![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I was a little nervous about Hawaii, because I knew I'd have to drive. Luckily, automatic cars make it so much easier to drive, so much so that I actually sort of enjoyed it once I learned to keep my left foot out of the way. K-Big FM helped, I loved singing along to all the cheesy stuff on there, and wearing flip-flops the whole time made it easy to kick them off for driving barefoot. The road up to Mauna Kea is absolutely fine from either side of the island, whatever anyone says.
Mauna Kea was immense and glorious. Sadly, due to getting altitude sickness, I only spent a couple of nights up there as an astronomer, one of them on oxygen. I also visited on the weekend during the day, and hiked to the shrine at the summit, and to the permafrost lake. I was so pleased to visit one of the Kecks and Gemini North.
The apartment I stayed in had a balcony, from which I could see the sea and into the garden of the block, where there were mongooses (mongeese?). I loved seeing a couple of cats stalking one, but never daring to actually poke it - that mongoose was very sure of itself. In the bay behind the block was a shallow cove for swimming, and in the evening, there were often huge, majestic turtles resting there. There were geckos in the apartment, once in the litter bin, but my best gecko viewing was in Wal-mart. I'd stopped in there around 3 in the morning, having tried to watch a laser run that wasn't going anywhere, and on a pile of t-shirts, there was such a cute little gecko.
Volcano National Park was fantastic, apart from smashing my camera there. I went a couple of times, hiking across the caldera, where the ground feels fragile, or through the forest around it. The first time I went, it was dusk when I got to the lava tube, and after going through the well-lit touristy first half, I peered dubiously into the complete blackness of the second half. A couple of guys came out and said that I had to go in - and when I said I was chicken, they insisted on escorting me. I guess maybe it was silly to go into a deep, black cave with a couple of strangers, but it was really cool and scary in there, so I'm glad I went. The volcano was only really smoking by day, but by night, there was an otherworldly deep red glow at the bottom of the plume. The volcanic smell isn't quite simple sulphur, but something more sharp and acidic.
In Hilo it rains - hard, warm, luscious rain that makes the whole town bloom. Everything is green, the gardens are stunning, and the ginormous banyan trees line the drive by the shore regally. I plucked hibiscus and fragipani to wear behind my ear (left ear means you are taken, right signifies that you're single). But out of fairness, I decided to drive round the island one weekend to see Kailua-Kona, the hot, dry, sunny side. I went the south way, via South Point. The route down to the coast here goes past several scenic windfarms, and it is easy to see why - the wind whips in from the sea, and the waves crash terrifyingly on the shore. I watched a lot of foolhardy people cliffjumping, and added to the pebble messages left on the point itself.
My favourite place in Kona was the sanctuary. In the old days, someone committing a kapu (taboo) act would be subject to extreme penalties, not just the death penalty, but sometimes death for their entire family. However, there were some places that were sacred, and if the perpetrator was able to escape to one of these, they were absolved of their crime and could return to their community without punishment. This sanctuary is a serene, palm-fringed strip of coast that is a perfect place to wander as the sun goes down, and is one of the most peaceful places I have found.
Kona was kind of touristy, and though it was fun to see that side of Hawaii, I didn't fall for it as I did for Hilo. I liked the shrine to surfing (Hawaiians have their priorities straight!), and saw some cool petroglyphs. I drove back over the saddle road, which was fairly fun and roller-coastery in bits.
I also did the north road another time, which was much greener and hillier than the sun-baked old lava flows of the south road. The old road that loops back and forth off the main road is incredible. I didn't enjoy it as much as I might have done if I wasn't praying fervently not to meet something coming the other way, the road being about one-and-a-half small car widths wide, crumbling at the edges into the ravines below, and without passing places. The forest is lush and blooming, and devours anything it encounters - I saw a car half-eaten by a banyan tree. I drove right up to the Pololu Valley lookout to see the stunning views over the ravine and walk down to the beach. I'd taken the whole day sightseeing on my way there, so when I drove home over the Kohala mountain road in the dark and fog, maybe that wasn't such a great idea, but I made it back okay.
I think my favourite part of the island was Puna, rich with the sort of lush green forest that is the best feature of Big Island. In between this forest was a beautiful National Park of petrified trees, and uplifting stretches of cotton fields. At one point, I just had to stop the car at the side of the road and run down the road whooping, jumping and dancing.
I did have my share of tourist moments - I bought a lei and several brightly coloured dresses, went to the kind of touristy restaurant that had hula dancing (to "Walking in a Winter Wonderland", amongst other things!), bought a ukulele, and even a grass skirt. In Kona, I had dinner at the Forrest Gump restaurant, for novelty's sake - you switch the sign from "Run, Forrest, Run" to "Stop, Forrest, Stop" when you want to talk to a waiter.
