My flight was at 6 a.m. to Molokai so I knew I needed to get up by 4 in order to be there an hour before. It really wasn’t all that difficult to get up that early because my sleeping schedule still has not gotten back to Hawaiian Time.

Has arrived at the commuter terminal I was given a boarding pass which looked more like a receipt printed on receipt paper rather than the cardboard type of boarding passes. There was already a moderately long blonde for the TSA checkpoint but after the line opened it moved really quickly. Looking back on it I figure I probably could have waited a good 30 minutes before actually getting to the airport but I wanted to be sure to catch my flight.

When it was time to depart the mokulele airlines Personnel lined us up in two rows. There were five passengers including myself on the flight Plus two pilots. The plane itself could hold 10 passengers. After a moderately long time waiting on the runway we finally took off. Our flight was around 40 minutes. We arrived at the Molokai Airport. I found my way to the Alamo rental counter outside near the parking lot. As it turns out one of the passengers who had flown on the same flight as me was there too. He explained to the rental car agents that he was there to look at an elementary school’s fire extinguishers. I figured he flu there a lot because he also knew the Pilot’s name when it was time to take off.

I got a white Hyundai 4 door car. I had a bit of trouble finding it but once I found it I was on my way. I stopped by a little town on the way to the middle Stables to try to find a breakfast meal. Unfortunately the place that I had planned on eating at was closed for renovation and only their gift shop was open. I bought my obligatory bottled water to use on the way down the mule ride. I stopped by a public park and use the restroom and took a few pictures.

I figured now would be a good time to head toward the mule Stables. Thankfully they were other people already there at the mule Stables before I got there. I had worried that due to the poor service of the people taking down my name and information that I would not be given a mule ride. In the past month I’ve had to call them 3 times to confirm my reservation. In each of those three times I had to give the lady the same information over and over again. I’m not particularly thrilled with their customer service.

I seem to be the youngest person taking a mule ride as all the other people seem to be in their fifties and sixties. We had people from the Big Island, California, and Indiana. They matched us up with mules that would be a good match for our height and weight. My black mule was called “long stick” in Hawaiian.

Along the trail there are 26 switchbacks. He can be a bit daunting to begin with even though you or hanging on to the mule at times. My legs and thighs took the brunt of the grasping has the mules sure-footed down the trail. I really wanted to get a GoPro video of the trip down but my GoPro seem to not be working. I later changed out the card and the battery which seem to fix it. Along the way I took pictures of the Peninsula which would be visiting. It seemed way far down.

After about 90 minutes of trail riding we got to the bottom. We met are very enthusiastic Damien tour guide who explained to us a little history about the place as we waited for others to come. It seems that some of the younger folks and our tour decided to hike down and thereby they would probably be hiking back up. This is something that I couldn’t fathom doing as I was tired after the tour.  One of the girls was very much out of breath on the way down.  I wondered how she was going to make it back up.

We all piled into the school bus and he took us to our first stop. It was the equivalent of a convenience store. I decided not to get anything cause I feel like the drinks and snacks were a bit overpriced. The older ladies who are running the store also made Koozies for drinks for $5 and beanies for $10. Again a bit overpriced.

I have seen this before.  Whether on a trip to the Great Wall when your taxi driver stops at a particular restaurant coming back….or on a bus tour of Stonehenge and Bath, England…and stopping for lunch at a particular fish and chips place.  There’s strong suspicion that the tour company is getting kickbacks from the restaurant.  I’m not saying its happening here in Kalaupapa, but I suspect the tour company operator is mindful of the shop owners’ plight and therefore is throwing some business her way.  I think this because there was a grocery story which we as a tour group was not allowed to go into.  Maybe because there could be a chance there might be a (former) leprosy patient there.  Or maybe the prices are much less than the convenience store we stopped at.  Regardless I’ll never know.

Next was a stop at a bookstore.  I was thinking this was becoming a trend.  Buy our snacks and sodas.  Buy our books.  But where was the story of Father Damien?  To the tour operator’s justification there was a former leprosy patient – “Boogie” there to sign books as he was featured in one of the books.  He was old and I’m not sure if he was quickest on the cash register.

As a side note, if you go to the Damien Tours website, it strictly forbids taking photos of any former leprosy patients or their property, unless you have written permission from the said individual.  Boogie, a former leprosy patient gave no one in our group written permission, unless signing books was his form of permission.  The only time which anything was said about not taking photos was when we drove by the hospital, when our tour guide said some folks did not like their photos being taken.

Next was a church in town that Father Damien help build/establish.  It was a small church with nothing particularly special about it.  A few statues of saints.  The tour guide gave a brief history of the church and made a profound statement.  He said “I’m not Catholic, I’m Christian.”  I’m not sure if he meant to be offensive to Catholics on the tour, but I found it profound in my own little way.  And maybe I was the only one on the tour who thought this way.

We made our way to the US Post Office to mail postcards.  The post office is open until 12:15PM, maybe to accommodate the tour group, or maybe because no one in Kalaupapa has anything to mail.

