Surfing the Americas with Makaha and Kalani: 2011

Once again the waves were small and it was time to explore Oahu and find other ways to have fun:

Sunset beach

Watching the stunning sunsets in Hawaii everyday was part of our routine and also a time to reflection.

Dad and Mom had the chance to train Jiu-Jitsu with a great Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team in Sunset Beach under the supervision of head Instructor Jeff "J.D." Donner.

George & Ana at Sunset Beach Jiu-Jitsu - photo by Maliaa M.

We also went to visit the Waimea Valley, a sacred place of Native Hawaiian history.

Botanical Collection contains more than 5,000 kinds of tropical and subtropical plants including native and endangered Hawaiian plants.

KO: Sugar Cane

Nipple Fruit

Jack Fruit

Hawaiian Games

HALE: House

Making POI in a traditional way.

Peacock

Hawaii is fascinating!

Aloha!

The place we stayed in Hawaii is a very short distance from the most famous waves of the world. The place is called Plantation Village, in Sunset Beach, and used to belong to the legendary surfer Mark Foo.

Plantation Village

Sunset Beach

During the Winter months Sunset Beach is one of the best places for surfing with waves often between 15 and 20 feet high making it perfect for surfing competitions. But, even though Winter was close, no big waves, in fact, they were too small!

So we could enjoy the warm water and swim all day long.

Even though the waves were small, Dad went for surfing...

...and Mommy too.

While we watched the Sunset in Sunset beach :-)

With no waves for few days, we had time to take a ride and explore a bit of the Island.

The island of Oahu was formed by two volcanoes, the Waianae Volcano in the west and the Koolau Volcano in the east. The Waianae Volcano formed the western third of Oahu and the Koolau Volcano formed the eastern two thirds of the island.

TV show LOST filming set locations at the North Shore:

LOST TV show set locations

In Laniakea we had the chance to see marine turtles up close. Hawaiian green turtles - Honu - crawl ashore daily to bask. To ensure the turtles are not bothered, volunteers at Laniakea use red rope to mark off a "no-go" zone, and place signs to keep visitors informed.

RESPECT the Turtles!

Honu - Hawaiian green sea turtles

After a great day filled with adventure, nothing better than enjoy a rainbow shave ice.

No trip to Hawaii is complete...

... without tasting Shave Ice!

Few days later and the waves started picking up...

George, our Dad, surfing Gas Chambers

Shorebreaks and rip currents are very dangerous in most of Oahu's beaches if you are beginner! Our Mom and Dad always check out the beach and waves conditions and warnings on-line, and sometimes even talking to the lifeguards, before going out for surfing. Our parents can surf such waves, but we are just beginners, so they decided to search for a beach where the waves would be gentle and the ocean calm, thus we'd have lots of fun! And we did!! We found the perfect spot for us: Malaekahana Beach!