Some of my favourite memories of Big Island were falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the sea in a room filled with light, chocolate Silk soy milk and coconut tapioca pudding from the health foods store (I got addicted to these, and they sustained me through long nights of observing), and singing along to Christmas songs on the radio while wearing a sundress and driving barefoot. Kona Coast by the Beach Boys, with the line "I want to spend Christmas on the Kona Coast in Hawaii" was awesome for this! I also liked the industrial side of Hilo, garlanded liberally with electricity lines against the heavy grey rainclouds and peppered with gas towers. The 'Imiloa astronomy center also deserves a mention for having an exhibit with an apple pie coming out of the oven - "If you want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe" - Carl Sagan. Least favourite part - taro. Why would anyone choose to eat purple-grey wallpaper paste?
As I hopped across to Hololulu, I noticed again how the islands of the archipelago are shrouded in cloud, while over the sea, the skies are always blue and clear.
I made a flying visit to Honolulu to see Pearl Harbour, and it was worth it. The first day I tried, the jetty broke away just before our slot to take the boat out, and being the weekend, it looked like it might not get mended for a few days, and I might miss it. The next day they'd rigged something up though, and after seeing the extremely moving film for the second time, I got the navy boat across to the Arizona memorial. This ship was sunk on December 7th 1941, killing 1177 sailors, nearly a half of those who died in the attack. Most of them are still there on the Arizona. It is a place unlike any other, and impossible to describe. Oil still leaks up from the sunken vessel, nearly 70 years later, and pretty little tropical fish dart around the bases of the gun turrets, visible under the clear blue water. I didn't feel in the mood for Waikiki Beach afterwards, so I spent the rest of the day in the Bishop museum.
I flew home via a day in Chicago, which was a bit of a shock to the system. I arrived at some horrendous hour of the morning and got the train into the centre. I lugged my ukulele around in the freezing pre-dawn mist, looking at the twinkly Christmas lights amidst snow and feeling for the first time like it was nearly Christmas. As it slowly got light, I made my way through the parks to the edge of Lake Michigan and stood there alone as some geese honked mournfully out of the fog. I gave in to my craving for warmth, and spent most of the day in the Fields museum, which was anything but a wasted day.
Finally, a fun but uncorroborated fact about Big Island, Hawaii. Some tourist guide in Kona told me that of the 13 types of ecosystems on Earth, 11 exist on Big Island. One day, I mean to check that out. I can confirm that the sudden changes in weather and vegetation as you travel across the island are quite extraordinary.
Mauna Kea was immense and glorious. Sadly, due to getting altitude sickness, I only spent a couple of nights up there as an astronomer, one of them on oxygen. I also visited on the weekend during the day, and hiked to the shrine at the summit, and to the permafrost lake. I was so pleased to visit one of the Kecks and Gemini North.
The apartment I stayed in had a balcony, from which I could see the sea and into the garden of the block, where there were mongooses (mongeese?). I loved seeing a couple of cats stalking one, but never daring to actually poke it - that mongoose was very sure of itself. In the bay behind the block was a shallow cove for swimming, and in the evening, there were often huge, majestic turtles resting there. There were geckos in the apartment, once in the litter bin, but my best gecko viewing was in Wal-mart. I'd stopped in there around 3 in the morning, having tried to watch a laser run that wasn't going anywhere, and on a pile of t-shirts, there was such a cute little gecko.
Volcano National Park was fantastic, apart from smashing my camera there. I went a couple of times, hiking across the caldera, where the ground feels fragile, or through the forest around it. The first time I went, it was dusk when I got to the lava tube, and after going through the well-lit touristy first half, I peered dubiously into the complete blackness of the second half. A couple of guys came out and said that I had to go in - and when I said I was chicken, they insisted on escorting me. I guess maybe it was silly to go into a deep, black cave with a couple of strangers, but it was really cool and scary in there, so I'm glad I went. The volcano was only really smoking by day, but by night, there was an otherworldly deep red glow at the bottom of the plume. The volcanic smell isn't quite simple sulphur, but something more sharp and acidic.
In Hilo it rains - hard, warm, luscious rain that makes the whole town bloom. Everything is green, the gardens are stunning, and the ginormous banyan trees line the drive by the shore regally. I plucked hibiscus and fragipani to wear behind my ear (left ear means you are taken, right signifies that you're single). But out of fairness, I decided to drive round the island one weekend to see Kailua-Kona, the hot, dry, sunny side. I went the south way, via South Point. The route down to the coast here goes past several scenic windfarms, and it is easy to see why - the wind whips in from the sea, and the waves crash terrifyingly on the shore. I watched a lot of foolhardy people cliffjumping, and added to the pebble messages left on the point itself.
