Just as the queasiness in my stomach from the continuous onslaught of curves and cutbacks along the narrow uphill road began to subside, we rounded yet another 180-degree bend. The first waterfall with whipped-cream waters dripping down deep-creviced cleavages appeared by the roadside, its beauty washing away all my remaining reservations. It was the first of many such waterfalls we were to encounter.
Such is the road to Hana, which traverses the northern coast of Maui in Hawaii, from the rustic village of Paia to its destination at the eastern tip. While only 52 miles long, this series of twists, turns, dips and dives can take up to three hours to negotiate. But the ever-present views of lush greenery and ocean blues, vistas of rock and white water foaming up over the shores, and waterfalls bubbling over craggy cliffs are well worth the daylong adventure.
The road narrows even further—if such a thing is possible—as the vegetation increases in lushness and hue. I smirked at the sign that read, “Narrow Winding Road Next 30 Miles,” thinking the announcement superfluous until an immediate double hairpin turn attested to its validity. Forests of sugar cane, coconut trees, and pineapple fields abound, and the banyan trees lean forward suggestively as though to beckon you onward.
Still, take time to stop and walk. Sit beneath a banana tree enveloped by giant 6-foot-long leaves. Look out at the wrinkled brown-hued mountains lacerated with ridges created by 2.5 million years of rainfall. Look below to the ocean, so varied in color it seems to contain every shade of blue contained in even the largest box of crayons.
