What a privilege for me to join Matt and Laura on the Big Island! After they picked me up from Kona airport, our first Big Island adventure together was the sunny and very warm Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park (aka Place of Refuge) that Laura described in her post. Given the many challenges across the globe today, I really appreciated visiting this site and the chance to reflect on the park’s statement that this spiritual sanctuary serves as a refuge for all peoples in our modern world.
Photo at Place of Refuge
From that microclimate we drove to the cooler starting point for hike to Green Sand Beach, one of only four green sand beaches in the world! On the hike we had to contend with rain, mist, puddles and slippery mud while taking in glorious views of the coast, stretches of land covered with wind-blown tawny grass and an occasional rainbow.
As we hiked, we saw several pickup trucks of varying degrees of dilapidation shuttling visitors over very rocky, mud-filled paths. I was grateful that we were walking instead of riding in one of those trucks (which I later learned are illegal and looked as terrifying to me as it seemed to one person I saw in back of the most dilapidated pickup of all). I was also grateful for tracks made by those trucks which we were able to follow to our destination of Green Sand Beach.
When we arrived to the cliff overlooking the beach cove, the force of the blowing wind was reason enough for me to not venture down from the cliff to the beach. Laura kindly stayed back with me and together we watched in awe as Matt made his way down via an initial set of rickety stairs and then a path carved into the cliff. Thanks to our good pace, we made it back to the car with time to spare before sunset, just as Matt had predicted. I loved the look of the grassy landscape which Laura and Matt said reminded them of Ireland—further increasing my desire to visit that part of the world with Tim someday!
Green Sand Beach - Matt coming back up So windy at Green Sand Beach!
So so windy! Landscape on hike to Green Sand Beach
Twilight on return from Green Sand Beach
From Green Sand Beach, we drove to our airbnb just 5 miles from Volcano National Park. It was an ideal place to stay – for its location but also for its hot tub which helped alleviate chill and muscle aches! So many memorable experiences in Volcano National Park: evening views of active Kilauea Caldera from 2 different sites; Kilauea Iki crater trail and Thurston lava tube; Chain of Craters Road drive with stunning views of the ocean; walks to see the Holei Sea Arch and nearby petroglyphs of ancient Hawaiians.
Nene - state bird of Hawaii Kalauea Iki Trail
Kalauea Iki trail -- crater in background
Crossing crater on Kalauea Iki trail
Our next Big Island destination was Hilo, seat of government for Big Island where we stayed at an airbnb about 7 blocks from Kamehameha St, the main drag named after King Kamehameha the Great, the first to conquer and unify all of the islands into the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1795 and who is commemorated with a 14-foot statue that faces the street.
Our Hilo airbnb was very well-situated: uphill from Hilo’s quaint downtown of shops, restaurants, cafes, farmers & open-air markets, several museums and the Palace Theater (where the musician Jake Shimabukuru – renowned for his impressive ability to play almost any music genre on the ukulele—was scheduled to play a concert during our stay which, unfortunately for us, was sold out!). The ocean was visible from the sidewalk in front of our airbnb and from there, we were able to walk to downtown, Rainbow Falls, Liliuokalani Gardens and dinner at Hilo Bay Café. In the downtown we enjoyed Hawaiian treats of ice cream topped with flavored shave ice and sweetened condensed milk, mochi varieties made by “Two Ladies Kitchen”, poke bowls, and a meal at a Thai restaurant – all delicious and very filling!
Poster for Jake Shimabukuro concert in Hilo
Two Ladies Kitchen - amazing mochi
Varieties of Mochi Coconut Island, Hilo
Rainbow Falls
Rainbow Falls after 3 days of rain.....
My impression of Hilo: a laid-back vibe, full of lush green vegetation and gigantic versions of tropical plants and with a rain forest-feel given the frequent, short-lived but often intense rain downpours that happened several times throughout each day and night during our stay. Sounds I will remember from our stay there: rain; singing of coqui frogs starting at sunset and well into the night; crowing of roosters starting at daybreak and well into the day; “why would anyone choose to live in such a rainy place” comments; surf crashing on rocky beaches—a surf so high during our stay that it restricted spots we were able to experience in our “Snorkeling with the Sea Turtles” adventure (despite restrictions, we saw many sea turtles during that adventure – and at least 12 different kinds of gorgeous fish that made me want to research setting up a saltwater aquarium in our house someday!).
Another memorable sound? Listening to an entertaining podcast about La Macarena song on our drive from Hilo to various other points of interest: scenic drive to Waimea where we had breathtaking views of cliffs overlooking the ocean; Kaumana Cave/Lava Tube where Matt did a great job of leading us through very tight and dark spaces; drives around snow-capped Mauna Kea and up to the observatory visitor center partway up the peak where cloud cover added chilly moisture to the strong wind we encountered there but where we learned that on a clear night, amazing stargazing was possible—which we experienced for ourselves the following night!
Kauman Cave/Lava Tube
Scenic overlook on Waimea drive
Rainbow on drive around Mauna Kea
A last favorite place for me in Hilo was Liliuokalani Gardens named after Queen Lili’uokalani, the last sovereign monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii. As I sat on a bench there, I read about Lili’uokalani who ruled Hawaii from 1891 until overthrow of the Kingdom in 1893 in a coup d’etat led by a group with political, financial, and family ties to the US. The group’s ultimate goal was annexation of Hawaii to the USA, an effort that resulted in Hawaii becoming a US territory in 1898 (same year that Puerto Rico became a US territory) and then later a state in 1959 (a status yet to be decided for Puerto Rico). Liliuokalani Gardens is a beautiful, peaceful place that for me was like a smaller Japanese-Hawaiian version of Tower Grove Park in St. Louis given its carefully curated landscape and lovely structures throughout.
What a gift and pleasure for me (and Tim when he was with us in O’ahu before Big Island) to be a participant in and witness of much of Laura’s and Matt’s time in Hawaii, the first stop on their world tour. During moments when they had to focus on planning logistics of future destinations, I was struck by the amount of effort required to plan and then “see everything” as much as possible in each place they visit. Watching Matt and Laura in action as we shared different experiences in Hawaii, I was reminded again of the curiosity, energy and wonderful ability they have to engage with people and sites they encounter—traits that are enabling them to fully embrace this magical opportunity they have created for themselves in this commitment to travel the world together. Cheers to you, Laura and Matt! Enjoy your adventures with Stephanie in your next destination of New Zealand. Safe travels “a hui hoa” (Hawaiian for “until we meet again” messaged to us by owner of airbnb in Volcano).
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