Hawaii Diary 2000
Part 14: Molokai for a Day with Paragon Air and Molokai Offroad Tours and Taxi
Eileen and I, like many visitors to Hawaii, had never been to Molokai. Before we begin we need to really thank Heidi Scoggins of Klahani Travel in Lahaina, Maui for arranging this trip for us. We also need to thank Paragon Air and especially Timothy Poaipuni of Molokai Offroad Tours and Taxi for being our guide to Molokai.
Paragon Air is a non-scheduled airline that handles tours and special charters between the various Hawaiian Islands. The planes are small, no question about that. In reality, however, the flight to Molokai was amazingly smooth and the views were unlike any we have seen in Hawaii before.
Photo by John Fischer
It only takes about eighteen minutes to reach the airport on Molokai, but those eighteen minutes are so full of amazing views. You actually fly right over the Kalapapa Peninsula, where Father Damien devoted the latter years of his life serving those who suffered from Hansen's Disease, formerly known as leprosy.
Molokai is alternately called "The Friendly Island" and also "The Most Hawaiian Island". It is both. Our tour Guide Timothy was 100% Hawaiian. He has been showing folks around Molokai for ten years and his knowledge of the island is amazing, almost as amazing as his knowledge of Hawaiian history and culture. Timothy described his manner of giving a tour as "talking story" which was exactly how he presented much of the tour.
It is impossible to see all of an island in one day, but Timothy was able to show us a lot in what amounted to about seven hours on the ground. While there is much of Molokai that we will return to see in much more detail in the future, we had a great introduction today.
It's impossible to share all that we saw in this brief diary entry. We will be doing several in depth features on Molokai in the future.
Next Page > West Molokai and Papohaku Beach > Page 1, 2, 3, 4
