Tonya made a comment on Sunday that this week was going to go by too fast. My comment back was no faster than any other week. The difference with this week is that we have packed a lot into the week and we will be on the go, which will make the week seem to go by in a hurry. Knowing this, we just have to enjoy it while it lasts and focus on the moment and not the end.
Tuesday, day 5, started early, meeting at the start point at 6:30 a.m. The day 5 adventure was a hike to a number of waterfalls. These waterfalls were not of the magnitude that were saw from the helicopter, but they were still impressive. Our group consisted of 10 people, a family of 5 from Oregon and a family of 4, with the oldest boy’s girl friend, so 5 from Mexico. They had lived in San Diego for some time and all spoke English very well.
This tour began in Kona and we drove to basically the same place where Tonya and I drove yesterday after the helicopter ride. In Hawi, we left the comfort of the bus and loaded into a six all wheel drive vehicle. It looked like something purchased from the army surplus store. We then left the comfort of the main blacktop road for some good off road traveling into one of the valleys. We then did a hike. I believe it was around 1.3 miles of rain forest type terrain. Very green and beautiful. There was a small stream running through this valley with a number of waterfalls along our hike. Again, Tonya and I took a lot of picture, to be posted at a future date. At one point in the hike, we stopped at a small waterfall, pond area and all that wanted went for a swim. Though I had come with swimming suit on, I decided that swimming was not for me on this day. Tonya was of the same opinion and so we sat and watched the younger people swim and of course took pictures. After the swim, we had a short hike back to our green 6 wheel bug and drove to a lookout place for lunch. The few was spectacular. The north coast with its cliffs and beaches. A very breath taking view and of course I will post some pictures.
After lunch, we drove back to Hawi and walked around for a bit and then all back into the bus and then back to Kono. It was a wonderful day of getting close to nature. Yesterday we saw it all from the air and today we experienced it first hand. This island continues to amaze me with the diversity that can be found.
I guess the other thing I like about these tours is the people we meet. I believe I talked to almost all the people on our little group this day. I think I could tell you something about 7 of the 10 people. That was interesting to me.
When it comes to looking at the pictures, you will see that I have a walking stick. That I have to say was a very important instrument on this hike. My left knee has been very so as of late, and that stick got me through some of the rocky terrain. So, in final, the hike and activity was beautiful and very worth the time and effort and money. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Once we arrived back in Kono, Tonya and I went back to the condo and cleaned up. Our second tour of this day was a life tour. We decided to do session at the Kono temple. The Kono temple was built back in 2000 and is a small temple. There is a door bell at the front door that you ring if you are coming during non session times. They only do 3 sessions per week day. What we thought were the correct session times we found to be wrong. We went for a 5 p.m. session and found that it was at 6:30 p.m. So we left and went to get something to eat. We came back just before 6 p.m. and found the door to be open. Then we found that it is a bring your own clothes temple, but the people were able to find clothes for us. So we were able to do a session. It was a nice finish to a wonderful day.
We ended up getting to bed around 10 p.m. So, there you have it, Day 5 in a nut shell. The stiffness from the hike has settled into my bones a bit now, but that is a good feeling. Our next big adventure, day 6, is a bus tour around the island. This will be nice, because I won’t be driving. Both Tonya and I can relax and enjoy the drive. It’s not that I don’t relax while driving, but sometimes I like to look around, which causes a lot of stress for Tonya. I think I scare her while I do my driving and sight seeing at the same time. But at times I may wonder in the road a bit and so she fears for her life. I think next time I will put her name on the rental and she can do all the driving and I will just sit back and take pictures.