"My Idea of a Paradise" a Kauai Travel Page by goshawk301

If you are at all receptive to the beauty of the place and people and history, and if you are coming to Kaua'i expecting to have a mellow, restful vacation, you will be making a mistake. For this island powerfully stirs up your senses and sets your imagination aflame.

Here in Kauai, the great geological force that built up the volcanic island is no longer active; it is taken over by other forces of nature - of water, a prodigious amount of which falls on the island, grooving stupendous deep canyons into flanks of a once mighty shield volcano and nourishing life; and life itself that abundantly covers the island with lush forests.

The beauty of nature here is almost overwhelming, and it evokes powerful feelings, from a scare on a sketchy trail along a cliff of the Na Pali Coast, to a complete relaxation in the mellowest turquoise lagoon of Salt Pond Beach. You can really feel the force of nature, and life.

As a repeat visitor to the islands, I have always felt that Hawaii's greatest assets are her people. Start with the native Hawaiians - although their history is a melancholy one of a nation that didn't quite make it as an independent country, their culture and spirit is alive and vital. I admire their heritage - and their pride in their heritage.

Yet I find it equally stirring to hear stories of immigrants who came to this remote island and made good. From Scotland; from Germany; from China; from Spain and Portugal; and especially from my country Japan. When I think about those people, who left rural villages of the southwest Japan and crossed the big Pacific Ocean to come to a new land and new life, when I think about their courage, imagination, and hard work, once again I feel strongly inspired.