Discovering Aloha

Ever since, I have tried to visit Hawai'i as often as I could. It is a short hop from San Francisco, a mere six or five hours (depending on the direction) and here everything is so expensive that a vacation in Hawai'i is really not out of the question.

I have gone back four times. Three times visiting Maui, once Kauai. And every time I think of the islands, the hardships of my life in the States becomes acceptable. Each island has its own flair, but all of them speak the same language of aloha, and in their collective love they engulf me, who is a bit lonely now.

When you fall in love, you rarely know why. It's as if the fountain that is gushing within you kills all reason, as if by knowing what you love deeply, by understanding it, you'd chase the mystery away and be left with knowledge without heart.

Not so with my love for Hawai'i, for I can say with words what I love about them, without losing any of my passion. It is as if the magic that attracts me is final, tied to my destiny like the color of my eyes, or the charming habits that drive my friends mad.

The weather, of course, is the first thing most people associate with the islands. A gentle breeze from the North-East constantly wafts over the islands dispensing temperature that are temperate all year round. Without the trade winds, as they happen to be called, it would be warm and sticky - just like in Southern Florida or Cuba. It is a bit warmer in the summer, a bit cooler in the winter; a bit sunnier in July, a little rainer in January. All in all, though, it is paradise. You'll find yourself happy no matter if you are running away from the heat or from the cold; and indeed, Hawai'i has its tourist seasons in the winter and in the summer.

I care a lot about the weather, but more still about the natural environment. Hawai'i is isolated and a biosphere on its own - with plenty different climates, valleys that are the only places you'll find a particular bird or plant. You'll find rugged coastlines, freshly born out of cooled magma, weathering in the surf the instant they froze. You'll find long beaches, secluded beaches; red, green, black, white beaches; crowded pockets with hippies and empty half-moons where you can spend days watching whales call their songs.

And then again, you can visit any island in the South Pacific and get similar beauty. But to make me endure an interminable immigration process, you'll have to show me a strong community with a love for honesty, industriousness, care and compassion. And the unique blend of cultures you can witness on the islands is worth any wait, any visit. It is as if the best traits of the Chinese, the Japanese, the Portuguese, the Filipino and the Caucasian cultures all had shed their ugly sides in the mirror of aloha, the friendliness with which people in Hawai'i treat each other.