Molokai is the island of lepers. Leper Island. Molokai: a sunny place for relaxation

Among all the small Hawaiian islands, Molokai, in my opinion, is both the most attractive and the saddest.

It is attractive for its pristine nature, remoteness from tourist trails and big world interests: it is small and not so amazing in terms of natural beauty.

Molokai is a piece of paradise for people who love untouched nature, walks surrounded by exotic greenery or relaxing time on the beach.

There is not a single large shopping center or cinema in this resort, this is perhaps its main advantage. The island of Molokai has retained its pristine freshness and antiquity. Even if you decide to take a walk around these neighborhoods, you will not see a single administrative building or house taller than a palm tree...

However, this is precisely why native Hawaiians flock here, who value their roots, their national characteristics, simplicity of life... who love silence and life in a deep connection with nature, for whom solitude and the absence of the idle interest of “whites” are important and valuable...

Of course, kahunas live not only on Molokai, especially hula teachers and members of Aloha International. But if you are lucky enough to meet them here on Molokai, you will be able to see their life as it is and was 300 and 500 years ago. Pristine. Without the gloss of buying and selling, without the feeling of a useful business, but put on stream.

No, no, I'm not against money. And if the shamans of other islands had not taught people so openly, I would still not know anything about them.

But to experience solitary discipleship with such gurus... This is something completely special, full of incredible charm for me. This is my dream...

Molokai: a sunny place for relaxation

The cuisine and restaurants of Molokai offer tourists classic Hawaiian cuisine with dishes that are exotic to us.

The Molokai resort is quite interesting and original, but not all travel lovers will like it, since many are accustomed to seeing all kinds of entertainment, animation, civilization, etc. around them.

Holidays in Molokai are fundamentally different - it is very calm and secluded, and the hotels on the island are in harmony with the nature around you:

If you want to dream and collect your thoughts, go to this Hawaiian island. You won't see any traffic, no traffic lights, no neon signs, no big stores.

Once on the island of Molokai, you seem to be transported back to the last century; life here is leisurely and without any special frills. Most of the island is occupied by a luxurious sandy beach, it is quite calm and uncrowded, there are not many tourists. This quiet place is very popular among lovers of fishing, diving, and spearfishing.

Sights of Molokai that are worth seeing

The island of Molokai has many natural and historical attractions, but most of them are in the east of the area.

First of all, this is a historical place called Kalaupapa, where there used to be a leper colony- and it is this place that brings a sad atmosphere to the island...

However, despite the fact that there is no longer leprosy on the island, this area remains closed, and you can only get there with a guide.

Another attraction that is good for relaxing your soul is Palaau Park, where you can ride mules, look at waterfalls and magnificent nature.

It is recommended to go to Molokai primarily for those who like to scuba dive in the most picturesque coastal waters - the southern coast of the island is bordered by a beautiful reef forty kilometers long. Another advantage of the island is its impressive cliffs, the highest in the world, left after a monstrous coastal collapse about one and a half million years ago.

Interesting facts about the island of Molokai
Off the northern coast of the island is the tallest cliff in the world - more than 914 m in height, the highest waterfall, Kahiwa Falls (660 m), and the longest Hawaiian beach, Papohaku Beach (4.8 km). There are no traffic lights or shopping centers on Molokai.
The largest man-made water reservoir is located in Kualapuu: it can hold up to 454 million liters of water.

(based on materials from the travel website

Molokai, the most open and accessible Hawaiian island of the small islands, is an island of peace, solitude and pristine Hawaii with virtually no touch of civilization.

But this is not what he is most famous for. And not with its parks or especially beautiful nature.
It is infamously known as the "Leper Peninsula"...

I didn’t bother looking for a tourist description of this place. It seems to me that the most “atmospheric” description is given by Miloslav Stingl in his book “Enchanted Hawaii”, an excerpt from which I offer you below.

