Exploring Moloka’i

 Yesterday we spent the day exploring the island of Moloka’i.  

We drove the coast-hugging narrow road all the way to the other end of the island.

In the way we passed the two remaining churches of the seven built on the island by Father Damien during his sixteen years on the island.  Though his work was with the isolated leper colony across the mountains on the north shore of the island, he made sure that all of the islanders had access to a place of worship.  These two are still functional.

The narrow road had little pull-off places so you could get past any vehicle that happened to be coming the other way.  Several times we had to wiggle our way past pickups and cars.

Across the channel we could see the south end of the island of Oahu.  We kept imagining what Oahu was like when it was as unsettled as Moloka’i.  It is clear that people here do not want this island to be developed.  We even saw one hand-made roadside sign that said, “Aloha does not mean that you can move here!”  We, though, have found the people very welcoming.

We ended our day having dinner at the one hotel on the island, the Hotel Moloka’i.  We ate right at the edge of the water watching the sunset.  It was a beautiful overall day.