Hey all! I finally made my way over to the island of Hawaii, the Big Island, and boy it did not disappoint!! The big island is so different from the other islands in a lot of ways. The big island as the name might suggest is much larger than the other three islands. It takes about 2 hours to get from East to West and their speed limit is significantly higher than the other islands as well, with speed limits in the 50's for the most part. The big island has 8 different climates throughout the island; including snow covered mountains, tropical rainforests, sandy beaches, and prairie fields. Once again I was expected the weather to be much worse than it was but it actually the warmest of the islands. The Kona side was close to 90 degrees everyday I was there.
I arrived Wednesday night and after having such a great experience at the hostel in Kauai I figured I would give it a shot in Kona, since it was going to be dark by the time I got the rental car, etc. I stayed at a hostel called Pineapple Park about 30 minutes from the airport and there was definitely a different vibe from the hostel in Kauai. First of all the woman running the place was like a Korean nazi. There were tons of rules and she was pretty uptight. In Kauai the guy working there was in his twenties hanging out and drinking with everyone. Also, the types of people staying there seemed very different as well. In Kauai the hostel was filled with solo travelers, the most would be two people traveling together. At Pineapple Park there were two big groups of friends traveling together, a group of guys from Canada and a group from Australia. There also were a couple of local people staying there because they were in between places. One being a family originally from Ukraine and they other being a guy named Jeff, who recently broke up with his girlfriend. I was friendly with everyone there chatting about what they have seen and done so far, but Jeff and I really hit it off. He was originally from Virginia and has been living in Hawaii for about 8 years. Surfer guy, a bit younger than me he lived on Kauai first for 5 years and then decided to move to The Big Island about 3 years ago when his sister decided to move to Oahu.
The next day Jeff offered to take me up to Mauna Kea. Mauna Kea is a dormant volcano that is actually the tallest summit in the world and currently has snow on it. The reason it is the tallest in the world even though Mt. Everest is actually higher is because a lot of it is below sea level. After having the Spark on Kauai and living out of that tiny little trunk, I needed to go back to a mid-size. The rental car prices continued to rise and I knew that out of all the islands the Big Island had the best development roadways, I figured a mid-size would be fine. Unfortunately, I think this is the most important island to have four-wheel drive on. A lot of the beaches and hiking trails are only assessable with four-wheel drive because there are lava rocks everywhere. Jeff had a Toyota Tacoma, which seemed to be a popular car throughout the island, that he did a lot of custom work on to help handle the rugged terrain. Jeff is a mechanic. He used to work at a dealership but now he runs his own business. He knows so many people on the island and their cars get destroyed living there, he seemed like his phone was constantly ringing.
We drove the nearly two hour drive up to Mauna Kea but unfortunately due to 70 mph winds we couldn't go all the way to the top. Still above the clouds we hiked up a small mountain and took some pictures. It was harder to breath up there for sure and was definitely much colder. We then went to his favorite beach Makalawena, or Maks, to watch the sunset. This required some serious off-roading. It was a pretty amazing extreme to be up in the cold mountains one minute and then watching the sunset at the warm beach the next.
The next day I woke up and was getting packed up to leave the hostel. I started talking to this girl at the kitchen table that said her and her boyfriend didn't rent a car because of how expensive it was and they wanted to know which way I was headed. When I told them I was headed to Hilo they asked if they could catch a ride to The Rainbow gathering. It was some kind of festival happening out in Pahoe. I said sure no problem but that I was going to be doing some sight-seeing along the way and they more than happy with that agreement since they just arrived to the island the day before. In previous posts I have discussed the term Wook, well these two definitely looked the part.
They both had disgusting dreadlocks and were extremely underweight. They explained to me more about The Rainbow Gathering where everyone joined together to help work and live off the land, play ukelele, and be at one with nature. They seemed like good enough kids. Both of them pretty young, the girl only 22 and her boyfriend 28. They were going to be staying on the island for a month and a half doing a work for stay program at a ranch. Both were circus performers from Nova Scotia, yes that's right, I said circus performers, who actually had been stuck in Vancouver for close to two weeks because of the strict travel policies Canada has. Before leaving the country they needed to know all the specifics of their trip and I guess there was some issue because they saw this trip as work rather than leisure and the two didn't have working visas. The first stop was a snorkeling beach where we spent a few hours, the two seeing the first sea turtle of their trip. After that we did some whale watching where they got to see their first whales and then headed down to South Point.
South Point is the southern most tip of not only the island but the entire United States. Driving down the road to get there was totally picturesque, but not at all what you would expect. It was like driving in the middle of Oklahoma with horses and cows and tall grass. There was a really cool cliff jump about 500ft that had a crazy cave you could swim to. The scariest part was trying to climb back up the ladder afterwards which was a rickety metal ladder that was just swinging back and forth as you tried your damnedest to climb up it.
After some crazy directions we made our way to The Rainbow Gathering where I dropped off my new Canadian friends for the weekend. When we pulled the car up a guy in overalls cheerfully said, "Welcome home." It seemed like an interesting group of people looking to spread love and good vibes but I was ready to get out of there and head to Hilo to spend the weekend with Keith and Sherri.
The three of us all went to high school together and Sherri and Keith got married about a year and a half ago and are expecting their first child, a baby girl in April. They spent the entire weekend taking me up and down the East coast of the island showing me all the highlights. Keith has been living on the islands for the past couple years working on Oahu and then The Big Island as a mechanical engineer. Sherri just finished up her doctorate in physical therapy and joined him out there over the summer.
We biked to the volcano on Sunday night for sunset. Unfortunately, Sherri couldn't come with us due to the toxic gases, it is not recommended in pregnancy. The bike ride was from the town of Kilauea, and was about 4 miles each way. We arrived right around sunset. The area was roped off and very crowded with people. Keith explained that he had been much closer in the past but ever since a section of land had fallen into the ocean around New Year's they had been much more strict as to where people were allowed to stand. We broke the rules anyways until a ranger came and yelled at everyone to get back behind the rope. It was incredible. To have had the opportunity to see an active volcano flowing into the ocean like that, it was unreal. It looked like a waterfall of hot lava shooting into the ocean at full force. The whole area looked like the apocalypse. Lava everywhere. People trying to rebuild their homes and putting up tiny houses on top of lava rocks. I couldn't imagine living there.
I was so impressed with the amount of knowledge Keith and Sherri had about everywhere we went, especially Sherri, since she has only lived there a few months. You could tell they don't just go see places, they truly care to learn about them. It was refreshing to be with people I felt like I could relate to. They both have great educational backgrounds, love to travel, and are passionate about fitness. I hope they had as much fun as I did with them. I truly left their house wondering why I wasn't better friends with them when I had the chance. It was so nice to stay with them but I didn't want to overstay my welcome so Monday morning it was time to get back to the hammock.
I decided I would head back to Kona, or the West side, for some more beach days and then end the trip back at Volcano National Park, hiking. The Big Island definitely has a much different vibe to it than the other islands. Being in Hilo I definitely noticed it wherever I went out with Keith and Sherri and I was a bit nervous to camp for the first time since I started this trip. The Big Island has a lot more locals than the other islands and their presence is strong at the beach parks where I would be camping. It's not that they seemed unfriendly but they didn't seem very friendly either. Camping on the other islands was filled with other people traveling from all around the world. This you could tell were people hanging out and living there. I took the advise of my tour guide Lucy from Kauai and headed to her favorite beach park, Spencer's, in Kawai Hae. I didn't really like the beach much at all because the water was murky and brown and I actually saw a shark in a cove nearby so I was scared to go in it. It was so hot sitting on the sand and not going in the water and there was practically no where to put my hammock up.
As the night grew darker I felt more and more uncomfortable being there. I decided to call Jeff and see what he was up, maybe he might meet me so I wouldn't feel so scared. He told me come to a different beach where he was hanging out with his friends. I really didn't want to pack up my stuff but he sounded so convincing and I really didn't want to be alone. Just as I was leaving the park I ended up in a ditch of lava rocks and practically popped my tire!! Thankfully I didn't but I was definitely stuck. I didn't know what to do!! Thankfully Jeff ended up coming to tow me out with his truck and he ended up staying at Spencer's with me. We spent the rest of the week together camping at his favorite beach Maks using his truck. During the day I would go do my own thing if he had to go to work. We hung out with all of his friends at the beach and I really feel like he opened up and told me a lot about his life and hardships in the short time we were together. I felt comfortable around him too. No judgement, no holding back. I told him everything about my life and what I was about.
On Thursday I decided to head back to National Park to do some hiking and see the volcano from the National Park side. I got there a little later than I originally wanted to because I left later than I intended and it is 2 hours away. When I arrived all the campsites, there were only 12, were already full. On top of that it looked like it was going to rain. I went back to the visitor's center to get more information about backcountry camping or cabins in the park. The woman suggested The Volcano Inn which was very close to the park and had great rooms and rates. The place was perfect! So cute with a delicious breakfast included in the morning and a 24 hour hot tub, you couldn't beat it! It ended up pouring that night which squashed my plans of hiking to the lava for sunrise. The rain cleared and I spent the day exploring the park and doing some small hikes. That night I went to The Rim restaurant which sat at the volcano's caldera. Although the lava was below the rim of the caldera it seemed illuminated the smoke in the air with a beautiful red color you can only see at night.
On Saturday, I woke up at about 3:30am to drive down to do the 10 mile round-trip hike to the lava flow and back. I timed it perfectly and arrived just in time for sunrise. This time I got extremely close to the lava flow. So close I could see "Pele's hair", or the glass fibers, all over the ground and literally hear the ground cracking below me. It was too early in the morning for rangers and a group of people had gone that close so I figured it was safe. I got up there took a few pictures and got the hell out of there because it did not feel safe. Thankfully the wind was blowing in the opposite direction so we didn't have to worry about toxic fumes but at any moment where I was standing could have collapsed into the ocean. Seeing the volcano not once but twice was definitely a highlight of this entire trip. I was so memorized by it. Science is incredible!
I headed back to Kona and spent my last afternoon at the beach watching Jeff surf and walking around the shops and restaurants in Kona. I had a really hard time saying goodbye to him. I have learned over the past two years to focus on me and keep my guard up. Despite what I know, its not always easy to do. The lone wolf doesn't want to be alone forever. There was definitely something about his goofy personality that made me laugh but his maturity, always wanting to know what I thinking and feeling, that I really appreciated. What it all comes down to is that the only relationship I know is the relationship I had with Chris. Although Jeff was only 28 he said he had been in relationships his whole life. I am excited to explore the dating world and figure out what my likes and dislikes are when I get out to San Diego.
I am going to write another entry in the next couple days comparing the islands and wrapping up my trip as whole but I did want to mention that on the Big Island I saw Monk seals, whales, and turtles! Maybe a dolphin but not positive so I am going to go with no....AROOOOOO!!!!
Instragram: lone_she_wolf
No comments:
Post a Comment