KALAUPAPA - THE LEPER PENINSULA

There is a word in the world, upon hearing which a person becomes dumb with horror. This word is “leprosy”, “leprosy”. In the same way, the plague caused panic among people. However, the times of this medieval disease are long gone, leaving behind only plague pillars in the squares of European cities. Leprosy, unfortunately, still occurs today. Only those who, like me, have seen leprosy-eaten, twisted, paralyzed human bodies, mutilated faces called “lion faces” here in the tropics, the hands of card players missing fingers, legs gnawed by sores like rats, will understand Why do people have such a panicky fear of this disease?

And yet, I voluntarily entered the world of lepers, into the most famous leper colony, once considered the most dangerous of all existing in Oceania, into the leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula, so reliably isolated by nature itself.

It is a natural fortress in the full sense of the word. On the southern side, the leper colony is protected by inaccessible, unusually steep cliffs up to a thousand meters high. As soon as you look down, your head begins to spin, like a toy top. Kalaupapa is protected from the north, east and west by the ocean.

But the most reliable defense is terrible stories about an inhuman, monstrous disease. Overcoming fear is one of the most worthy human traits. To find out what Kalaupapa is, I had to overcome the fear that one naturally feels about leprosy and continue on my way. Along a narrow deserted path, on which I never met a single passer-by, I had to go down to the flat peninsula village, which is also called Kalaupapa; Hawaiian lepers live here.

I received permission to visit the leper colony from the Hanseck's Disease Division of the Hawaii State Department of Medicine, under whose department it is located. Of course, I had to give a receipt that I was going to the leper colony of my own free will and at my own peril and risk, and also promise that I would only photograph the buildings, the sea and the rocks there, but in no case the lepers themselves. I agreed to this condition, which was quite understandable to me, after which I was allowed to visit Kalaupapa. With the official paper in hand, I went to the most tragic, or at least that’s what it once was, corner of Hawaii.

First of all, I introduced myself to the female doctor, the director of the leper colony. Oddly enough, Dr. Li is Chinese. She is helped by an assistant, also a doctor. I met a nurse, nun Maria Gadenzia, from the Catholic congregation “Sisters of the Third Order of St. Francis.” A Hawaiian, a patient at the leper colony, noticed that I was not peering into his face, ulcerated by leprosy, and was not afraid to give him my hand; willingly accompanied me around the leper village and throughout the rather vast peninsula.

First we examined three large buildings where patients live. In the so-called “Bishop's House” women live, in the “McVeig House” - men, in the third, the ironic name of which - "View of the Bay" - arose somehow by itself, live blind lepers and those unfortunates who, in addition to leprosy are sick with any other serious illness. Together we went into small houses, like the simplest bungalows, in which the sick also lived, not only Hawaiians, but also residents of other islands of Oceania.

Today, about two hundred people live in Kalaupapa. Not all of these people are sick. They say that some of them have already been cured. However, they decided to stay here, in their familiar places, where they do not feel the gaze of others. It was here that I learned that leprosy is now considered a curable disease. In any case, its flow can be slowed down.

Dr. Hansen discovered the causative agent of leprosy, and in 1946 a medicine containing sulfonic acid was obtained, which can stop the development of the disease and heal the patient. Leprosy will soon disappear from the face of the earth, just like the nearly extinct plague, and this will be a great victory for man, but today the disease continues to plague Hawaii. Therefore there is still a sad colony in Kalaupapa.

My guide took me to the opposite, eastern side of the peninsula, to the ruins of the village of Kalawao. The miserable buildings and shacks among which I wandered through the now deserted Kalawao were the first refuge of lepers, and Kalawao was their first village immediately after this reservation was opened in 1866 - a place of forced exile for Hawaiians suffering from leprosy.

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The decree on the creation of a leper colony on the peninsula was issued by order of King Kamehameha V in 1863. On January 6 of the following year, the ship delivered the first unfortunates suffering from a terrible disease to the north of Molokai. Leprosy turned out to be one of the “gifts of civilization” brought here by foreigners.

