We thought
nothing could top what we have already experienced here on Kauai—until today.
We followed the
plan, to drive west and explore the Waimea Canyon Drive, which contains not
one, but two, state parks. Along the way
we stopped at overlooks, oohing and aahing at the views of what legend says
Mark Twain called the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” (the legend is a myth, by
the way; Mark Twain never set foot on Kauai).
One view in Waimea State Park
Tricia at Waimea Canyon
We should mention
here the speed limits that are supposedly strictly enforced. The highest limit we have seen is 50 miles
per hour, and that occurs on relatively few stretches of highway. More common is 35, and more common still is
25. You needn’t be in a rush to go
anywhere in a car on this island. And on
this particular 20-mile road, the limit was 25 all the way. As we approached the final lookout, we
noticed off to the left side a large group of people in what appeared to be a
family reunion picnic; but the number of cars pulled off the road indicated
this was much more than a picnic. Then
we passed characters in costumes four abreast on horses, obviously preparing
for some sort of procession. A couple
of cops were even directing traffic at this point. We just had to investigate, but first went up
to enjoy the view of the spectacular Kalalau Valley, the largest on the Na Pali
coast.
Kalalau Valley
On the way back
down, we were able to find a parking place among the hundreds of cars, where we
wolfed down lunch sandwiches and realized something pretty important was going
on. Lots of passersby had apparently recognized
the same thing. We walked over into the
beginning of a huge celebration of an event in Hawaii’s history: the 1871 journey of Queen Emalani Kalanikaumakaamano Kaleleonalani Na’ea Rooke
(Queen Emma to us) to Waimea-Uka and the
Alaka’i. The queen had taken a group of
100 of her subjects into the interior of the island in a journey of
exploration, which was seen as quite dangerous at the time.
Gifts for the queen
The characters
we had seen on horses were playing the roles of Queen Emma (you remember from
yesterday she was the wife of King Kamehemeha IV) and her entourage. As we arrived on the scene, this group had
been seated under a huge canopy, and Hawaiians from all over the state dressed
in period costumes were ceremoniously approaching the queen with gifts. We sat mesmerized by the proceedings. Group after group of singers and dancers
performed for the much beloved queen, who obviously has the respect and love of
the people of Hawaii.
Singers
The songs were
sung in the native language of Hawaii, and at least two of them were performed
by the songwriters themselves. Just when
the beauty of this island had distracted us from any interest in the culture of
its people, suddenly we were immersed in the culture of Hawaii. For two hours or so, we sat and watched,
amazed at what we were seeing. We both
agreed that our experiences in Hawaii have surely peaked on this day. We spoke with a couple of the singers after
the ceremonies, one of whom had traveled from Nashville to perform. They were obviously very proud of the culture
of their ancestors, and excited to be able to carry on this annual tradition.
Dancers
Afterwards, we
toured the arts and crafts section that had been set up, and at the urging of
one of the locals, Charlie tried a cup of the homemade macadamia nut crunch ice
cream. It doesn’t get any better than
this.
Charlie and Tricia
©2013
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