the big island and mauna kae

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the four of us adventurers (dorinda, dave, helen and me) left maui this morning at 9am for bigger better things on the big island. arriving in hilo, helen had already reserved a car and we were quickly on our way to arnott's lodge, the hostel recommended to us, where we were fortunate enough to see our first geckos of the trip!!! after checking in to the deserted hostel, we went to the weekly farmers market to pick up some produce, including some fresh pineapple, avocados, and even the hawaiian specialty: spam sushi. that's right, i said spam sushi. now, some of you may know that hawai'i is the capital of spam... they eat it up like crazy... so it comes as no surprise really that they would make sushi out of it... right? well this had been intriguing me since my first day in maui, so when dave offered me a bite, i had to. i tried spam sushi. i had to. i took of bite of fake meat... the kind that is made of boots and rats... but you have to try local customs when you're traveling, and i did. i can't say it was delicious - but it wasn't bad. for the price, it's a good deal. after the market, we headed back to the hostel and made plans to go up mauna kea, the highest peak of hawaii.

mauna kea (meaning white peak in hawaiian, for it is usually covered in snow in winter) stands at 13,796 feet from sea level. from its base though, it stands higher than everest at 33,476 feet (starting at the base of the pacific ocean). mauna kea can be reached from the saddle road, linking the eastern and western parts of the big island. up to the observatory that rests at 9,200 feet, the road is fine, but only four-wheel drive vehicles are allowed past that point... so we all pitched in and rented an expedition truck for the day, which was cheaper at the end than going on a tour at $75 a pop. we are ingenious.

we got to the visitor centre and stayed there for the recommended hour, as our bodies needed to acclimatize to the altitude. there is a little shop there and we spent a while watching their information video on mauna kea, its observatories and all the safety warnings. mauna kea has many observatories since its skies are clear and provide perfect conditions for viewing. it is a state of the art location for modern astronomy.

from the visitor centre, we drove up and looked at the many observatories, and then decided to hike up pu'u poli'ahu (13,631 feet), which is a hawaiian sacred site. dorinda decided to stay behind, so helen, dave and i went ahead... it was only a 300 feet hike, but it was definitely the hardest hiking i have ever done, mainly because of the altitude! i have never felt my heart beat so fast while exerting that little effort! it was humbling. from the top, we could see lake wai'au, which is a crater lake where the locals throw their children's umbilical cords for good health in their future. a little odd, but it is a beautiful lake.

after our hike back down, we headed to the actual summit of mauna kea and hiked it. this one was a bit easier, despite its higher elevation (probably more acclimatized by then) but the view was absolutely amazing! as sunset was coming our way, we went back to the parking lot, where the view was better for the setting sun... and we were rewarded by yet another beautiful sunset on top of a summit!

back at the hostel, we made a communal dinner of yummy pasta, and retired for the night... yet another filled day in hawai'i...

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