Soon after Captain J. Cook visited Kealakekua Bay, the first Chinese arrived on the archipelago on one of the English ships. It was they who brought leprosy from the Celestial Empire, until then unknown here. Hawaiians began to call it the “Chinese disease,” thereby indicating the homeland of those who so generously gifted them.

"Chinese disease" found fertile soil in Hawaii. Thus, immediately after the adoption of the Kamehameha V law on the eviction of lepers to the peninsula, ships began to approach the shores of Kalaupapa, bringing more and more lepers.

A few years after the opening of the leper colony, a census was taken for the first time, showing that even then there were 653 Hawaiian lepers living in Kalawao. In those days, approximately every hundredth inhabitant of the Hawaiian kingdom suffered from leprosy. Considering the number of children in Polynesian families, it can be said that in every tenth family someone was infected with the “Chinese disease”.

History shows that leprosy was the most terrible and insidious of all the “benefits of civilization”, the carriers of which appeared on the islands without any invitation. And this truly Danaan gift, more than anything else, contributed to the extermination of the Hawaiian population of the islands.

"BECAUSE I HAVE LEPROSY"

The leper colony on the Kalaupapa Peninsula was created to isolate lepers from other residents of the Hawaiian kingdom. It must be said that the place of forced stay of patients was chosen correctly. However, subsequently the kingdom did not care much about its subjects, who were exiled to the peninsula in the north of Molokai. It goes without saying that people who, like most Hawaiians, were engaged in farming at home (and for the archipelago this is primarily taro farming), had to lead the same way of life on the “leper peninsula” and provide themselves with food.

However, taro did not grow on the peninsula, and the handful of sweet potatoes that managed to ripen here could not feed a thousand starving people. The unfortunate exiles suffered not only from a terrible disease, but also from hunger and even thirst: in Kalawao, as well as in most of Molokai, there was always a shortage of drinking water. Therefore, no one considered Kalaupapa a shelter or oasis for the lepers of the Hawaiians: they feared it more than their terrible disease and the feeling of disgust that they caused in healthy people.

In presenting candidates for forced eviction, such a measure was almost equivalent to a death sentence, not subject to appeal. The history of the archipelago has seen a number of examples of the desperate and at the same time touching struggle of Hawaiians who, by the will of the authorities, were sentenced to deportation due to illness. The most tragic of them (based on actual events) was told by the great master of words, one of the two writers who once visited the island of lepers - Jack London. Kalaupapa's second famous visitor was a great friend of the Polynesians Robert Louis Stevenson. Like Stevenson, Jack London was completely fascinated by Hawaii. He first appeared here in 1907 on his yacht "Snark", on which he went on a trip to the South Seas for several years.

The impression from the first visit to the archipelago was so great that Jack London decided to settle here for a long time. And indeed, in 1915, during a period of great fame, he lived in Hawaii for almost a year. Later, the stories he heard and recorded on the archipelago became part of two books of Hawaiian stories – "Temple of Pride" and "Koolau the Leper".

In one of them, he tells about the fate of a Hawaiian named Kulau, a resident of the island. Kauai, who contracted leprosy. Determined to escape a slow death in forced exile in northern Molokai, he fled with thirty lepers to the island of Kauai, where they hid in a mountain gorge. I am not at all going to retell the story of Koolau, beautifully described by Jack London. I just want to quote the words the writer put into the mouth of this “leper partisan,” because they accurately reflect the feelings of the one who utters them, moreover, they perfectly recreate the social climate of Hawaii at that time.

