Maui Scenes, Part One (Introduction); May 2018
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Maui is, justifiably, extremely popular. Its climate is fabulous; its beaches are fabulous; its sky scenes are fabulous; its sunsets are fabulous. Its resident attitude is, at least theoretically, fabulous: laid back. Maui is, for most North Americans, exotic in atmosphere and attitude. Warm when parts of North America are locked in winter or lingering snow, or are looking forward to the cold, dark rains of late Fall. Laid back - at least for visitors - when most of North America is striving morning to night trying to make a living or trying at least to earn enough money to fly to Maui.
Extreme popularity has its downsides, and when extreme popularity intersects with exclusivity, Maui life can suffer. The superheated and unfortunate aspects result from Maui's placement in the Pacific: a long way from the real world but close enough for pretty cheap travel. It is thus both a remarkable and a relatively affordable place to visit. Idyllic old Maui, with sugar cane, Matson liners, and cattle ranches is pretty well gone. Agricultural fields lie fallow at best and beneath burgeoning condo developments at worst. Gated communities and golf courses offer a form of artificial exclusivity, at the expense of real locals. Traffic is growing; rental fleets are growing; air traffic is growing; the thok-thok of tour helicopters is growing. Don't try walking on Lahaina's sidewalks.
That said, Maui delivers. It is iconic for what it still offers travelers; idyllic beach scenes straight out of "South Pacific" (yes, I know it was filmed on Kauai); calming ocean views (even on wind-blown days); fine, dramatic sunsets five or six nights a week; vast, inspiring skies filled with towering clouds; stylish palms, fronds clacking in the wind. Lying on a beach - any beach - or on a lawn chair - any lawn chair, or curled with a book - any book, or riding on roads with pretty good shoulders. It is, for most North Americans, the Great Escape. It is still idyllic.
Maui, the Intro. Here are a few pictures depicting the idyllic. More to come.
The palette of water entices at Makena Beach.
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Clouds tower over Molokini.
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West Maui's ridges fade as the sun declines.
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A palm at sunset on a calm evening waves its fronds with restraint, a placid and graceful hula.
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The setting sun hovers above the horizon under splayed clouds.
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After a lifetime of mainly expressing myself with words, my postings here will mainly rely on images. They will speak for themselves to some extent, but I'll usually add a few comments of explanation. I've taken photographs for decades, since the 1950's, inspired in part by my father's photographic skill. Four years of photo assignments and quality darkroom time eventually gave way to decades of casual and family picture-taking. I re-immersed myself when I left film and turned to digital.