Daredevils in Maui
Jared has always been a bit of a daredevil. As a teen, he and his friends would do some ‘Jack-Ass’ style stunts, skateboard off roofs and just about anything else that would give a mother nightmares. I, on the other hand, have never broken a bone in my body and tend to play it safe. We’ve been married for almost 10 years now and after a while, we started to rub off on each other. He became a bit more cautious and I, a bit more daring.
During out second trip to Maui, we wanted to see and do a few things that we hadn’t seen and done during or first trip. We did the road to Hana before but didn’t make any stops. The road to Hana winds up a mountain through Maui’s lush rainforest. This is the only way into Hana unless you take a flight into town. Along the way, there are marked spots to stop at and also some secret unmarked areas to sneak into. This trip we wanted to take lasted all day and we stopped at as many places as we could. We did the bamboo forest, stopped at waterfalls, ate banana bread and coconuts from the road side stands and wandered into a few hiking paths. When we finally made it to the national park, at the top we stopped to wander around some more. Maui is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. It is everything you hope a Hawaiian island would be. As we wandered around in awe, we followed a marked, short path to a little cave with fresh spring water.
This area attracts a lot of tourists stopping for a break after the long winding road. Most people walked the path, stopped by the cave and read the beautiful story of a Hawaiian princess posted nearby. Then a man jumped in! Jared looked at me with wild eyes and immediately took off his shirt and shoes and followed him in. The water was so clear and equally cold! Jared popped out of the water with a yelp and told me to jump in with him. I hesitated for a moment then mustered enough courage to brave the icy water. The man that jumped in first had lived on the island for 25 years and had agreed to take a couple on a day tour. He was showing them all the secret spots that the locals know but keep hidden from the tourists. The couple did not jump in but they did invite us along for the rest of their private tour.
The next stop was Venus Pool. We pulled off the road and parked right behind their car. If we hadn’t had a guide, we wouldn’t have ever found this spot. All five of us crawled through a fence and followed a narrow path down to a clearing that opened up to show Venus Pool. We were standing on a rock that was 30 feet high while the guide told us the depth of the pool was just as deep and was safe to jump from. Again the man went in first and Jared’s eyes grew wider while my knees were buckling at the thought of jumping. Once again, Jared was in his swimsuit and ready to take the leap in. The water was clear and blue and Jared was yelling “JUMP! JUMP BABE!” from below. My heart was racing, my ears were ringing and the video from our Go-Pro will show that it took me a good 5 minutes of Jared yelling before I could convince myself to jump off that rock. Finally I did it! I jumped off that rock into a gorgeous pool in beautiful Maui. The water as so warm and clear and we swam around for hours. That day Jared jumped another 3 times. Once was enough for me.