Makawao, HI

Makawao, HI

Thursday, 15. August 2013

Despite having a substantial collection of all things American in the car, we managed to pack only what we really needed.

In Honolulu/Oahu, our first stop in Hawaii, we stayed at Allon & Cat’s, who we connected with through CouchSurfing. They introduced us to all the Hawaiian delicacies and showed us the positive side-effects of living on an island near the Equator: super sweet tropical fruit, the sea and a pleasant climate where the temperature never gets below 20 °C. (However, for Louise it took a day to acclimatise) They also took us body boarding and surfing. Body Boarding is the prequel to surfing, using a smaller board. You lay on your stomach on the board, trying to catch the wave and glide on it back to the beach.

There are three studios and a University on Oahu, where they work with Hot Glass. Only at Tonga Glass in Kailua do they currently have the furnace running, the others use the summer break for studio repairs and refurbishments.

After we had put together a plan for the rest of the month, we moved on to our first job at Makai Glass Creations in Makawao/Maui. We were kindly collected from the airport by Randy, one of the owners, who showed us around the studio that evening which is a former pineapple factory.  Before we got going properly we met the entire ‘glass team’ at their regular Sunday beach volleyball meeting. It’s a wonderfully diverse group from all over the States and no-one is over 40. (from Editorial: age discrimination!) They are led by Randy and Justin, who specialise in the subjects of water, earth and volcanoes. These subjects inspire them to create a range of glass sculptures which they sell to tourists. They are sold in galleries and on the beach, with the seller sometimes even sporting swimming trunks!  Over the last three days, tortoises and Hawaiian trees have come to life from the glass pipes and we have been giving a helping hand.

Two things we specifically had to learn while here: it gets dark by 8pm and a route home can be very long, as there seems never to be a direct path, only a long-winded diversion.