Day 69 Three Coconut Palms hike

Great views and sore feet
Kurt got off early for his surf spot so Andy and I decided to do another hike. The Lonely Planet guide talked about a hike that provided a view of both sides of the island. It sounded a bit long and steep but interesting. The trail started from the top of the Belvedere that we had hiked to on Friday the 11th so we hiked to the end of Opunohu Bay and up the hill to the Belvedere parking lot. Of course we had to stop for ice cream and fresh juice before pushing on.
The trail began in the same direction we had followed four days before at the waterfall, it continued uphill and down until it crossed three other streams. Then the trail turned toward the hill and proceeded up through a long series of switchbacks until it crested a ridge from which we could see a higher version of the view from Belvedere plus looking South we could see a beach and cove on the other side of the island. At this point, the trail dead ended at a vertical spire.
The trail itself was well maintained and completely forested and without this, we would not have been able to make the climb under the tropical sun. In fact, on the way down, we heard rain at one point but never felt a drop as the forest canopy provided a complete umbrella.
The forest itself was a mixture of deciduous trees, giant ferns, stands of bamboo, areas of twisted vines and even some pine trees. We heard some wild chickens and saw some very large snails but no other wild life except some birds at the top of the ridge.
The only downside to the hike was that I had decided to wear a pair of sandals that I had not worn for months. To make matters worse, as we got out of the dinghy, some sand got onto the sandals so that they chafed more than usual as I walked. Even though I rinse them out as soon as I realized the problem, the damage had already been done and the further I walked, the worse it got. I had a bandana in my pack so I was able to fashion an emergency sock for my left foot where the abrasion was the worst but by the time we got back to the dinghy, my right foot was bloody and walking was difficult.
The bottom line is that we had a great day of hiking with superb views and a wonderful forest but came out a bit damaged and with a lesson on using the right equipment for each task.