Hula and Heiau

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Favorite quote from yesterday: "You can only run around the parking lots" from an older runner returning as I was going out, in response me asking for a good place to run. I realized I should have told him that he wasn't locked in.....even though the gate shuts behind your car....

On Friday morning, I walked down to the Hapaiali'i and Ke'eku Heiaus next to the condo grounds, after getting advice from the reef "docent" about access to these ancient sites, since they are closed off from the road by chain link fence due to construction.. There is an unmarked trail right beside the last condo building that leads to a beach and the shrines. These two heiaus have been reconstructed by Kamehameha Schools in 2007. Hapaiali'i Heiau is believed to date back to the 1400s (carbon dating indicates that it was built between 1411 and 1465).

http://gohawaii.about.com/od/bigislandofhawaiiphotos/ig/keauhou_beach_resort_photos/keauhou_beach_resort_023.htm



The Heiaus are fronted by wonderful tide pools, and I decided to return at low tide to look for the petroglyphs I'd read about and to explore the tide pools. Bill came with me and we eventually found a petroglyph..very cool. It was in the shape of a sea turtle.

http://lovingthebigisland.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/the-beautiful-enigmatic-and-cryptic-petroglyphs-of-hawaii-island/

After breakfast we headed south to Two-Step beach for more snorkeling. John and Linda (our absent hosts...) recommended it and it was well worth the drive. We took the back roads home, seeing coffee farms and small towns along the way.

Friday evening we walked back down to King Kamehameha's birthplace and then we walked to the shopping mall to attend a hula exhibition, put on by a 150 year old Halau O Po'ohala (hula school) from Waimea. The show was exquisite, with dancers ranging from 7 to 84 years old. The first part, consisting of old style hula was my favorite, and more beautiful than any dance performance I have ever seen...

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Photos

Ke'eku Heiau
Wooden carvings

Hapaiali'i Heiau
This works as a calendar

Ke'eku Heiau
Took years to construct by hand, only months to reconstruct with machines....

Fish!
I moved this pair into open water, when I saw them trapped in a quickly draining pool...