Koolau, addressing his fellow sufferers hiding with him in the mountains of Kauai, says: “Because we are sick, our freedom is being taken away from us. We obeyed the law. We didn't offend anyone. And they want to lock us up in prison. Molokai is a prison. You know that. Here is Niuli, his sister was sent to Molokai seven years ago. He hasn't seen her since then. And he won't see it. She will remain on Molokai until her death. She didn't want to go there. Niuli didn't want it either. It was the will of the white people who rule our country. Who are these white people? We know that. Our fathers and grandfathers told us about them. They came as quiet as lambs, with kind words. This is understandable: after all, there were many of us, we were strong, and all the islands belonged to us. Yes, they came with kind words. They spoke to us in different ways. Some asked to allow them, to graciously allow them to preach the word of God to us. Others asked to be allowed, graciously to be allowed to trade with us. But that was only the beginning. And now they have taken everything for themselves - all the islands, all the land, all the livestock. The servants of the Lord God and the servants of the Lord Roma acted together and became great bosses. They live like kings in houses with many rooms, and they have crowds of servants. They had nothing, and now they have everything. And if you, or I, or other Kanaks are hungry, they laugh and say: “You work.” That’s what plantations are for.”

This is how the hero of Jack London's story reasoned when he met with the unfortunate exiles on the leper peninsula. J. London describes the inhabitants of Molokai as follows: “There were thirty of them, men and women, thirty outcasts, for they had the mark of the beast on them... Once they were people, but now they were monsters, mutilated and disfigured, as if they had been for centuries tortured in hell - a terrible caricature of a person. The fingers - those who still have them - resembled the claws of harpies; the faces were like failed, rejected casts that some crazy god, playing, smashed and flattened in the machine of life. For some, this crazy god simply erased half of their face, and for one woman, burning tears flowed from the black hollows in which there had once been eyes. Some suffered and moaned loudly in pain. Others coughed, and their cough sounded like the sound of tearing material. The two were idiots, like huge monkeys, created so poorly that in comparison a monkey would seem like an angel. They grimaced and muttered something, illuminated by the moon, in wreaths of heavy golden flowers. One of them, whose swollen ear hung down to his shoulder, picked a bright, orange-scarlet flower and decorated his terrible ear with it, which swayed with his every movement.”

And yet these monsters, or, as London calls them, “monsters,” people who had almost lost their human appearance, perhaps better than anyone else at that time, understood not only the causes of their own “personal” misfortune, but and the reasons why the entire Hawaiian state was eventually destroyed.

Koolau asks: “Brothers, is it not surprising? This land was ours, but now it is not ours. What did these servants of God and the Lords of Roma give us for our land? Did any of you receive even a dollar, even one dollar, for it? And they became the masters... Now that the disease has struck us, they are taking away our freedom.”
And the lepers, who had lost their human appearance, fought for it not only in the mountains of Kauai, but also on all the other islands of Hawaii, fought with weapons in their hands against those who sent them to the peninsula.

In the history of the Caribbean islands, the Maroons are known - blacks who fled from enslavement into the interior of the islands. These lepers were the same maroons. In order not to be deprived of freedom and to avoid the death that inevitably awaited them in Kalaupapa, the unfortunate ones went to the mountains with weapons in their hands, for even those who were stricken with leprosy and had lost all hope of recovery dreamed of maintaining freedom until the end of their earthly existence.

Koolau, whose story was so vividly and touchingly described by Jack London, was one of dozens of Hawaiian “leper partisans” (perhaps there is no other way to call them) - men, women and even children who rebelled against those who expelled them to the hated leper colony.

The philosophy and meaning of this special armed struggle is explained in London's story by the Hawaiian Kapalei, who was once an important figure in the Hawaiian kingdom - a judge of the Hawaiian state court. But leprosy overtook him too, and he, in Kulau’s words, became a “hunted rat.” Once a high representative of his country, he was now “an outlaw who had become something so terrible that he was now both below the law and above it.” Kapaley, the “mastermind” of the Kauai leper guerrilla struggle, says: “We don’t start fights. We ask to be left alone. But if they do not leave us alone, it means that they are starting discord and let them be punished for this. You see, I have no fingers. But this thumb still has a joint, and I can press the trigger with it just as firmly as in the old days. We love Kauai. So let's live here or die here, but let's not go to prison on Molokai. This disease is not ours. There is no sin on us. The servants of God and the gentlemen of the Roma brought the disease here along with the Chinese coolies who work on the land stolen from us. I was a judge. I know law and order. And I tell you: the law does not allow you to steal a person’s land, infect him with the Chinese disease, and then imprison him for life.”

