Go Big (Island): Venturing Around the Island to Escape the Rain

So it's been rainy here the past couple weeks. Very very very rainy. Not just friendly drizzle rain, but ungodly heavy downpour rain. So much rain that it's making all of us a bit itchy. When I say "all of us," I do not just mean the three of us, but all of the people around us. Everybody at the farm. Everybody in Hilo. Everybody on the eastern side of the island.

On top of that, there's been an outbreak of Dengue Fever on the island. Dengue is not endemic to Hawaii, and thus likely arrived to the island via the bloodstream of a tourist who contracted it elsewhere. Dengue is spread through mosquitos, like Malaria, and is not contagious person to person (unless, I suppose, an infected person rubs an open wound on the open wound of an uninfected person.) The symptoms are similar to that of the flu, but like, a really bad flu. A couple weeks ago there were 7 people infected; today it's somewhere around 80 and climbing. So that's fun.

I don't mean to complain. I guess we're just realizing that paradise can only remain paradisiacal for so long, before it just becomes the place you live and have to deal with so much GODDAMN PERPETUAL RAIN.

This post is mostly going to be about a whirlwind time of activities and adventure we had this past weekend. If you read the previous post about how I wasn't feeling well during this particular escapade, let's all just push that out of our minds while reading this post. Because despite my own particular demons this past weekend, it was really a rather splendid time.

After Riley left we didn't do very much. We might have done some things but I honestly can't remember. The days all blur together because everyday is the same and SO GODDAMN WET.

So on Friday we left on a small adventure, mostly (or entirely) planned by Rachel and Tamarah. The easiest way for us to escape the rainforest that we live in is to simply drive to Kona, which thanks to the rain shadow created by the volcanoes is really rather dry, almost like a desert.

Rachel and Tam on top of a sea arch

On Friday afternoon we drove to the Sheraton where we lost (and then found) the dive light that went missing as mentioned in the previous post. After picking up the light we decided to stick around the Captain Cook area and explored the coast near Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. The coast largely consisted of semi-rough lava rock that was riddled with collapsed lava tubes that filled with water from the tides. The water that flowed into and out of the lava tubes eventually eroded their entrance/exit holes to the extent that they became arches. So, essentially, the coast was filled with dynamic pockets in lava rock where ocean would rush in, gurgle and gush and slurp, then be sucked back out; spattered amongst these cavities were natural bridges and arches of lava rock poised over tumultuous waves. It was all quite fascinating.

After our little walk along the coast we went into Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. Our guidebook suggested that we get there just before sunset, which we did. The park exists to preserve a site of extraordinary historical and spiritual importance for Hawaiians. In the time when native Hawaiians ruled the islands, it was not uncommon for people who committed crimes to be sentenced to death as punishment. If the persecuted person could escape to a place of refuge, and there perform important cleansing religious rituals, they would be allowed back into society without any further consequences from their past crime. Pu'uhonua o Honaunau was a refuge such as this. The site today mainly contains reconstructions of what the site likely looked like in its hay day, but it also contained a lot of authentic carvings from the ancient Hawaiians who lived there. Supposedly right next to or behind the site or something was a giant palace where a lot of important ali'i (chiefs/leaders) lived throughout history.

A traditional Hawaiian hut in the place of refuge

I was really craving a burger, so we went to a joint called Annie's that could have easily existed in Boulder (and had the feel of the Mountain Sun/Southern Sun restaurants) and had incredibly peppy staff. We enjoyed our food there and then stayed at a gentleman's apartment that we found via couch surfing named Brian. The 3 of us shared his pull-out couch and then woke up at 5 am to get Rachel to her race in downtown Kona.

Rachel up on the "podium" after the half marathon

She participated in the inaugural 100% Kona Coffee Half Marathon. It took her 2 hours and 3 minutes to complete it, and she got third in her age division (females 20-29.) We were very proud of her. While Tamarah and I were waiting for Rachel we ate breakfast at this very very pleasant cafe called Huggo's on the Rocks. It was almost entirely outside, and the seating area was right next to the ocean and had soft beach sand as a floor.

After Rachel's marathon we started making our way north to Kawaihae to return the dive light to the dive shop. On our way we pulled off of the highway about half way in between Kona and Kawaihae to a little beach park that I honestly can't remember the name of. The beach had almost no sand but instead round ocean-worn lava rock and coral. There was a sea turtle on the beach there, which we found to be very exciting. The poor thing blended into the beach very well and almost got stepped on about 10 times, but we were watching out for him, making sure he could get his nap in the sun.

