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Published: October 31st 2013
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As I lay in bed reading stories about Hawaii on our last night at home, I began to feel the immense space around the islands, space filled with water and air. The land is very new geologically, and so very far from "solid" land...a strange and somewhat disturbing feeling...
We arrived here after dark, so I could see the lights of the Islands adrift in the vast darkness from far off. The sky was clear, so it was a shock to land in an absolute downpour! (Heavy even by local standards, we found out later!) There was, as the flight attendants put it, "no way you're not going to get very wet", since you walk from the plane to the terminal. Water was a few inches deep on the tarmac, and most of the terminal is open air....so we were indeed wet by the time we claimed our bag...!
We picked up our rental car, and drove about 6 miles to the condo (thankfully the rain had stopped), stopping at the local Safeway for supplies. Everyone we talked to was funny and friendly...the checker was talking to the customer ahead of us about a local power outage that morning,
and asked us if we'd lost power too....we said we in fact had, but that our outage was about 3000 miles away....
We woke at dawn this morning to birdsong....lots of outriggers paddled by, a cruise ship kept its distance, and the sun came out....
I walked around the complex, and found there are three sacred sites on the grounds: a fishing altar, and remains of two buildings. One is home of three kings, called Lonoikamakahiki. It is 500 years old, and was built by King Umi. What remains of the sites are sandwiched between parking lots, tennis courts, and the pool, which makes them even more striking to see. The flowers and plantings throughout the complex are beautiful....
After coffee on the lanai, we ate brunch and walked to the nearest beach where I was told there were turtles and good snorkeling....We walked along the road for about 10 minutes, passing a construction site, and more condos. While all the coastline of Hawaii is open to the public, the access has to be provided often, somewhat begrudgingly it seems, by resorts.
The beach was already crowded and it wasn't yet 10:00am....Snorkels were bobbing everywhere....
But there was room for us all and so many beautiful fish in the clear water....the waves were breaking farther out and surfers were riding them...the mountain behind the beach would peek through the clouds from time to time....a turtle appeared and snacked on algae near the shore....a great Hawaiian morning!
http://www.scubadiving.com/files/old/images/potw_images/050604PW_01_lerner_lg.jpg In the afternoon, I drove to the strip mall area to purchase some forgotten items, and after a nap, we walked up the scenic viewpoint above another strip mall. From here, you can see for miles up and down the coast. Right in front of the view point are the underground lava tubes and caves that provided refuge from battles and from the heat to ancient native Hawaiians, along with scarce fresh water springs. The tubes and caves are now drug/homeless hangouts and most have been closed off. Along the coast (right near the snorkeling beach) are other significant sites of sacrifice, battles and religion.
Here's link to videos and more info on the sacred sites in the area:
http://lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com/2008/07/10/wwwtourguidehawaicom-presents-a-road-trip-through-keauhou-historic-district-big-island-hawaii/ On the way back down, we watched the red sun set into clouds above the darkening ocean....as the cruise ship sailed off...
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Michele & Errol & Mike
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Hello from the cold!
HI Lynn! As always, love your posts. There is an entire ancient fishing village up north of all the resorts as I recall. Very interesting. Is on the way to Hawi - and I think south of you is Captain Cook - there is a really nice fabric store there. Enjoy !