This is what the experienced Kapalei and the Hawaiian Kulau, sung by the great Jack London, said: condemned to death by disease, they still fought for their lives, for their homeland, for freedom with weapons in their hands. Leprosy is truly merciless to those who have once been touched by the fingers that bring death, but the very exile to the leper peninsula meant death.

Father Damier

And yet, a ray of hope broke into this world. The belief that there is nothing hopelessly doomed in the world was brought to Kalaupapa by a Belgian. He became the first white to settle on the “Leper Peninsula.” His name is Joseph Damier de Vester. He went down in the history of the Hawaiian Islands as “Father Damier,” because, like other missionaries, he arrived on the islands to convert the local residents to Christianity. Not being an ardent preacher of one faith or another, he listened only to the voice of his heart, his conscience, which made him different from other missionaries. Father Damier (he is also called the “Molokai martyr”) heeded the voice of his heart and conscience, acting on their orders.

The Belgian preacher ended up in Kalaupapa by chance. Seeing the terrible conditions in which lepers lived, he decided to settle among them. To the best of his ability, Father Damier tried to improve the living conditions of the unfortunate people forced into exile on the peninsula.

Damier submitted petitions, demanded that authorities and individuals help the residents of Kalaupapa, helped them build huts, and even personally participated in the construction of the first water pipeline, which brought drinking water to these arid regions for the first time. He built a church - after all, he remained a Catholic priest - and, taking an active part in everything, he became infected with leprosy from the Kalaupapa inhabitants. Having since become one of them, Damier stopped addressing his parishioners “My brothers!” and during the solemn mass he called them “My lepers!”, for from that moment something very significant connected him with his flock - a dangerous disease with an inevitable tragic outcome. A few years later, Damier's father himself died of leprosy.

I stood in the small cemetery in Kalavda, which Damier himself founded, next to the church of St. Philomena, in the construction of which he participated.

Only a small monument remained in the cemetery; the coffin with the ashes of the deceased was transported to his homeland, Belgium, with great honors in 1936.

There was a grave left in the cemetery without the deceased. It was only after his death that Damier—the leper Damier—dared to leave Kalaupapa. But the “Molokai martyr” left behind something more in Kalavau - his covenant, which has nothing to do with religion, a call: “If you are a man, help other people. Help especially those who, like these lepers, have nowhere to wait for help. For it is not the one who is denied medicine, medical care, or good care who dies. He who is denied hope dies. The one who does not feel a helping hand nearby leaves. This hand, ready to throw a life preserver, is humanity, true humanity.”

If the outlines of Italy evoke an association with a woman’s boot, the Arabian Peninsula with a felt boot, then the island of Molokai would be a sin not to be mistaken for a moccasin with a protruding tongue. It is located between the islands of Wahiawa in the northwest and Maui in the southeast and is the geographic center of Hawaii. Molokai is one of the most underdeveloped, but interesting islands of the fiftieth US state. It is 61 km long and 16 km wide.

The volcanic cones of Molokai remind us of the volcanic origin of Molokai: Waialu in the east and Mauna Loa in the west. From the first, only the southern part of the original cone remained; the northern part of Vaiala was “lost” about one and a half million years ago after a collapse, apparently caused by a strong earthquake. The wreckage of the "lost" part is scattered in the Pacific Ocean far to the north; the island remains turned out to be the highest cliffs in the world, which more than once became Hollywood “movie stars”; the last time was in the film Jurassic Park III. Mauna Loa is still active and belongs to the group of megavolcanoes.

Since Molokai is part of an archipelago known as a tourist paradise, state authorities are striving to bring its infrastructure to the same standards established here. This is prevented by several thousand indigenous inhabitants of the island, the percentage of whom is the highest in Hawaii. The islanders categorically refuse attempts to turn Molokai into an unsinkable, moored modern Titanic. They strive, by preserving the natural beauty, to attract travelers to the island who are more interested in the wild nature of the region, rather than idle time on the local snow-white sandy beaches.

