My last major feat before leaving the garden island Kaua’i was to walk a part of the famous Kalalau trail along the Napali-Coast. It is the most beautiful stretch of Kaua’i and the weather was a pleasure as well. Since I had walked in a couple of days before already and to avoid to be too much in the sun, I ran the first 7.5 miles more or less in, until I could see the really nice part of it, then I had my lunch break. After that, I turned around and walked slowly back out, since my knee had decided to take offense against the trailrunning on the soft and still muddy ground. And this was, when the actual fun began. For one thing, this part of the island is so remote, that even though you actually need a permit to walk on the trail, noone bothers, since there will be nearly no controls. Apart from that, this is so remote, that you can actually stay in the wilderness (only marred by the couple of hundred helicopters per day which show your home to tourists from a safe distance). And last, there used to be an ancient spiritual place for the Hawaiians. On the whole, you can imagine the kind of people hat gets attracted to a place like that: Weirdoes, esoterics, homeless, travellers from all over the place (those being the only ones with a permit). And funny enough: Nudists. In a nation, where breast feeding is bordering on pornography, being naked is a statement of independence. And while I did only meet the odd couple with bow and arrows strung to their backpacks, I also met a couple of girls with flowers in their hair, who decorated the trail with flower arrangements. Also of course I met the five chinese boys with a tent under one arm and a shopping bag in the other. They had apparently survived, because I had seen them walking in three days before in the same style. Shortly before dawn. So for the actual scene on entering Kalalau Valley I have to rely on the report of my friend Frances, who delivered it while crying with mirth: The different groups seem to enjoy the place all in their own style. The esoterics sit in circles and meditate ostentatively, while moving their bodies in a waving motion. The tourist swim. The nudists also, but they do this naked and sit in the sun afterwards. One of them was actually sunbathing while lying on his back, his feet sticking right up in the air, his bare privates facing the oncoming tourist boats and helicopters. A girl washed her hands while standing with her feet wide apart and bending over completely right in front of the picknicking travellers. Her bum and all attached parts all the while in bright display. I couldn’t believe it, but she was constantly laughing. And then I met Jerome and Alex, the latter being from Austria. A self proclaimed healer on top of it. Since we talked first in English, then in German, I at first didn’t realise, how weird he was. So before I could help it, I had a conversation going on about Atlantis, the Lemures, how they could access the energy of the earth and how they lived with their hearts and without war, but then a war broke out (?) and they exstinguished each other and before that they built the pyramids, which we still couldn’t built ourselves, even with all our technical knowledge. And also he can so feel the energy that emanates from Kalalau bay, that he will go there tomorrow and feel it. After knowing what I did about that place from Frances, I thought, he might just fit in there…. There were others, but it is just too much to tell. I am always astonished at the sheer amount of different ways to look at life and reality. So after all, Hawaii didn’t make me happy as those other places I went to so far. But it gave me a lot of good reasons to laugh.