4:35PM Overcast. 75. Ocean slate gray and calm.
A full vacationing day today. Got up, got dressed and drove to Mango Mama’s. I went there thinking waffles, eggs and bacon, but when I arrived I discovered it was just a step away from vegan. They did have an interesting food, Acai, billed as the Amazon Super-Fruit. So, if I couldn’t have bacon and eggs I chose Acai. This is a berry of some kind and tastes as the guy behind counter put it, “Somewhere between blueberry and blackberry.” He was right. It was tasty. They put it on granola and bananas.
Superfood No. 1: Açaí
Nature’s Energy Fruit
It may seem odd to start this list of superfoods with one you’ve likely never even heard of. But studies have shown that this little berry is one of the most nutritious and powerful foods in the world! Açaí (ah-sigh-ee) is the high-energy berry of a special Amazon palm tree. Harvested in the rainforests of Brazil, açaí tastes like a vibrant blend of berries and chocolate. Hidden within its royal purple pigment is the magic that makes it nature’s perfect energy fruit. Açaí is packed full of antioxidants, amino acids and essential fatty acids. Although açaí may not be available in your local supermarket, you can find it in several health food and gourmet stores (often in juice form). A new product featuring the unsweetened pulp is now also available, and I highly recommend that you choose this form of açaí.
There you go. The guy that wrote this appeared on Oprah. How’s that for authentic?
After Mango Mama’s I slipped down the switchback to the taro farm, then into Hanalei. My destination Lumahai Beach. A website said it was the best beach on Kauai for unusual shells. Doesn’t say much for the rest, I can now tell you after 2 hours beach combing. I did find some good shells, but not many.
The beach itself is wonderful. To reach it I clambered through a forest of Pandanus trees and some sword like plant that left little splinters on my leg, this all while headed precipitously downhill. When I broke out of the forest, I was on a crescent shaped beach with lava extrusions and wild waves. Lifeguards call this Lumadieya beach because of the number of drownings here due to a vicious rip-tide in winter. This is winter.
Next to the crescent shaped beach was a longer, more gently curved beach that ran for over a half a mile. When I arrived, I could see only 4 people. As I began my search for shells, I did stumble, almost, on a naked sun-bather, well-hidden, but still visible when I walked up on him. Later on I saw this same young man, maybe early 20’s, walk down to the ocean, starkers. He appeared to be presenting himself to two bikini clad women who had just walked by. They did not seem impressed.
Immediately after this I went to Limahuli gardens a ways on down the road toward the Na Pali. (Na makes a noun plural in Hawi’ian. Pali is cliff, so this means cliffs.) The tour I took their got me on another topic I’ll write a bit about later.
