With some free time after hanging out on Ho’okipa Beach, we decided to drive south into the Upcountry town of Makaweo. Our guidebook had tipped us off that this was a Cowboy town and so we were curious to see what it looked like. Also important, it was past lunchtime and we were hungry.
We drove only a few miles from Haiku (where we’re staying) and the ride was a bit surreal. There were rolling hills and ranches! Had I been teleported to that area of Maui, I might not have guessed that I was in Maui. Of course, at various places along the road you could look back to the North and see the sea, so that might have been telling. But anyway, it felt weird.
Once there, we dropped into Polli’s Cantina — yep, Mexican food in Maui! What were we thinking?! The food was actually pretty good, although we knew we weren’t in Texas when we had to pay $2.00 for chips and salsa. In Texas, you hardly get comfortable in your seat before you have a delivery of chips and salsa (for free). Curiously, the place was jumping even though it was around 2:30 pm.
Done with our meal, we then walked the main street and stopped into the various shops along the way. Suzanne bought a couple of things along the way, while I mostly chatted with the storekeepers. Its my hobby while here to glean as much information as I can from the storekeepers while Suzanne is trying something on. She jokes that I’m never so charming as when I’m doing this. Sad, right?
We thought the town was pretty sleepy, but we were told that its off-season for them. Strangely, the travel industry claims its high season. But often, we were the only ones in each store unless a neighboring storekeeper had temporarily closed her store to make the rounds. I jokingly told Suzanne that they just must sell to each other.
The merchandise, as is the case on Maui in general, was pretty expensive and definitely meant for tourists (too dress for locals). I’m no fashion expert, but some of the clothes looked a little stale. As in, the inventory might not have turned over much for some shops. Maybe they are targeting the older tourist demographic, I don’t know. We did enjoy one shop whose inventory was completely hand-made by their family (paintings, etchings, carvings, jewelry, etc.).
All in all, it was a fun three hours after a morning on the beach. Getting more relaxed by the day.