words from the world

Visiting Hawaii, it's a little bit like achieving a dream. This archipelago of the Pacific Ocean brings back so many things which engraved my subconscious that going there stroke like an obviousness. Surfing, walking on a desert beach of the Pacific or marveling in front of a volcano are some activities I never enjoyed before this long trip and for which a certain attraction emerged. Premeditation, subconscious desire or undisclosed intentions, Hawaii gathers all of that and even a little bit more.
At the Honolulu airport, I wait for some long minutes in front of the carousel looking for my rucksack which won't come. It remained in Fiji where I was in transit for several hours. Nothing really serious, I will find it 2 days later in a perfect condition. I go through the customs and go out the arrival hall. I immediately make out my Thai friend Cho who settled here 5 years ago and I haven't meet since then. We attempt to sum up the past time in a few sentences and we leave for building new memories by visiting the east coast of the Oahu island. The road goes along the indented coastline where convenient car parks allow us to stop and enjoy the view. Some magnificent sand crescents soften the disjointed outlines of the coast. Among the discoveries of the island, we stop at two of the most beautiful beaches: Lanikai and Kailua.









The next day, the working week starts again for Cho and I'm going to appreciate a tasty cocktail made of solo discoveries during the day and guided visits in the end of the afternoon and in the evening. I get to the Waikiki mythical beach where a flock of holidaymakers contemplate the surfers who glide on the long breaking waves. Waikiki doesn't come down to a mere strip of sand where each one defends his square meter of towel at high cost, it's a district of Honolulu which concentrates the main part of the tourist life. Restaurants, hotels, souvenirs stalls and surf shops succeed one another in chaotic order. A pedestrian promenade runs alongside the ocean and goes by the Duke Kahanamoku's statue, local legend who was Olympic champion in swimming at the beginning of the century before traveling the world to introduce the surfing to the West. I rent a surf board to carry on my slow increase started in Bali. As on the beach, there are lines in the foam to take the good wave.







The bus network is really convenient since with only 2$, we can go wherever we want on the island. I'm heading for Sunset beach located on the North Shore, 2h away from Honolulu. This beach welcome a round of the surfing world cup every year. To be more precise, the place is called Banzaï Pipeline and stands in the middle of Sunset beach. When the winter comes, that's here the size of the waves are the most important. Colossal rollers that intrepid surfers take. I wisely stay sitting on the beach, aware that I'm still far from the level. And when the evening arrives, I meet again my friend with the same pleasure, he brings me to restaurants far from the tourists and we share some good time of the life and memorable laughters. This week ran far too fast and I already leave for another island, Kauai where I have an appointment with a legendary trek, the Kalalau trail. As for Cho, we'll see on Big Island we'll visit together.