My favourite place in Kona was the sanctuary. In the old days, someone committing a kapu (taboo) act would be subject to extreme penalties, not just the death penalty, but sometimes death for their entire family. However, there were some places that were sacred, and if the perpetrator was able to escape to one of these, they were absolved of their crime and could return to their community without punishment. This sanctuary is a serene, palm-fringed strip of coast that is a perfect place to wander as the sun goes down, and is one of the most peaceful places I have found.
Kona was kind of touristy, and though it was fun to see that side of Hawaii, I didn't fall for it as I did for Hilo. I liked the shrine to surfing (Hawaiians have their priorities straight!), and saw some cool petroglyphs. I drove back over the saddle road, which was fairly fun and roller-coastery in bits.
I also did the north road another time, which was much greener and hillier than the sun-baked old lava flows of the south road. The old road that loops back and forth off the main road is incredible. I didn't enjoy it as much as I might have done if I wasn't praying fervently not to meet something coming the other way, the road being about one-and-a-half small car widths wide, crumbling at the edges into the ravines below, and without passing places. The forest is lush and blooming, and devours anything it encounters - I saw a car half-eaten by a banyan tree. I drove right up to the Pololu Valley lookout to see the stunning views over the ravine and walk down to the beach. I'd taken the whole day sightseeing on my way there, so when I drove home over the Kohala mountain road in the dark and fog, maybe that wasn't such a great idea, but I made it back okay.
I think my favourite part of the island was Puna, rich with the sort of lush green forest that is the best feature of Big Island. In between this forest was a beautiful National Park of petrified trees, and uplifting stretches of cotton fields. At one point, I just had to stop the car at the side of the road and run down the road whooping, jumping and dancing.
I did have my share of tourist moments - I bought a lei and several brightly coloured dresses, went to the kind of touristy restaurant that had hula dancing (to "Walking in a Winter Wonderland", amongst other things!), bought a ukulele, and even a grass skirt. In Kona, I had dinner at the Forrest Gump restaurant, for novelty's sake - you switch the sign from "Run, Forrest, Run" to "Stop, Forrest, Stop" when you want to talk to a waiter.
Some of my favourite memories of Big Island were falling asleep and waking up to the sound of the sea in a room filled with light, chocolate Silk soy milk and coconut tapioca pudding from the health foods store (I got addicted to these, and they sustained me through long nights of observing), and singing along to Christmas songs on the radio while wearing a sundress and driving barefoot. Kona Coast by the Beach Boys, with the line "I want to spend Christmas on the Kona Coast in Hawaii" was awesome for this! I also liked the industrial side of Hilo, garlanded liberally with electricity lines against the heavy grey rainclouds and peppered with gas towers. The 'Imiloa astronomy center also deserves a mention for having an exhibit with an apple pie coming out of the oven - "If you want to bake an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe" - Carl Sagan. Least favourite part - taro. Why would anyone choose to eat purple-grey wallpaper paste?
As I hopped across to Hololulu, I noticed again how the islands of the archipelago are shrouded in cloud, while over the sea, the skies are always blue and clear.
I made a flying visit to Honolulu to see Pearl Harbour, and it was worth it. The first day I tried, the jetty broke away just before our slot to take the boat out, and being the weekend, it looked like it might not get mended for a few days, and I might miss it. The next day they'd rigged something up though, and after seeing the extremely moving film for the second time, I got the navy boat across to the Arizona memorial. This ship was sunk on December 7th 1941, killing 1177 sailors, nearly a half of those who died in the attack. Most of them are still there on the Arizona. It is a place unlike any other, and impossible to describe. Oil still leaks up from the sunken vessel, nearly 70 years later, and pretty little tropical fish dart around the bases of the gun turrets, visible under the clear blue water. I didn't feel in the mood for Waikiki Beach afterwards, so I spent the rest of the day in the Bishop museum.
I flew home via a day in Chicago, which was a bit of a shock to the system. I arrived at some horrendous hour of the morning and got the train into the centre. I lugged my ukulele around in the freezing pre-dawn mist, looking at the twinkly Christmas lights amidst snow and feeling for the first time like it was nearly Christmas. As it slowly got light, I made my way through the parks to the edge of Lake Michigan and stood there alone as some geese honked mournfully out of the fog. I gave in to my craving for warmth, and spent most of the day in the Fields museum, which was anything but a wasted day.
Finally, a fun but uncorroborated fact about Big Island, Hawaii. Some tourist guide in Kona told me that of the 13 types of ecosystems on Earth, 11 exist on Big Island. One day, I mean to check that out. I can confirm that the sudden changes in weather and vegetation as you travel across the island are quite extraordinary.
