Soaring above Kauai

There's something special about getting an aerial view of an island.  It puts into perspective how small this little piece of earth is when it's contrasted with the vastness of the ocean.  

And also brings to mind how small we, as tiny human beings are,
in the bigger scheme of things.

Today we are taking a helicopter tour of the island of Kauai, as we did on the Big Island of Hawaii last January.

We were pleased enough with Blue Hawaiian to re-book with them.  They are professional, polite, and they buckle each passenger in themselves.  

We also like that they give us a video of the tour -- because I have learned that photography is very difficult to achieve through those helicopter windows.  They warn you not to wear white, but even so, there's so much bounce-back (as you'll be able to tell in the photo's here) that a really good shot is hard to come by.  Mr. C says there was a tour that was door-less; but, having been a pilot himself, he's extremely safety conscious; and thus he opted for doors. He might have been nervous about me leaning out too far just to get "that one great photo" ~~ and he would have been correct to be worried about that.  And thus, instead, I have the sun streaming in (thank goodness it was a clear day!), and bouncing around on those bell-curved windows.  

It's breathtaking, truly.  One of the better helicopter rides, in my book.  Most, if not all, the Hawaiian islands have an incomplete island loop ~ meaning you can drive most, but not all the way around.  On Oahu, the road runs out at northern tip of the west shore -- there's a military base there, and the very tip is a nature preserve (this is where the Albatross nest ~~ see the post called Angels and Albatross), so there's no passable road.  

Same on the Big Island; and it's the same on Kauai.  So there's this whole dramatic, wild, rugged coastline that you don't get to see unless you do it by hiking (for days) or by air. Lacking the extra days and hiking gear, we chose the helicopter.

These cliffs are hard to describe.  They are volcanic, of course, and their jagged peaks appear to actually slice open the heavens.  That dramatic green against that blue sky, accented with white clouds ~~ 

~And then plunging down to the rocky shoreline into the blue blue water, accented with white capped waves.  So completely and perfectly beautiful that it made my heart ache.

Waterfalls are abundant on Kauai (remember, it's the Garden Isle); and many are only reachable by many days of hiking.  

Innumerable movies were filmed in various locations on Kauai.  So many that I lost track.  

The pilot zooms us into narrow canyons, so close to those sharp, ragged cliffs that I am sure that we are going to chip off a rotor or two.

But of course we do not, we are perfectly safe.  

But my heart is pounding!

He takes us through beautiful valleys like this one ~

And we fly over the dramatic Waimea Canyon, 

which we drove to earlier today;

Add the occasional dash of red to the brilliant greens and blues, and you've really got something!

Returning, now, to the airport @ Lihue, we pass over the northernmost part of the island, which is home to the Princeville Resort.

We're staying at the Princeville St. Regis ~ which you can see here ~~ it's the white buildings jutting out into the water up on the tippy-top right hand corner of the cove.

Lots of taro fields close by, where all the work is still done by hand.   This is the root from which they make a staple of the Native Hawaiian diet, their starchy paste-y Poi.  If you've never tasted it ~ well, it tastes about as good as it sounds.  

But alas, our time in the air is coming to and end.  This is one excursion that is well worth every copper penny.

I know will carry this sense of awe and unspoiled beauty with me long after we are gone away from this lovely Garden Isle.