Swimming in a sea cave.

You have to earn Maui's hidden treasures. You have to live here, make friends here, listen, watch, and spend time wandering lost in the jungle.  You have to be open to seeing the world with new eyes, open to saying yes instead of no, and ready to guard the hidden treasure you've been entrusted with.  Most of all you have to be patient because the treasures won't let you find them until you're ready for them.

Sweaty, scratchy, narrow jungle path.  The best kind.

Hiking across the top of an open ridge.

Fun, steep path to the rocky shoreline with ropes to assist.

The final reward. Deep, clear water and a cave worth swimming into.

Insectopia

One of the coolest things about life on Maui is the insects. This Huntsman spider stopped by for a visit last night.  I let out a little scream when my fingers brushed his body while opening the microwave door.

When it became clear he did not want to share the microwave, we had a little chat about his visit, and I squeamishly escorted him out the door with a large tupperware container.

In the short time I've lived in my new place I've had two Huntsman spiders, a cane spider, two dead scorpions, three live centipedes, four dead centipedes, and countless cockroaches.  Somewhere around year two of my Maui adventure I decided living with insects is better if you just go with it.

Spam musubi

Spam. Rice. Seaweed. Best when foraged from under a heat lamp at a gas station late in the day.