Читать книгу Oahu Trails. Walks Strolls and Treks on the Capital Island онлайн

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Introduction

“The Surprising Isle”—that’s what I’d call Oahu. Or perhaps “The Contradictory Isle.” Sprawled across the southeast corner of Oahu is Honolulu, a spaghetti-like tangle of traffic-jammed streets reminiscent of any mainland metropolitan downtown area. Honolulu is about commerce, not about pleasure! Its Waikiki district is a maze of crowd-choked streets deep in the canyons formed by one sky-scraping hotel after another. (Yes, there is still a beach in there—see ssss1.) Almost half the population of the state of Hawaii weighs down this one corner of Oahu.

Yet even in the midst of that urban turmoil, you’ll find quiet walks along canals and through gardens. Inland toward the mountains behind the city, within a few blocks of all its busy-ness, there are miles of fine hiking trails that offer pure delight.

And there is much more to Oahu than Honolulu. Driving along the northeast (windward) side of Oahu and its North Shore, you enjoy breathtaking views of knife-edge cliffs inland, their vertical drop thinly disguised by thick green vegetation here, exposed as stark gray stone there. Seaward, one magnificent beach or bay follows another for mile after mile, the sweep of the coast only occasionally interrupted by a tiny community. Some of the world’s most famous surfing spots are here: the Banzai Pipeline, Waimea, Sunset Beach…. During the warm season, gray veils of rain sweep across the land from time to time; this is the rainy side. During the winter, storms pound the North Shore, raising killer waves and even closing the highway. Except for the towns of Kailua and Kaneohe, this side of Oahu seems almost empty. Hiking trails beckon you to explore the inland rainforest. Miles-long stretches of lightly used beaches with sand as fine as powder invite you to sun, stroll, and swim.