On the western tip of the island, which for some reason receives the least rainfall, there are pastures and pineapple plantations. In educational terms, it is less interesting than the rocky eastern one, with two Catholic churches built by Father Damian; than the northern one, with its gorges and grandiose waterfalls - one Kahiva, where the water falls down from more than half a kilometer in height, what is it worth! - and the southern one, on the shores of which the most remote and picturesque beaches of Hawaii are located.

To the east there is also a high plateau on which the Molokai Forest Reserve is based. Rising high above the ocean, it is famous not only for its stunning tropical landscapes, but also for its rich flora and fauna, together with the topography, forming a unique ecosystem. Above the plateau rises Kamaku Peak, emerald with densely overgrown slopes.

The easiest way to explore the island is from the air, for example, from a sightseeing helicopter flying from Maui. But the most indelible impressions, despite the surprises that await you along the way, will be left by traveling by car, or better yet by SUV: along country roads you can get to all the sights of the island, including the famous cliffs.

Should know

• In February the weather can be unpredictable.
• The first fossils were discovered in the Mo'omomi sandstones.
• In the 19th century There was a leper colony on Molokai, led by a Catholic priest, Father Damian de Wester, who died here from leprosy. He was assisted by the nun of Marianne Cope; both are canonized.
• There is an airport on the island, but there is not a single shopping center, and not a single traffic light is installed at the intersections.

When to visit?

At any time here you can admire countless attractions: cliffs, waterfalls, sand dunes, palm groves, reefs and their inhabitants, deserted beaches, gorges, hidden lagoons, strange birds. In May, Ka Hula Piko takes place on Papohaku Beach - a colorful festival of different schools of Hawaiian dance and a cultural celebration at the same time.

How to get there?

Domestic flight to Molokai Airport. There is a company at the airport that provides car rental services: there you can choose and rent a car.

Do not miss!

• The Mo'omomi Conservation Area, designed to protect the dune ecosystem with surviving coastal bushes in the western part of the island from chaotic grazing and unauthorized cultivation.
• The Hula dance perpetuates the unique traditions and culture of the Hawaiians.
• Catholic churches.
• Graves of canonized saints.
• The highest cliffs and waterfalls of Kahiwa Falls; The longest beach is Papohaku Beach.
• Take an unforgettable trip to the mountains on mules.

Molokie is also known as the "Friendly Island" of the Hawaiian archipelago. The island's area is 673.4 square kilometers, making it the 5th largest of the main Hawaiian Islands. The island is located 40 km. from the island of Oaha.

Molokai lives on pineapple production, ranching and tourism. From the eastern part of the island you can see the night lights of the city of Honolulu, located on the island. The islands can also be seen from Molokai from any point in the southern part of the island.

Geographical position

The island arose simultaneously on the tops of two volcanoes. One of them, higher, is called East Molokai. The lower part of the island is located on the West Molokai volcano. The highest point of the island is located in East Malakai and is as much as 1510 meters high.

Eastern Molokai was half destroyed by its own eruption about one and a half million years ago. The bottom of the Pacific Ocean is covered with volcanic debris resulting from this eruption. The remains of the volcano form the tallest sea cliffs in the world. The southern coast is bordered by a 40 km long barrier reef.

Melaki is part of the state and is located in the district. The island has two small ports and one airport in Western Molokai.

According to the latest census, the island with an area of ​​673 square kilometers has a population of 7,345 people.

Ecology

Molokai is divided into two regions. The soils of the western island have become practically unusable due to improper land use and excessive grazing. This part of the island lacks tree and grass cover. Only the Moʻomomi dunes remained untouched due to the fact that they are part of the reserve.

