More Snorkeling and a One-eyed Moray Eel in the Hot Pool (24 FEB 2009)

Aloha,

this post is fairly liquid. First with the fishes:



And then a fish highway and a visually impaired Moray eel (they can be mean, so visually impaired in this case may have more consequences for the human than the 'beholder of the remaining eye'. :)



o
o
o
o
oo
oo
ooo
(more snorkel bubbles)
ooooo

Kepani & Kamila

Snorkeling & Lava: Phrom Placid Phish to Pele's Phrying Pan (23 FEB 2009)

Howzit?

After work was over at 11AM, we headed out for a little snorkeling:


And in video format (it is a long, but very phishphul video):



On this evening, we made our second visit to Pele's Plumes. As we already posted video of the spectacle following our previous visit a few days prior, we won't do that here. What we do have, however, is a cool interview with a fella who does extreme volcano photography here on the Big Island of Hawaii. His name is Bruce Omori and he isn't afraid of getting up close and personal with Pele - the volcano goddess of Hawaiian mythology. Here, Bruce is explaining HOW he took the two photographs we bought from him at the volcano viewing staging area on this evening. To say this video is HOT STUFF is no understatement. Watch!



For more on Bruce's work, check this out:

http://www.extremeexposure.com/layout/0001/gallery_view.cfm?g=73

WOW!
Kepani & Kamila

Market Day, Onolicious Grindz, and a Dip in A Hot Pond (22 FEB 2009)

Aloha, howzit?


Yes, you guessed right. It is market day - again! What WOULD Hawaiians do without their Farmer's Markets? And, truth is, we're so sold!! Hawaii really knows how to put on da show!

Mango wood, Lychees, Alaska Salmon, Bamboo, Vacuum cleaners, Vintage Coca Cola, Spam Loco, Surfboards, Peaceful volcanic candles, Massage, Aloha shirts, Anthuriums, Growing Coconuts, Vegan Cacao, Fatigues, Papayas, Taro, Banana, Cascaron, A chap selling flowers, Lava salsa, Laulau, Live lobster, Smoked meat, Shave ice, Cotton candy, Orchids, Hawaiian music, and - amazingly - SO MUCH MORE!! Have a look:



Samoan palusami, taro, music & auntie, jungle tacos, hammocks, orchids, Hawaiian quilts, Kukui lei, Super natural hemp, Green Coconuts, The brown tree snake, The Coqui frog, and A precious political pun...



And as if that isn't already the whole enchilada, this one will take the cake - or at this latitude - the mochi.:
Howdyalikethis: a half-Athabascan/half-Inupiaq (eskimo) who relocated to Hawaii because of: DRUMROLLLLLL.......... DA WEATHER! Gotta love it. FEEL da Aloha!!
Here, we're reminiscing about Alaskan summers and talking some story about 'muktuk' and 'eskimo ice cream' right here in Hawaii - in FEBRUARY. (Yaah, just seh noo to da snoo):



All this gourmet story talking made us hungry, so we headed home for a super Hawaiian/Polynesian meal - lau lau, Samoan palusami, poi, Smoked pork, Hawaiian Candy, Cascaron, Crackseed (Ume), Mango, Coconut Candy, Roasted Cacao Beans, Papaya, Apple Bananas, Rambutans, Macademia nuts, Mochi, Rice & Banana dessert:



And, finally, it is Sunday and what better way to end the week than in a geothermally heated lava pool - complete with little fishies and ocean view! (Yes, indeed, Pele may be a moody siren of steam and smoke, but for this particular creation she deserves some credit!)



And...zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Kepani & Kamila

King Kamehameha, Tsunamis, Fish Shopping, Isle of Mercy - and Ono Grindz (21 FEB 2009)

Aloha again,

let's start this segment by honoring King Kamehameha the Great (a.k.a. the 1st) who established the Kingdom of Hawaii and became the first monarch. This statue is the third of its kine, commissioned by Kaua'i but given to the City of Hilo:


Kamehameha never really succeeded at annexing the island of Kaua'i, in fact, they fought tooth and nail to maintain their independence until it was eventually decided that enough was enough and the isle of Kaua'i elected to join Kamehameha's new Kingdom of Hawaii.



