The color of the sky was getting the more and more yellow and the more and more black. The gold was pouring slowly on the horizon, blemishing it while the sun was cuddling by the clouds, plumbeous and stuffed by distant cinders. Exhausted, we lied on the sand, still warm. Even our eyes found relief from the intense colors of the path: blinding blues and azures, palm trees of any kind, tropical flowers, white pebbles pile one up another intent on observing the horizon and whispering old legend. And then again the path, painted with carpet of pink flower. Finally Her…

Majestic and thunderous. Slender and hidden in her bamboo forest: tall, invincible, gelid and immortal. We remained speechless in front of Her: we felt grain of sand in a desert below Her. And while the waterfall kept eternally thrown in the emptiness, only a plunge in her water finally gave us a release and redemption from the powerlessness that we felt in front of Her.

Il colore del cielo diventava sempre piu’ giallo e sempre piu’ nero. L’oro colava sull’orizzonte e lo sporcava mentre il sole si faceva coccolare dalle nuvole plumbee e ripiene di ceneri lontane. Sfinite ci appoggiammo alla sabbia ancora calda e anche i nostri occhi trovarono riparo dai colori intensi del lungo cammino percorso: blu e azzurri accecanti, palme di ogni specie, fiori tropicali, sassi bianchi appoggiati gli uni sugli altri a scrutare l’orizzonte e a sussurrare leggende antiche. E poi sentieri dipinti con tappeti di fiori rosa. Infine Lei…

Imponente e fragorosa. Snella e nascosta dalla foresta di bambu’: Lei alta e invincibile, gelida e immortale. Eravamo ammutolite davanti a Lei, sembravamo granelli di sabbia nel deserto sotto di Lei. E mentre la cascata non smetteva, eterna, di lanciarsi nel vuoto, solo un bagno nelle sue acque gelate ci aveva dato sollievo e riscatto dall’impotenza che provavamo dinnanzi alla natura.

Practicle information: together with three other girls we decided to leave Oahu, the main Hawaiian island, for a three-day trip to Kuaui. We took a flight (http://www.hawaiianairlines.com/hawaii-travel-deals/cheap-flights-kauai) very early in the morning and we rent a car when we got to the airport in Kauai (a really small and easy airport). While our first day was a relaxing one because we explored the island by car, the second day was surely more adventurous: we drove until Kalalau Trail (https://maps.google.it/maps?q=Kalalau+Trail&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&channel=fflb&gfe_rd=cr&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&ei=-EjPVOvzFpfVasa9gQg&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&output=classic&dg=brw). While it was still early (9.30 am) we struggled to find a parking slot for our car: the “sauvage” parking area was already pretty full. Be aware and pay particular attention in this area: do not leave anything visible on your car and if you decide to rent a car I would suggest a theft insurance. That said, we started our trip on the Na Pali Coast with our backpack full of enthusiasm, beverage, food and vitamins. Our goal was a waterfall hidden in a bamboo forest. We walked for the first two and half our on the cliff surrounded by all kind of palm trees and plants, cuddled by the wind and the view of the ocean. The greens and the blues were so lightfull that our sunglasses were really useless. We enjoyed the colors, the smells and the company of the people on our path. After two hours we passed on a small and cold river walking on its stone and we finally got to a beach. We decided to sat there for a while consuming our lunch and looking curiously at the hundreds of piled-up stones in front of us. Something spiritual mellowed that strange beach where the pebble with their own life remained charmly stoned in front of the arrogant waves. A lady suggested us to express a wish and to pile up our pebble as well… The bond between the nature and the human being was surely one of the strongest experience this place invited us to try. After lunch we turned into the up-country in search of the hidden waterfall. We walked for an hour and half in the bamboo forest following the river course whose would have lead us to the its mother. The bamboo created some creative protection on our head while the light of the sun was passing trough the branches and reeds. The path seemed magic: for long time, as in a fairy tale, thousand thin pink stems accompanied our hiking creating an unusual fuxia flower carpet as to give us a precise direction. And finally, we got to the giant waterfall. We remained astonished looking at the size and the height. Hesitant at the beginning we finally plunged in its gelid water . A suggestion: bring a change because the sun in the up-country is not always present and you may get sick for the cold. After the cold bath we retook our trail. We got to the end of the forest at 5 pm already and we decided continue straight away on the cliffs before the dark. The light before the sunset was warm and everything appears smoother. We arrived at the end of the trail around 7pm and exhausted we accepted a fresh coconut drink on the Ke’e State Beach Park (https://plus.google.com/116990365877716119582/about?gl=it&hl=fr) while the sun was plunging into the horizon giving as an amazing black&yellow goodbye.