignon on a creamy risotto. For dessert we had a delicious warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

When we woke up in the morning it looked like it was going to rain all day long. But after checking the weather on the Internet we found out that good weather was on its way. Even in the north. So we decided to go to Ke’e beach, the last beach of the north shore.

It took us an hour and a half to get there and the few parking spots available was occupied. We took a side (dirt) road and found a spot where someone was just leaving. Lucky us.

We spent the day at the beautifully Ke’e beach. Snorkeling. Relaxing. Reading. Enjoying the sun. Enjoying the views of the green and steep mountains surrounding the Ke’e beach. And what seemed to be a rainy day turned out to be a blue-sky day.

On our way home we stopped at the Foodland again, one of the best grocery stores on Kauai. We bought edamame (soya beans), fruits, and salad. And Sobe, of course.

Finally at home we had Italian herb chicken for dinner. With soya bean salad and bread. Yummy!

It was a grey sky with rain on its way when we got ready to go to the beach. Our first plan was to go north to Tunnels beach or Larsen beach. We started out with our plan. Going north. But when we got halfway to Lihue it started to rain. So we stopped at Macy’s, Borders, K-Mart, and Hilo Hattie to do some shopping instead. Chie bought some souvenirs and shoes while I bought books at Borders.

We still had a picnic lunch. In the car. At the parking lot of Hilo Hattie’s. Salad.

Getting bored of shopping we decided that the weather was good enough for going to the beach. But instead of going north we returned to the south. To Poipu beach. Close to home.

Just as we arrived at Poipu beach two sea turtles payed a visit. People were crowded around them and the life guards called out that the sea turtles (the rock like thing at the top… The right rock like thing IS a rock) were not to be disturbed all the time. Especially one guy was very close with his camera. NO it was NOT me.

We left the turtles alone and went snorkeling instead. We saw a few fishes but soon gave up. The conditions were quite difficult because the surf was too high.

Back on the beach we read for a while until it started raining. We decided it was time to return home. So we did. Just long enough to take a shower and get going again.
This time we drove to the Poipu shopping mall (cannot remember the name) for some more shopping. Only window shopping this time though. But we made a reservation at Roy’s for 7:30 pm on Friday.

On our way back home we stopped at Big Save grocery store and bought chicken for the chicken curry Chie made for dinner tonight. In addition to the curry we had bread, soya bean salad, Greek salad, and pickled paprika. Yummy!

Today we decided to go west. More precisely to Kekaha beach. A long stretch of hot sand far to the west. With big and strong waves. Not so big maybe but very strong current. Not many were swimming there, but a few played in the water just a few meters out.

After reading, playing in the water for a while, and lunch we decided we had enough of Kekaha beach. Not that it was a really bad beach but being in the water was more hard work than fun.

Since half the day had gone we went back to our favorite beach, Kiahuna. It was fun as usual to play in the waves here.

Suddenly a police came and sealed one of the condominiums off. With a yellow plastic band just like in the movies. We have no idea what happened there but when we walked back to the car to go home there were a lot of policemen in front of the building.

Before returning home we made a short visit to Sheraton and to Big Save grocery store. No ice cream this night since we had already bought one in Port Allen on our way back from Kekaha beach (Tutu’s anniversary again).

Tonight’s dinner was Kalbi BBQ. With salad and broccoli. Yummy!

Woke up quite late to a blue sky. After preparing the picnic for the day we went to Kiahuna Beach. The waves were quite big but it was fun. We stayed at Kiahuna all day long, reading, playing in the waves, and just enjoying the sun.

Around 5 pm it was time to return home, but first we stopped in Koloa Old Town to buy some groceries. We also bought an ice cream that we shared – Tutu’s Anniversary with passion fruit, raspberry, and coco nut. Yummy!

On our way home we met Sting. Well, he was driving a red Jeep in the opposite direction to where we were going. So we will probably spend tomorrow driving around in this area looking for a red Jeep. And when we find it we will probably hide in the bushes… Or maybe not.

For dinner we had Gaspachio, marinaded yellow paprika and grilled salmon with Italian herbs and grilled tomato and onion.