Next, the Tsunami Memorial. Hilo was inundated TWICE in it's fairly recent history - first in 1946 and then again in 1960. Each time, it took out entire neighborhoods. Here, a memorial to the 61 victims of the 1960 tsunami in Hilo:


Of course a tsunami of this magnitude must originate somewhere, right? Well, for those of you who have joined us on trips to Rapa Nui, you know the story about the moai getting knocked off the ahu. SAME tsunami, my friends! This all began with a 22 MAY earthquake on the mainland of Chile - some 10.000 kilometers from Hilo Hawaii. Even Japan - clear across the Pacific Ocean - got a piece of this 1960 tsunami. Here's more:

http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/c1187/

And a little video clip we did:



Continuing in the realm of aqua, we proceed to the fish market in the hopes of finding fish for dinner:



What's in a name? Coconut Island = Moku Ola (a.k.a. Pu'u Honua=Place of Refuge) = Isle of Mercy (our nickname). As you'll see in this video, there was a bit of confusion regarding the Coconut = Ola part. Not sure where the Coconut part came from (hotel developers??) because after further scrutiny, Ola is all about 'being saved' which relates perfectly well to this place originally being a Place of Refuge (in ancient Hawaiian times you'd basically be hightailing it here while being hotly pursued by your persecutors if you had done something wrong and/or broken a kapu/law). We present: Moku Ola (Island of 'safety'):



Finally, back at the lovely little beach house -another kine of Refuge, if you will, here is a quick rundown of what was in the shopping bag - from Mahi to Munchies and then some...



Da time haz thuz come for some Ono Grindz!
Kipani & Kamila

ORANGE Lehua, A funky Gardenia, Mountain Apples - and a Satellite-Sized Hibiscus for da Ear (21 FEB 2009)

Say it with Aloha:


As you may have concluded from this introductory shot, indeed, the day began with a beautiful garden. Ever heard of yellow and even ORANGE lehua blossoms? Well, they had them all here:


And for those of you who are familiar with the Tahitian tiare, here is a funky Hawaiian version (it is not wilted, it actually comes this way - and is therefore great for lei-making):


And a couple of not-quite-ripe mountain apples. D'ya know they make great smoothies?


A nice specimen of Kalo (taro) - the staple that has kept Hawaiians alive for centuries:


Here's a lovely satellite-sized hibiscus that our garden guide picked and gave to Camilla (yes, the same one that ended up behind her ear later on):


For an interesting little video clip of dakine garden tour - explaining the various uses and types of many of the plants we saw, just click here - you'll be amazed:



And that wraps up the first half of today. The second half was spent in Hilo, see next post for more on tsunamis, the isle of mercy (our nickname for Coconut Island - originally a pu'u honua or Place of Refuge), King Kamehameha the Great (the first monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii), a visit to the fish market, and more...we finish with a review of our rather 'local' purchases...

A hui hou!
Kepani & Kamila

Miniscule Hawaiian Town - WITH Nightlife (20 FEB 2009)

Aloha from Hawaii,

after a brutal day of processing pesky paperwork - albeit at the gorgeous beach house (so no complaints!), we ventured out to see what the nearest town might dish up on a Friday night. The word: Mexican fare! It is the biggest restaurant in town and there was not a table to be had - i.e. a 10 minute wait for a table. Wow! The food was pretty decent and the lilikoi margarita was excellent. Come 9PM, the town is practically deserted - save for one establishment with the light still on and music streaming out the doors. Have a look:



zzzzzzzzzzzzz,
Kepani & Kamila

The Town that Pele Buried in Lava - Yes, It's Gone! (19 FEB 2009)

Aloha again.

We're giving this portion of today its very own post. In 1990, this little town was entirely buried under lava. The town - is gone! 100% zeroed. All you see is lava, lava, and more lava.
This, folks, was once a two-lane road. And now? It is a road no more...


And another pair of striking visuals (these would be from about 1990). And, all due credit to the photog(s) who took these and whose name(s) were missing from this photo display:


Yes, that is an automobile getting swallowed by lava right there. And below, another image:


This one was hanging on a window pane. No name, but, again, all due credit to the photog.
Note the 'waves' in the background. Then note the very calm water in the foreground. A-ha, you say, those aren't waves. Correct you are. That is steam from lava hitting the ocean you see - before it consumed the entire beloved black sand beach you see in this photo. Whoever took this photo was v-e-r-y close!

'Fast'-forward 20 years:


Let's take a walk down to the newest black sand beach in Hawaii...



And a brief walk through the little makeshift village sitting atop the lava land here at the end of the road:



And a lunch break. Here a classic Hawaiian Mixed Plate (Teriyaki beef, Potato mac...):


Then onto another beach (in the rain - someone must have plucked a lot of lehua today).
After years of pounding surf, old lava flow is churned up and begins to look like this:



And always remember:



A hui hou!
Kepani & Kamila

The Awesome New House and A Mobile Church (19FEB 2009)

Aloha,

yes, indeed, it has been a while. I'd be embarrassed to say I am posting 19FEB09 on 06MAR09 if it weren't for the fact that about 25-30 lbs of office paperwork has been manually processed page-by-page in the interim. A very boring version of busy indeed, but it is over now, and we are dragging a substantially lighter burden as a result (a good thing since we leave for Tahiti in a month). In an act of celebration, the last of the personal privacy papers went on the backyard pyre (a.k.a. BBQ) yesterday after having been successfully scanned, massaged, and digitized. It is truly amazing that computers never seem to gain weight from all the data we incessantly keep pressing into their endless memories. But...they don't, and that is a very very good thing!


So, where were we? Oh yes, the new house (which we have entered and exited since last post). This was one awesome beach house. We kind of knew because we picked it with 'nice' in mind and - it delivered on par with expectations - and then some! Here is the lovely lana'i cum 'virtual office' - oceanfront and outrageously outstanding! When I say kudos I mean it!


And for a closer look at the 'interior aspect', here is a quick little house tour a'la YouTube:



On this afternoon, after having settled into the new abode, we went exploring a bit. The area has been inundated by various lava flows over the past few decades and this is the sort of thing that creates 'history in the making'. Lava can change one's existence pretty permanently when it suddenly threatens to bury the town you live in. But Pele is a goddess capable of producing substantial peril and the Hawaiians in this area have learned (or have never un-learned) to 'go with the flow' as one cheerful resident said. In the 1990 flow, this little building - very dear to the local community - was doomed. So they got together and moved the wretched thing - yup, up on the truck and driven away (see below for truck pix):


And, as promised, the church on truck pix:


For a better look and a little story about it, here is a video clip:



And anyone who saw our Kalaupapa blog entries will recognize these folks, who appeared in a stained glass window in this very church. Father Damien, began his work on the Big Island. Only later, did he head to Kalaupapa to take care of Hansen's Disease patients:


Mother Maryanne was the person who inherited Father Damien's role once he became unable to continue his work at the colony. The poor fella, it was discovered, possessed the very gene that made him one of the few people susceptible to contracting Hansen's Disease (a.k.a. leprosy). He died from it right alongside his very own patients. If that isn't dedication, what is? He is due for sainthood in October of this year (2009).

Ironically, right across the street stands a processing plant for Noni - The Cure-all Tonic of The Pacific:


It supposedly heals all ills (except perhaps leprosy) and smells like shit. In fact, we even witnessed an Apache medicine man take a bite of a nice ripe one last month, only to utter - rather disgustedly - that it tastes like, you guessed it: s-h-i-t!
In fact, we have our very own little mnemonic for NONI (pronounced Nohnee): NONI=NONEED.

Ok, enough food for thought - for now...(Pun intended? Oh, hell yeah!)
Noni nui...ahem, Aloha nui,

Kepani & Kamila

Anthuriums, Fresh Coconuts, and some Hilo History (18 FEB 2009)

Aloha,


let's start the day with 'Anthurium 101' and a fresh coconut (you'll also briefly meet a moderately obnoxious nut in this video...):



And then on to Hilo, a Hawaiian town steeped in some pretty serious history - including a couple of deadly tsunamis in it's relatively recent past. We start with the Hilo art scene. And, yes, evidently they start 'em rather early around here. This delightful one, titled "New Years with The 'Ohana (Family)" was found hanging in a local gallery):







These are just to diffuse the rumor that it a-l-w-a-y-s rains in Hilo. It doesn't. For starters, here is a perfectly clear view of the top of 13679ft Mauna Loa:








And for those who love mac nuts, here are a few square miles of them:



And a little clip of what happens along many Hawaiian waterfronts an hour before sunset:



And that ends a perfectly delightful day in, mostly, Hilo.
Aloha,
Kepani & Kamila

Hawaii PM: Tropical Downpour, 'Frootfest' & Gecko TV (17 FEB 2009)

Aloha again,

just a quick little post about local Hawaiian nightlife:

An 'Afternoon Shower' in Hawaii has little to do with shampoo and towels. here is a genuine Tropical Downpour as seen from a c-o-v-e-r-e-d lanai:



And a little Frootfest' of Cacao, Soursop, and Rambutan:



And finally, some genuine Hawaian TV 'Greg, the Gourmand Gecko':



A hui hou!
Kepani & Kamila