Thanksgiving in a Sacred Spot

St. Joseph's established by Father Damien

interior of St. Joseph's

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving, and we are very far from home and our traditional turkey and pumpkin pie. We arose at 6 a.m. in time to have breakfast before heading off to catch the Moloka'i Mule Ride on the Kalaupapa Trail that descends a 1780 foot cliff to the Kalaupapa Settlement, a former leper colony. The treacherous  yet stunning trail  is 3.2 miles in length and has no less than 26 switchbacks, not for the faint of heart.

Duncan and I read the book Moloka'i by Alan Brennert before taking this trip in anticipation of visiting the site . It is the fictional account of a young girl exiled to the leper colony, surrounded mostly by ocean and cut off from the rest of Moloka'i by the awe inspiring verdant cliffs. The former fishing village, was home to Native Hawaiians for centuries; they were displaced in 1865 and again in the mid-1890s. The area was transformed  by King Kamemhameha V to a place of exile for the unfortunate Hawaiians who suffered from Hansen's Disease commonly known as leprosy. In 1873 a Belgian priest, Joseph DeVeuster, commonly know as Father Damien arrived and spent his life ministering to the residents of the villages of Kalaupapa  in the west and Kalawao in the east. before succumbing the illness himself in 1889.  Prior to his illness, he  ministered to the people in "topside" Moloka'i and two of his churches, St. Joseph's Church and Our Lady of Seven Sorrows are right down the road from the house we are currently renting. Father Damien, much revered on the island, was canonized in 2009 making him the first Hawaiian priest elevated to sainthood. The small white churches are unpretentious and charming in their simplicity

Buzzy Sproat with Smoky

To get to the colony one must hike down the steep trail, ride a mule or fly at considerable expense. We weren't sure the trail would be safe or whether we were up to such a hike because many locals billed it as brutal so we opted for the mules. Chevy and Elvira, were individually chosen  for us by Buzzy Sproat, the owner of the mule farm. I don't know how he does it but Buzzy has the uncanny ability to match  mule to tourist, and he certainly succeeded in our case. Dunc's mule was slow, steady and reliable and mine leaned toward the impatient side, frequently snacking and preoccupied with ensuring that none of the other mules had a chance to push her out of line. Sounds like us, doesn't it?

Claudia on mule

Riding the mule was easier than I imagined, I just had to hang on and enjoy the view, occasionally offering encouragement, particularly on the ride back. I admit to feeling pretty guilty as 18 year old Elvira heaved up the steep precipices with me, not a leadweight but not exactly a featherweight either,  on her back.

view at Kalawao

The natural site is exquisite as you can see from the photos, and we were thankful that we had the opportunity to go there today of our free will unlike the 8,000 souls who had no choice between 1865 and 1969 when the miracle drug sulfone provided a cure for those who were in the early stages of the disease. There are currently four residents with leprosy who chose to stay in this spot rather than relocate. The disease was more advanced in them and thus arrested but not cured. Many others chose to stay but have since died. Because they were poor their graves were marked only with wooden crosses that have disappeared over time. This is a sad chapter in Hawaii's history, people were taken from their families and then intentionally forgotten because of the stigma of the disease. Most records were burned in a fire 20 years ago so it would be hard for families to trace their relatives even if moved to do so.


We had a 1 1/2 hour tour of the two villages and ate lunch looking out over the ocean at what must be one of the best views in the islands  before returning to the ranch. We stopped at the Hotel Moloka'i for a Mai Tai and enjoyed looking at the sun shining on the water between the islands of Moloka'i and Lanai. This evening while looking at our photos from the day we felt more reverance than we usually do on our national holiday. Kalaupapa is administered by the National Parks Service but restoration work is very slow due to limited funds and an uncertain future. The land down there is divided and our guide said that when the last residents die, no one knows what will happen to the site. There are even rumours of building a luxurious resort which would surely be abhorrent.  Perhaps I should drop a line to Obama...