Twice on the tour we passed by a church group described as cleaning up the park…i.e. restoring the graves, etc.  Did you know you can come to Kalaupapa and work for a week as a volunteer?  Contact the park rangers for information….Something I thought about for a hot minute, but figure I could do more good for less money at a church camp I volunteer at.

Next we drove deep into a wooded area.  Our tour guide pointed out that this was teaming with ancient artifacts as this was the place early Hawaiian had lived….even in the area of the extinct volcano.  He also pointed out that this was an area where human sacrifices could have occurred.

We drove past the protestant church and Catholic church where Father Damien is buried.  At this point we weren’t going to stop.  Instead we drove to an area with picnic tables where we were going to have lunch. But lunch would wait for us to take a photograph at one of the most iconic areas in Hawaii with lush forested area with a teardrop shaped island nearby.  I see this area in Hawaiian calendars all the time.  It was great to be able to see it in person.  Our tour guide played his ukulele and sang a song one of the residents wrote about the island.

The mule ride tour company provided us with snacks, while others in our group had their own.  There were two extra lunches which the mule company had made and the tour guide gave it to a couple of guys who did not have a lunch.

Next was onto the churches which we had passed.  We drove up to the church where Father Damien’s hand was buried.  A cat hung around the church waiting on the catfood the tour guide had brought with him. I had hoped to hear the long story about Father Damien, but this was not the case.  It was a short photo op and then walking up to the protestant church to ring the church bell.

Next was on to a burial place for one of the nuns which worked on the island.  We heard a brief story about how this nun had predicted that none of her sisters would get leprosy.  Also this nun had to be excavated and taken back to her convent in Pennsylvania, but since she had osteoporosis, they could not get all of her bones.  The tour guide pointed out that the residents rejoiced when they found out part of her bones were still buried here.  I think this might be a Catholic thing…that is to find solace that old relics of past nuns and priests’ body parts are buried in a particular grave yard.  Why can’t believers rejoice just by remembering their religious leader, rather than looking for tangible object to (almost) worship?

Next we drove to the airport and saw the area’s lighthouse along the way.  The tour guide reported the light house had been automated in the 1960s.   He also stated that he stays in a house near the base of the light house.

The Kalaupapa airport is a general aviation airport which was not staffed, nor had any TSA agents along the way.  We used the restrooms and got some water and left those who were flying back up to topside Molokai.

We got back to the mule stable and said our goodbyes to our tour operator while he gave us his card promoting his music on iTunes.

The ride back up with much easier than the ride down.  The mules are on sure footing going up.  By contrast going down put their weight on unnatural positions and are likely to slip.  My mule slipped at least once coming up.

We let our mules rest along the way.  I could tell they were tired as sweat was coming off of their heads and necks and they seemed out breath.  We saw a handful of hikers along the way who were originally with our tour group.  One group of hikers had to make it back in time to catch their flight back at a particular time which had them rushing a little bit.  We made it back up the hills after the 26 switchbacks.  We were given a bumper sticker rather than the promised certificate.  The bumper sticker reads “Wouldn’t you rather be riding a mule on Molokai?”

Next was onto Kanuakakai, which his the heart of Molokai…that is where the restaurants and shops are.  Is also where the ferry comes to bring cars and passengers from Maui.  I stopped by an ice cream shop and got a banana Icee and rested.  I was pretty hot from the mule ride and just needed to cool off. Next it was time to try to find supper.  Things work very slowly in Molokai.  I figured it was best to order early and then do exploring, rather than order late and miss my flight.  In true Jeff fashion I found the nearest (and in this case only) pizza place – Molokai Pizza Café.  I waited at the counter.  The waitress asked if I was eating here or to go.  Since I was eating there, I was told I should just sit at a table and someone would be with me shortly.  “Table!” she loudly remarked at the waitress.  The waitress was an older lady, missing some teeth.  You should tell she probably had lived a rough life and was just making it at the pizza place.  I ordered a glass of water which I immediately drank.  I then ordered a small sausage pizza.  When it came out it was much larger than I expected, but I was able to eat it.

Next I drove around Kanuakakai and took some photos of their business district.  I was wary of leaving my car (locked) but unattended as I had been told rental cards are a magnet for thieves.  But luckily nothing happened.

I then drove around some more and found an (almost) deserted beach.  The trade winds were blowing hard which made for a nice breeze to cool me off.  It was at this point I noticed the sole of my shoe had come loose.  I could attack this one of two ways – I could try to repair it using whatever Brad and Rebecca had at their house….or I could buy new hiking shoes in between tomorrow and Thursday night…the night of the lava tour.  I did message Rebecca to ask if they had anything, which she said she would check.

At the airport I returned my rental car and walked back to the terminal.  Surprisingly I was told there was no boarding pass, nor security for this flight.  I waited around writing this blog post via Google voice to text before being called to board the plane.  It was only me and one other passenger.

I do believe that “Auntie” must be the equivalent to “Honey” or “Sweetie” on the mainland.  The airline workers made note to call the fellow passenger “Auntie, that’s the wrong plane,” when she tried to board a plane bound for Maui.

I managed to get some selfies with the plane and a video of me going into the plane with my Gopro (something I should have done this morning).

Tomorrow I’ll be flying out to Kauai, exploring a canyon and hopefully finding some hiking shoes.