Sea turtle on the beach. The Hawaiian word for sea turtle is Honu

We returned the light in Kawaihae then immediately started driving to the southeast part of the island, to the town of Pahoa, where the rest of our adventure awaited. Pahoa is widely regarded as the most "hippy" or "granola" part of the island...essentially it's a smaller, more tropical version of Boulder. We used couch surfing again to find a place to stay. We were very lucky and the gentleman named Beto who took us in gave us an entire vacation rental house to ourselves, as he had no one renting it at the time. We were so overwhelmed at this miraculous opportunity...to sleep in a warm and dry place all to ourselves with internet and power and potable water and everything. We just stayed in that night and immersed ourselves in our more civilized environment.

The next day (Sunday) we woke up and went to Pahoa's farmer's market, which was incredible. There were a lot of booths, a lot of yummy food, and a really pleasant vibe. Unfortunately we were only able to stay there for a little bit, as we were more interested in making our way to the coast near Kalapana for an ecstatic dancing experience. Sanji had told us about the ecstatic dancing soon after we first arrived to the island, and we were finally able to make it to the meeting. It took place at what I gathered to be a yoga retreat place called Kalani. It cost $15, which was kinda bum, but the experience itself was really interesting. It took place in a large, open space, and there were about 200 or so people present (of which I'd say roughly 98% were white.) The ecstatic dance itself was led by a DJ who played electronic music for about 2 hours or so. The music initially mainly consisted of what I would describe as electronic tantric trance music, but then shifted to more mainstream electronic (more like what you would hear in a club,) and he even played songs like Prince's "Kiss." It was a rather interesting experience. The dancing itself was fun, as everyone danced in a rather uninhibited manner...which meant that watching other people dance was almost just as fun as the dancing itself. It was all quite cathartic.

After dancing we went to a nearby beach, which seemed to have attracted most of the population of the ecstatic dance group. Getting to the beach required a bit of scramble down some cliffs. On the beach itself there was a rather extensive drum circle (in that there were probably 20-40 people participating at any point, and lasted for hours,) and a heady handful of people in the nude. That likewise was quite a pleasant cultural experience. I saw a bumper sticker for Pahoa that I thought summed up our impression of the people rather well; it read: "We're all here because we're not all there." I hope it's okay that I find that funny, as I'm not a part of the community of Pahoa...but it is rather wonderfully apt.

Ahalanui Park. The ocean is behind the wall on the back left.

Our host from the previous night graciously let us stay in his vacation rental for a second night. We gladly returned to that haven and had another lazy night in. The next morning we had a slow time getting going, and eventually moseyed our way to Ahalanui Park, which was a public beach park that had a large man made pool. The pool collected both ocean water and hot spring water and thus was a pleasant tepid temperature. We even found some of the hot water vents, to hang out in, and Rachel and I swam for a little bit in a pool off of the main one that was significantly warmer.

After the beach we pretty much just drove right back to Hilo and Honomu. We were greeted by some rain. It was saying, welcome home.

Tomorrow we fly to Oahu to meet up with the one and only Michael "Fresh Produce" Gerard and Tamarah's family. We're looking forward to exploring a different Hawaii, the one most commonly seen on post cards. We're also looking forward to seeing what nightlife Honolulu has to offer, and to spending Thanksgiving with the Howards and Mr. Gerard.

Some Notes from the Past Week:

• I forgot to note som notes from last week in the previous blog post
• I think that's because things just don't stand out as much as they used to...we've become used to things around here now
• There's this one spot on the highway in between Hilo and Honomu that smells like orchid around 8 at night, when it's not raining. We enjoy it quite a lot.
• Construction of the TMT telescope on Mauna Kea has been indefinitely delayed by the Supreme Court (rumor has it because the people constructing TMT skimped on their environmental evaluation.)
• I've been reading the sequel to Ender's Game in the Shadow series called Ender's Shadow. I quite enjoyed it. There are 2 different series that act as sequel series to Ender's Game, and it was suggested to me that I read the Shadow series. I think that was exemplary advice. 
• Tam's been reading books about psychology, including a book about how we perceive time, the sibling bond, and the sociology of mental illness.
• Rachel's been reading the book I mentioned early on in the blog, The Shark Diaries, that is historical fiction about Hawaii. She seems to be enjoying it.
• For some reason I have been inexplicably spellbound by the song "The Hills" by The Weeknd and really enjoying listening to Childish Gambino (who can not love Donald Glover?) and Atmosphere.
• On a semi-related note, we've all found an enhanced appreciation for reggae music since moving here