this is Post #3 for today and this one is all dedicated to L-A-V-A. We start off with a brand new lava beach in the making. Then we drive across a road partially covered in lava for an evening view of lava entering the ocean (from the safe distance, per county rules). Gotta lava da lava!
Perfect pehoehoe lava, just the way Pele likes it:
Can you twist a rock into this rope-like shape? Pele can - at 2700 degrees Fahrenheit! Here is a not-quite-brand-new lava beach (hiking access only):
And now we are headed to a brand new lava beach in the making:
The green end is the beginning of a new coconut palm for the beach here:
Fast-forward a few months:
And now, fast-forward to sunset and the drive and subsequent hike over lava-covered road to the current viewing site:
And the actual viewing (camera looking through a pair of binoculars):
this day starts with a lovely morning drive along the windward coast (Post #1 for today), then later a snorkel outing (Post#2 for today), and finally, a visit to Pele's Plumes once again (Post #3 for today).
Some start with a morning surf:
A clip from the drive:
Don't know our limu types well enough to say if this is hte real thing, but it's pretty:
And a video clip:
There is a hint about 'the future' around every bend:
We seem to be off the the farmer's market an awful lot if judging by the number of market videos that have been posted here on this blog. However, market day is not an everyday event - it is a special opportunity once or maybe twice a week - to sample a slice of the local culture.
On this market day, we had mostly new discoveries - again - it is amazing what you'll find at these places. You think you have seen and tasted everything, but then you find new stuff yet. Today, we'll walk you through the following:
Bug-eating plant, 10lbs of sugar cane (for a buck), jackfruit, cooking bananas, mountain apples, puakenikeni (a HEAVENLY fragrant bloom), anthuriums, kapa cloth. Just watch...
And an order was placed here for some Coconut Turnovers for pick-up on Friday:
The afternoon was ear-marked 'coastal drive pending weather report'.
We ended up doing it anyway, despite an iffy weather report. The weather turned out to be a bit of a blessing - we got some seriously cool wave video as a result - including a very neat blowhole. You'll also see an Ironwood tree grove in this video.
Hat's off to Mother Nature - and Pele - for their rather spectacular abilities!
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'. :)
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!
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!)
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:
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
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...
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:
