Tropical River Cruisin' and Fern Grotto - Kauai, HI

         I'm sitting in the bus this morning barely hanging on. I've had maybe 4 hours of sleep the night before and had to be up at 6:00am to get ready to catch the bus to go to the Wailua River cruise. I'm sitting in the back of the bus to avoid conversation with anyone else because I just don't have the energy. What was a 20 minute bus ride felt like an hour one when we finally pulled up to the dock on the Wailua River.

           The Wailua River is the widest river in Kauai and I'm going to take a boat to the Fern Grotto. The Fern Grotto is suppose to have a large preserve of Flora and Fuana that is exclusive to the island. I get off the bus and get in the line and eventually get into the boat. The boat had several large wooden benches for people to sit on so I made sure I chose to sit on one that was on the edge that faced the river.

           As we pulled out of the dock, it started to rain. Not an unusual circumstance being in Hawaii. Especially since Kauai is the most wet place on earth so the rain didn't phase me too much. We cruised down the River and enjoyed the constantly changing landscapes. I almost felt like I was going down a Jurassic Park ride and half expected a T-Rex to come out and start chasing us.

           While we were going down the River, the "captain" was giving us a little information on the area. He pointed out these flowers that we're growing on the bank of the River. They have a 24 hour life span and when they first bloom, they are a yellow color. As the day progresses, they turn a orange color and then before they die, the turn a dark red. The whole processes happens in a day and as we rode along, we could see the flowers in both their yellow, orange and red states.

            Before we knew it, about 30 minutes had passed and we reached the Fern Grotto. They had grass and wood huts for a dock and looked almost like a primitive ancient Hawaiian structure. We docked and were greeted by some very beautiful, young Hawaiian girls in flower dresses. I exited the boat and they greeted us with a "Aloha" and showed us the way to the trail which led us to the grotto. 

             I walked into a lush, dark green jungle which had a concrete trail to lead the way. The jungle was thick and had a variety of trees and bamboo which dripped water onto my head as I walked through. 

             I finally made it to the grotto which was a waterfall that had ferns that grew from the moist rock and hung from them. The state had made a wooden platform so spectators could get close and take photos. On the platform was a group of musicians performing Hawaiian songs for us as we arrived. I took some photos and while I was doing so, the guitarist made an announcement. He told us to make room not he platform as they were going to play the Hawaiian wedding song while a woman danced hula to it.

            They began and an elagnt Hawaiian woman came out and began dancing to the musicians who also sang. The dance was gentle, romantic and fascinating to watch. I managed to capture a short clip of the dance. The aloha spirit on the islands are just that. And it seems like it doesn't matter what island I go to, that spirit is in its ecology, it's art and also it's love.       -DB