Another Day, another island

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Geo: 19.4975, -154.951



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As Hamish has to attend his conference in Waikiki, I, Alan,
made use of the opportunity and did a bit of island hopping to the Big Island
aka the Island of Hawai'i. Alas, since I
am the one writing the next few blog entries, they will not be as erudite as
the previous ones. Furthermore, they
will not be as succinct. So, make a brew
and make yourselves comfortable.



Big Island is but a 40-min flight from Honolulu. Since it's a big island – the clue's in the
name, there are two airports, Kona and Hilo.
I chose Hilo, because it is less busy and the drive to the b&b was
shorter. As we took off, we were treated
to some fabulous views of Waikiki and the Oahu coast line and also some of the
other islands. As we approach Hawai'i, I
was pleasantly surprised by how verdant it was, then I knew why. We landed in a torrential downpour !! Because of the volcanoes in the middle of the
island, the east and south sides of the island are wet and the north and west
sides are dry and desert like. In fact,
there is enough rain this side of the island to supply water for the whole of
the island. However, it rarely rains for
long and it's warm rain.



So, having picked up the car from the airport, it was time
for lunch. Drove the short distance to
the town centre – took 10 min, and pulled into the parking lot (as they called
it here) of Cafe 100. I have read about
this on Tripadvisor and I simply must go and try it for myself. I had a Mahi Mahi Loco Moco. It's a typical Hawaiian dish consisting of
rice on the bottom, top with a brown gravy, then the meat (Mahi Mahi is a local
fish, I could also have chosen beef burger, or teriyaki chicken or even spam...)
and a fried egg atop the whole lot. They
do like piling things up here. (Yes,
this entry might not be erudite but it will be about food !!) It is definitely nosh to fill the tum tum and
not haute cuisine. Had the constituent
elements been presented side by side on a nice china plate and served with a
salad, and perhaps also a glass of chilled Vouvray, it would have received rave
reviews. The fish was actually rather
delicious. I don't know why some
reviewers hated it so much while others thought it was the best thing since
sliced bread. OK so I exaggerated, but
it was not unpleasant at all.



The drive to the b&B, Absolutely Paradise, which is
situated in the back of beyond, was accompanied by a slight sense of
apprehension since I didn't really know where I was going. The route looked simple enough.... Ah, more torrential rain! Luckily I found the switch for the wipers on
full speed. The b&b is on the south
side of the island and is built on volcanic rock – the whole island is one big volcanic
rock, come to think of it. The setting
is amongst lush green vegetation, palm trees and colourful tropical
flowers. My room opened straight to the
patio and the pool and hot tub. Haven't
used the pool but I did try the hot tub.
Sat in it while it rained (again) which was a rather surreal
experience.



Had to drive to the nearest town for dinner (yes, more food)
which was 10 miles or so away. Found
this really nice Thai restaurant and had the most delicious Green Papaya Salad –
tongue tinglingly spicy with the wonderful aroma of fresh herbs and roasted
peanuts.



One aspect of being in a tropical paradise which I hadn't
appreciated was how noisy it could be at night.
A symphony/cacophony of calls from all sorts of creatures echoed
throughout the night. Standing on the
patio in complete darkness and listened to the sound of the ocean and the
animal songs was a magical experience !

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Photos

Ilikai Marina
The marina is in front of our hotel.

Cafe 100
Not a place for a celebration dinner !

Comments

[Sybil]

Am enjoying the updates! Alan, why don't you start a food blog? The descriptions are simply "edible!"

[Etsuko]

Estoy de acuerdo. Sara y tu ppod?is escribir "yum yum blog" con toda experiencia.

[Lynda]

Where are pix of food?

[Rob de Koning]

Ik kan wel zien dat jullie het erg goed naar je zin hebben! Het is dan ook een fantastische bestemming! Geniet er maar van! En blijven schrijven! Ga maar snel terug naar Jamba Juice. Er zit er trouwens ook een in het Alo Moana Shopping
Centre! Doei!