posted by maggie on May 9

Hawaii is one of the most beautiful places on the planet, and it’s no surprise that it draws visitors year after year. People come to escape the noise of the city, to embrace the call of the sea, and to enjoy all of the plentiful things that the islands have to offer. It’s been a major tourist site for many years now, and over time, people have been waking up to the island’s delicate ecosystem, and learning how to tread lightly here.

There are plenty of places to go where one can stay on the beaten path, because that’s the best thing that guests can do to respect the beauty that is here. Magnificent views are to be had all over Hawaii, from the splendor of Lanai to the charms of the small towns, where having an agenda is entirely optional. Taking it easy always seems to be the preferred activity of tourists, and there are plenty of possibilities for that here.

A cruise to Hawaii can be an event of a lifetime, where the culture on the ship becomes as interesting as the culture on the land, and there are opportunities for fun activities and wonderful island explorations. Anyone visiting here will discover that there are a wide variety of flora and fauna, and it’s a very unusual place in this regard. Hawaii is one of the places with the most endemic species, which means that there are creatures and plants here that don’t exist anywhere else.

There are, for example, caterpillars that eat snails , an evolutionary move that has scientists very interested. They lay in wait for the snail to sleep, then cover it with silk, and eat the snail to use its shell as protection for itself later. An on the Big Island , people might learn about the wide variety of snails here. There were once dozens, and now there are very few, and most of these are in danger of becoming extinct. In Oahu, there are Hawaiian tree snails , which have developed over a long period of time. It’s important to get to know about the species, and their endangered status is one more reason to walk with attention here, so that the next generations can also appreciate what’s here.

© 2010 Mountain Monkeys