Angelika Hawaii has become something like our second home, and we try to spend at least a week there every year. Usually, we fly to Oahu and stay in Kailua on the eastern side of the island, because there is a great beach and no large hotel complexes. However, this year our favorite accommodation was not available, and we decided to try something new.
Since we are now very familiar with Oahu, we knew about the small, inconspicuous place called Waimanalo, which is located at the eastern lower tip of the island, before reaching Kailua when coming from Honolulu. There are no hotels here neither, but rather a few vacation cottages for rent, often located in the owner's backyard. You can count the tourists in the town on one hand, and with a population of 5,450, they don't really stand out.
The town looks a bit "ragged" in some areas (as Michael originally put it). However, a few somewhat dilapidated houses and a few homeless people camping at one spot on the beach don't deter us that easily; we're used to different levels of urban decay from San Francisco. There's a gas station, a post office, the Japanese-inspired supermarket "Shima's," where you can buy very good poke at the poke bar, a shrimp stand, a co-op selling Hawaiian products, and several other small shops.
Next to a somewhat misplaced McDonald's on main street, a vegan restaurant with the beautiful name "Ai Love Nalo" (meaning "I love Nalo") opened in August 2015, two years ago. "Nalo" is an abbreviation for Waimanalo. Enthusiastic, friendly people cook here without using animal products and support Hawaiian organic farmers. The food was top-notch. I had a Mediterranean-inspired dish, the "Medi Bowl," and I'm still raving about the beet hummus, while Michael enjoyed a Portobello mushroom burger.
But we don't just go to Hawaii to eat. The Pacific Ocean and the beaches are the highlight of every Hawaii vacation. And Waimanalo boasts one of the best beaches on the island. It is bay-like and 9 kms long. The sand is white and powder-fine, and the water is turquoise with great waves for beginner boogie boarding. The beach is almost deserted, especially on weekdays. At the far end of Waimanalo Beach is the military base Bellows Air Force. "Bellows Beach Park" on the military base is only accessible to the general public on weekends. This is quite unusual in Hawaii, as Hawaii does not allow the privatization of beaches. Every beach must be publicly accessible. However, since the beach in Waimanalo is so vast, we weren't drawn to the area near the military base anyway. In any case, Waimanalo is a hidden gem.