In the eastern part of Molokai there is a high plateau, a forest reserve, measuring 11.23 sq. km. The eastern part is covered with lush rainforests, which receive more than 7600 mm. Precipitation per year. This part of the island has an extremely diverse flora and fauna. Most of the forests are protected by the American Nature Conservancy. The exotic strawberry guava (also known as strawberry guava), eucalyptus, and cypress grow here. Among the animals found here are the Axis deer and the Razorbek wild pig. There is also a swampy area in this part of the island.

Malakai is home to a large number of endemic plants, animals and insects, including the critically endangered M. Lanaiensis and possibly Paroreomyza flammea (if it is not here, it is probably extinct). The endemic Malakai M. bishopi, which people will no longer see, was also destroyed by humans

Story

For a long time it was believed that Molokai was settled by Aboriginal people from the Marquesas Islands, but high-precision radiocarbon dating disproved this theory. It is now assumed that the island was settled from Tahiti. Captain James Cook is considered the discoverer of the island, but did not visit it. The first European to visit the island was Captain George Dixon, who sailed here under the British flag in 1786. Since 1832, missionaries began to be sent to Malachi.

Leprosy in Malakai

A type of leprosy was introduced by European sailors and traders: Leprosy. Due to the lack of immunity to the disease among the indigenous people, they quickly became infected and mass deaths began.

To combat mortality, all the Aborigines were settled in one part of the island, while the Europeans lived in another. For more than 130 years, Europeans and local peoples coexisted on the same island, with virtually no contact with each other.

They also made a separate city for those who were sick and were not allowed to leave. Over the years, more than 8,500 people have died from leprosy. In the 21st century, not a single case of the disease has been recorded.

Several American priests and one military man who worked with leprosy patients were canonized.

Economy

Since 1897, cattle have been raised on the island on an industrial scale. From 1923 to 1985, pineapple plantations flourished in Malakai. Mostly low-paid immigrants from Japan and the Philippines worked on these islands. At the end of the 20th century, industry suffered greatly due to the fact that the land fell into disrepair.

In 2007, a movement arose among local residents that tried to prevent the development of the Molokai Ranch company due to the fact that it was the activities of this company that made the land unusable. The movement also opposed the development of tourism. As a result, Molokai Ranch went out of business, closing all of its businesses, including hotels, restaurants, a movie theater and a golf course. As a result, Molokai has the highest unemployment rate of all the Hawaiian Islands.

Leisure and Tourism

Residents of Molokai are trying to prevent the development of tourism. However, on average there are 1,000 tourists on the island on any given day of the year. In 2014, only one hotel operated on the island, while the rest of the tourists were accommodated in rented houses and apartments.

According to a study by National Geographic Traveler Magazine and the US National Geographic Center, Malakai has "the most spectacular and unspoiled landscape" of all the Hawaiian islands and is home to "the richest and most profound Hawaiian traditions and culture."

The island of Malakai hosts the Hawaiian Hula dance festival every year.

Malachi can be reached by ferry or plane. Planes fly daily from the islands of Oahi. The ferry departs twice a day from .

Infrastructure

The island has a 24-hour hospital, 4 primary schools, one secondary school and a college. In addition, there is one private school on the island.

Malakai is home to more than 10 nature reserves and protected parks.

Molokai Island- the fifth largest in the Hawaiian archipelago. It is often called the "Friendly Island". Molokai covers an area of ​​673.4 km², making it the 27th largest island in the United States. From the west, Molokai is separated from the island of Oahu by the Kaiwi Strait, 40 km wide; from the south between it and the island of Lanai passes the Kalohi Strait; and from the western tip of Molokai you can see the lights of Honolulu. The history of the island of Molokai is also interesting. It was noted in the history of the Roman Catholic religion as the location of two righteous people: the priest Damian de Wester and the nun Marianne Cope. Both were canonized by the Roman Catholic Church for their treatment and care of patients suffering from the then incurable Hansen's disease, better known as leprosy. In addition, it is the island of Molokai that has the status of the most “untouched” by man and, perhaps, the most interesting place on the planet. You will have to get to Molokai through Hawaii airport (Honolulu), where you can fly from Russia with a connection in Los Angeles.