1. A seemingly complete lack of mosquitos. It must be the high breeze, which blows them alllll away. Yay.
2. The prevalence of chickens. Everywhere.
Crossing the road.
At the store.
At the foodcourt.
At the supermarket.
There were more types and loads of chicks too, but they were too shy to have their photos taken.
3. The lack of trees. As on Malta, deforestation (yes Geographers, more technical vocab) has taken it's toll. And you can just tell. There are clumps of trees, mostly on high, near water sources and around people's houses, but an honest to goodness across-Maui tree-planting project would not go amiss. Sorry, Maui.
See distant hills. 4. The cost of food. It makes sense, because almost everything needs to be imported, but I went to the shop on my first day and bought:
-tomatoes
-cucumbers
-a tub of pineapple chunks
-a loaf
-some mayo
-a comb (forgot to pack)
-sunscreen (running out)
Evidence:
The cost:
$58!
That's FIFTY EIGHT dollars.
Take out the cost of the comb and sunscreen (about $20) , leaves $38.
The pineapple alone was £8.99, they do grow that here, so that seemed a bit much.
The bread was also $8.99. For a loaf. I mean, it was seeded (and also strangely sweet) but $8.99, for a loaf! The cheapest I found (because I couldn't help but make it a thing while I was shopping) Was $6.99 for a cheap doughy white one. That's ...(Switches to calculator) £7.06. Yep, SEVEN POUNDS for a loaf of bread.
SEVEN.
POUNDS.
Honestly, it's almost cheaper to eat out, but does kind of explain why the 'salad option' with any bought meal is a coleslaw type mix.
To get a general balance, I looked at the cost of cheese (small pack imported Italian = $10.99 ) and steak. One tomahawk or two sirloins in the supermarket were both $16.99. Which makes a loaf the same price as a sirloin. It looks like the meat comes from Honolulu (on the island, Oahu, as we all know 👀), which made me then wonder if they raise beef on Hawaii.
But the end message is: £7.06 for a loaf.
5. Not really a surprise, but nice to mention...Maui is super clean, tidy and well presented. Not in the way of the UAE-scrupulous-cleaning-by-imported-Asians, but clean and tidy As in people taking pride in their island. I did see a few homeless people camping out (how on earth do they afford to eat 🤷), but even they had all their stuff neatly in a backpack or trolley.
The beaches are clean and tidy, I only saw one piece of litter in the water. Even the airport toilets were seriously impressive.
Seriously impressive.
6. The sheer number of turtles was amazing. They're not virtually tame - like the Loggerhead turtles of Kefalonia, which are bloody enormous and eat straight out of your hand - but they are numerous. It's such a treat to watch their heads bobbing just above the waves as they breathe between eating.
AI tells me: 'Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles: These are the most common sea turtle species in Maui, often seen resting on beaches, under ledges, or feeding in shallow waters.'
They're smallish and I'm attributing characteristics of gentleness and playfulness to them. The only tricky bit is getting a decent photo...
Spot the turtle:
Bottom's up.
Getting a-head. (Geddit?!?)
You don't see those in Rhyl.
7. The flag.
To my surprise (a lot is on this holiday tbh), the official state flag of Hawaii has the union Jack on it.
Wikipedia tells me: 'The use of the Union Jack is a legacy of the British Royal Navy's historical relations with the Hawaiian Kingdom and, in particular, the pro-British sentiment of its first ruler, King Kamehameha I. The current design has been in use since 1845. It was retained by the Republic of Hawaii after the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in 1893. Likewise, after U.S. annexation in 1898, no change was made to the flag design used by the Territory of Hawaii before Hawaii was granted statehood.'
The eight stripes represent the 8 islands of the state of Hawaii. Coz it's not just one place, you know. No, it's an archipelago.
8. I'm surprised by the lack of obesity here. Bearing in mind that the US has the 10th highest level of obesity in the world, (taken from the Global Obesity Observatory, the UK is 55th. The first 9 are many of the Pacific Island nations), I was expecting more of it, frankly. I can't figure out if it's because, as a state, Hawaii has more chances to get out and about. The people who come here on holiday a. like to play golf or go in The sea and b. have more money and are therefore probably better educated, I don't know. But the difference (to other places in the US I have visited) is marked.
9. Maui really is beautiful.
The flowers
The scenery.
The people seem genuinely friendly (tourists and locals).
And I can't get enough of the sunsets.
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