Havaiki Oceanic and Tribal Art Gallery - Hanalei Tuesday - Day 5 (part 2) Before moving on down the highway, we visited a few of the nearby shops. I particularly enjoyed the Havaiki Oceanic and Tribal Art Gallery in Hanalei, which seemed more like a museum than a gift shop.
We continued on the highway with a few stops at scenic spots, on our way to Maniniholo Dry Cave where we parked at Haena Beach Park across the street. The cave has a large entrance and goes back around a corner about 150 feet. The "dry cave" actually had a steady amount of water dripping from the roof. Linda had been wanting to try a coconut and there was a vendor in the parking lot selling them for about $9. He took off the top and put in a straw. After we finished the coconut milk, we took it back and he cracked into two halves, giving us spoons cut from the flesh around the nut to scrape out the soft coconut from the inside. While we drank and ate the coconut, I checked out Haena Beach and found that while there were many people there, it was closed to swimming. The surf makes much of the north coast of Kauai unsafe for swiming in winter months.
As we approached Hanalei again from the west, we discovered Waipa Farmers Market which is every Tuesday from 2-7PM. The market had a nice variety of fresh produce, crafts and prepared food. We sampled rambutan, a sweet white fruit covered in a red skin with soft spines. It was OK, but a bite of half of one was enough.
Returning to Kapa'a we took a break at the hotel and freshened up before going to supper at Moamoa Hawaiian Fish House at Sheraton Kauai Coconut Beach Resort. I started with a $24 grilled octopus small plate, which was the best part of the meal. When the server brought our $42 Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi and $46 Cioppino (mussels, clams, lobster, fish, Pernod liquor, saffron and crostini), another dish entirely was sat in front of me. We returned it and the cioppino came out surprisingly fast. Unfortunately none of the mussels in the cioppino had opened in cooking. When I told the server about the mussels, she wanted to bring me tools to pry them open. I explained that their failure to open meant they had probably been dead before cooking and should not be eaten. She said that she would have to ask the manager about that. She returned and said that the chef had said I was correct and they would send out a bowl of mussels. A little later she returned with word that they were out of mussels and brought a small bowl of clams. At the end of the meal she apologized and said that they wouldn't charge me for the clams and that there was no charge for Linda's cocktail. I was a little surprised that the manager never spoke to us.
After a stop at Safeway on our way back to the hotel to purchase a local hot sauce from Hawaiian Chip Company and Koloa Rums. The Raging Volcano Hot Sauce is made from Vinegar, Habanero Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Garlic, Onion, Sugar, Salt, Brown Sugar, and Other Natural Spices. I later noticed that unlike most hot sauces, the bottle says to refrigerate after opening. We returned to the hotel and packed for Wednesday's departure for Maui.
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