Day 324 The End of Hawaii

Shave ice. Mmmmmm. It may look like a snow cone but don’t dismiss it so rashly. And it is “shave ice” not “shaved ice.” It is that Hawaii pidgin English that can be impossible to understand sometimes. They use a blade to shave fluffy handfuls of ice off a big block and then pack it into the cone shape. This makes for the most delightful texture and flavor, since the fluffy ice absorbs the flavoring instead of letting run through like pedestrian crushed ice. And if you go all the way, and you know we did, you can get a scoop of ice cream in the bottom and sweetened condensed milk poured over the top (called a snow cap). If you are going to do that you have to get the big one too, which is as big as Eric’s head, look at the picture, I am not exaggerating. All of the sizes were huge, even the small one was the size of a large grapefruit. I am happy to say that as weird as it sounded to put ice cream and condensed milk on a snow cone, it was fantastic. And only about 5 bucks.

Afterward we walked along the seawall as a graceful sea turtle glided/flew through the water along with us. Incredible.

We had to go to a luau while we where here. I got tickets to the Royal Kona Resort luau, supposedly the best tourist show on the islands. First we both got the traditional lei greeting and then I got the traditional mai tai (weak) at the open bar. Then we watched them dig up the pig from the earth oven, which by the way, may be a tasty way to cook the pig, but not an attractive way. He came out as an unappetizing looking pile of meat, skin, bones, and God knows what else. I did not hold it against him when I piled him on my plate shortly after that. The food was good. I love lau lau, a mixture of pork, fish, and the taro leaves. Eric was not crazy about it or especially not the poi. The emcee kept joking about how tourists hate it. Poi is merely pounded taro root without anything else. It is purple, almost tasteless, goo. Hawaiians love the stuff and I could see how if you grow up with it. If you don’t grow up with it….

They did a show highlighting the seven different Polynesian cultures. The women did lots of dancing with their hands and hips of course. The Maori warrior was fun to watch as he yelled and stuck out his tongue and swung his wooden stick in a very menacing way. The best part was the fire knife dancer. He was actually the best in the world , had the trophy to prove it, and was amazing. With the things he did, he must have burned all the nerves out of his body already. After the show I had to go get a real mai tai at Don the Beachcomber’s Bar at the hotel. Don invented the mai tai in 1933 and it is much more complicated than the Trader Vic version created in 1944. This is one of those things that you just can’t pass up. It was indeed good. Too good. I was wishing we were staying at the hotel.

Our explorations around the Big Island took us all around the island putting 1400 miles (2250km) on the rental car. I am glad I got the unlimited mileage option. It was worth it to have our own car there. There is not really a functioning bus system outside of Oahu. I wasn’t thrilled about the $35/day insurance on top of the rental fee though. Ouch.

Hawaii, like some other places I have been, is very expensive. It is also however, unlike any other place on earth. For all of my travel, when I look back at the pictures of the places I have been and I remember the experiences, both good and bad, I don’t miss the money.

Day 323 Earthquake!!

We were shaken awake this morning as someone tried to push over our cabin with a big truck. Well, that is what I first thought in my sleepy incoherence. In reality it was a 4.0 magnitude earth quake with the epicenter about two kilometers away. I have not been in one that loud or jarring before so it was cool to experience. I looked online and saw that we are sitting in the most dangerous rift zone in the event of an eruption. Interesting. I am hoping for some more activity to make it a memorable experience—not too memorable though.

I once saw on the Travel Channel a guy talking about how good white pineapple is, and that you have to come to Hawaii to get it, so when I saw it at a farmer’s market, I quickly forked over the nine bucks for one big specimen. I have not been able to find it in stores and was eager to try it. I am happy to say that it lived up to its reputation as low acidic, sweet, and all around delicious, yet I do not think I would want to part with nine dollars a pop for one all the time, especially after getting some which were almost as good for 45 cents each in Brazil.

Right in nearby Hilo, there is a place called the Boiling Pots. Basically they are a series of deep volcanic holes that are in a line and there is a river that pours from one to the next. It is a wild natural formation and is perfect for rock jumping. We had our choice of any number of low jumps all the way up to a 30 plus footer (10m+) which I loved. Even though the holes are only between 20-40 ft across, they are very very deep. I never saw the bottom in any of them. It is a popular local spot so we had plenty of company and got to watch them doing crazy flips and other stupid things. We were warned about one hole that would be good for jumping except the river flowed in the top and out a hole in the bottom. The guy said that that was where the tourists usually died when they got trapped in the underwater current. Good warning. Thanks.

Day 321 Is It Too Much to Ask for a Little Boiling Magma?

We have made a few trips to the Volcano State Park. and have been roasted at the steam vents, smelled toxic gas (wasn’t me), explored the lava tubes, walked across lakes of lava, stood at the rim of an active volcano, and yet, in the one place where we sure to see flowing lava, it has stopped. Dang it! It flows for 26 years straight until just before we come. Oh well, we would not have been able to get that close to it anyway.

We went through the lava tube (600ft, 100m) and then saw that there is a whole other section that you can go through if you bring your own lights. We couldn’t pass that up. The light from my phone didn’t get us far so we came back another time with lights. I already had a headlamp and bought one for Eric. The tube is much smaller, deeper, and scarier than the main tube which is fairly level and well lit. This tube goes down and down and requires a little effort to get around the big pieces of ceiling that have fallen in your way. Yes, a number of giant pieces of ceiling had fallen, way down deep in that soundless black void where no one would ever hear your screams for help as you were crushed by the merciless rock. Every step seemed to take you miles further away from the safety of the surface, the ceiling got lower, the darkness blacker, and the silence more deathly, until, after a 1100 ft (336m) of claustrophobic nightmare, the ceiling crashed into the floor and it was the end. And time for a snack! Cool.

There is no better way to get an appreciation for how big a volcano is than to walk across its lake of lava (cooled of course). We hiked some trails and found our way to the caldera of Little Kilauea after seeing it from above. It didn’t look that big. It is. Really big.
We climbed all over the hardened broken surface of the lake, inside petrified bubbles, through enormous crevices, and over smooth flowing ripples. The whole time we worked hard not to scratch the heck out of ourselves because that stuff is really rough. I ended up with a few bleeding spots, nothing much, just enough to look manly.