Yes, Banana Joe has apple bananas

I went snorkeling yesterday at Tunnels Beach (Auntie calls it Makua Beach) near Princeville on the north end of Kaua`i. The sand was golden, the blue lagoon glassy smooth (something it’s not in winter), and the green hills behind me spectacular (which is probably why director Joshua Logan turned these hills into the fabled peak of Bali Ha`i in the 1958 musical South Pacific).

What I like about the snorkeling here is the large fringe reef that runs almost the entire length of this mile-and-a-half long gem. You’re likely to see a larger variety of sea life here than anywhere else on the island. And I did: parrot fish, pearl wrasses, cornet fish, and even a small turtle (that looked a little lost).

On the way back to the Ko`a Kea, I made my usual stop at Banana Joe’s, a bright yellow fruit stand along Highway 56 near Kilauea. There really is a Banana Joe and he sells all kinds of exotic fruit (I always get a few apple bananas and some rambutan, if he has them) but the thing to get is their Frosty, a frozen banana mushed through a juicer so it comes out like a soft-serve ice cream. Only mo’ delicious, brah.

Photo by David Lansing.

There are small roadside stands all over Kauai selling whatever is in season (like lychee, mango, and local pineapple at the moment), but I’m just crazy about all the strange little bananas you’ll come across. Maybe because the bananas we get in the grocery store have absolutely no taste. So if you see something like apple bananas at the fruit stands near Lawa`i on the south shore, buy ‘em! You can also find amazing fruit at the Sunshine Markets (what we call farmers’ markets) in Koloa (Mondays), Kapa`a (Wednesdays), and Kilauea (Thursdays).