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Lahaina Maui / Mon Jan 21

We anchored off shore for this port and took a 10 min tender ride in. 

Lahaina is a small town with a 'beachy' feel. Since we spent 5 days in central Maui on a previous trip, we decided to rent a car this time to explore the north coast of west Maui. 

Starting from Lahaina we took the Honopi'ilani Highway heading north of Lahaina and past Kaanapali. It starts as a state road with 2 lanes but becomes a very twisty road with hairpin turns that narrows to one lane. Shortly after we reached the point where it turned into one lane, we found a turn out and headed back. The one lane was barely wide enough for 1 car and there were no guard rails. The rental car person told us our contract would be invalid if we took this 8 mile portion of road and after being on it for a mile I totally understand why! 
The scenery was breath taking at every turn!















On our way back to Lahaina we stopped by the Kapalua golf resort.

Next we took a short (3+ mile) hike along the Kapalua Coastal Trail. At the ocean's edge, the Coastal Trail runs north from Kapalua Bay Beach, across the sand dunes at Oneloa bay, through the Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua to popular D.T.Fleming Beach Park.










The islands that can be seen in the background of our photos are Lanai, Molokai and Kaho'olawe.

After our scenic drive and hike we headed back to Lahaina to explore Front Street. Once there we stopped for gelato and then strolled past several historical sites such as the Baldwin Home Museum (one of the oldest buildings) and the Pioneer Inn (where numerous Hollywood films have been shot). 

We also went to Courthouse Square to view the largest Banyan tree in the United States. Spanning 1.94 acres (over the length of a city block) and rising more than 60 feet in the air, the tree is a quarter of a mile in circumference and possesses 16 trunks, making it the largest banyan tree not only in Hawaii but also in the United States (and one of the most massive in the world).


After spending about 6 hours on the island, we returned to the ship and later saw a pretty sunset from our verandah.
We have two more sea days then our next stop is Fanning Island, Republic of Kiribati.

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