The beach in front of our condo was just over a bit of a rise. Here's a photo taken from the rise, looking back at the condo complex. The path in the red dirt runs across what used to be fairways on the now-abandoned golf course.
The sand on the beach itself is very different from the sand I'm used to around the Great Lakes or on Oahu. Great Lakes sand is silica; Oahu sand is mostly pulverized coral (especially at Kailua, where we lived in 1986-7). But the sand here on the west coast of Molokai is pulverized shells. And you sink in it, even if it's wet. There's no hope of running rapidly and exhilaratingly on firm sand along the water's edge here because you sink all the time.
There are two reasons there are no footprints in the sand:
- Very few people walk along the beach here. Despite the appearance of its being a heavily populated area, judging from those condos, it isn't; and those who do visit here don't spend much time on the beach.
- The wind is generally pretty strong and fairly constant. Footprints don't last long. I have a kite which usually flies very well in strong wind, but it was a struggle flying it here (sorry, no photos; I couldn't relax enough to take any photos).
People don't swim at this beach, especially not in winter when the waves and cross currents can be strong and unpredictable. We were warned that a young man had been killed surfing just up the beach a ways from this spot when he lost control of his surfboard and crashed on the rocks.
The rocks are all along the beach. Here are some of the rocks that I liked. I call these rocks "The Cliffs of Molokai" since they remind me of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland (okay, in a very micro sense maybe).
Another photo of the beach.
Walking back to the condo with Ms. Eclectic, we came across some particularly captivating little lavender flowers. I'm not sure these photos do them justice (They are tiny! I used the macro lens to take these photos). I call the first one "Ethereal Transluscence".