Here we are at day 7 of the week. This the last full day and night we have in Hawaii. It has been a lot of fun. We have seen a lot of amazing things and gained a lot more understanding of the Hawaiian culture. Granted, Hawaii has been Americanized a great deal, but there are still some differences.
Today was snorkel day. Tonya and I arrived the the dock and loaded onto a catamaran boat called the “Body Glove” at around 8:30 a.m. They had a continental breakfast of sweet breads and fruit. At 9:00 a.m. we left. We had a twenty minute ride to the anchor spot. The shoreline for this island is as rugged as its interior. As with all the tours we have done this week, there was explanations made about the island and the sea. We anchored in an area that was still open to the waves coming in, but the morning was fairly calm and sunny. After some brief schooling on the finer points of snorkeling, we put our fins and masks on and slipped into the water.
I had rented a GoPro video camera and was able to video 20 minutes of our time in the water. There was an abundance of fish and we saw a turtle. The water was pretty clear and we could see for some distance. (Later after reviewing the video, I noticed that anything shot on the surface area shows up clear but below was not as clear, though you can see the bottom. The fish are not as clear as they appeared in real life. I will try to fixed the with adobe premier.) I think I was in the water for over an hour, Tonya was in for a shorter time. It is a beautiful thing to watch the world as it exists under the surface. We saw a number of tropical fish of various colors and a turtle resting on the bottom. By the time I got out of the water, I could barely walk. The last time I snorkeled I remember going longer and wanting more, but I think that was twenty years ago. This time, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but when I got out, I was spent and just wanted to rest. After getting out of the water, the crew provided a BBQ of hamburgers, potato salad and fixings. It tasted real good, especially after sucking in all the Salt Water. After the crew had rounded everyone up and done roll call (they didn’t want to leave anyone behind), we headed back to the dock. It was a four hour adventure and I loved every minute of it.
Tonya and I arrived back at the condo around 2:00 p.m., showered and prepared for our next adventure. Shortly after 3:00 p.m. we left for the top of Maunu Kea. This is the tallest mountain in the Pacific Basin. It is the tallest of the 5 volcanoes on the Big Island and at the top they have some of the best telescopes in the world. When we arrived last Friday, we noticed that all the street lights were of a low, dingy yellow color. During the week we learned that this was done on purpose to cut down on the light pollution. So, there is no bright lights polluting the skies around these telescopes.
This mountain is over 13,000 feet. We were told that we would need a jeep to get to the top. So, in my mind I was seeing some fun off roading. So, I upgraded to the jeep, which was a good thing no matter how you look it. I actually enjoyed driving it and it sat us up a bit higher so we could see more of the country side. The talk was all about going to the top of Maunu Kea to see the sunset and look at the stars. So we were both excited about this. So, we arrive at the at the visitors center at about 11,000 feet. We have 8 more miles and 2,000 feet left. They actually do a tour, where they bring people to the top to watch the sunset and gaze at the stars. I believe they provide food and other items, like warm coats, gloves and hats and charge you $200 a person. This is one tour we decided to do ourselves, besides we had upgraded to the jeep just for this trip.
After leaving the visitor center, we left the paved road for a gravel road. Let me be clear here, the worst of the off roading we had, was washboards in the gravel road. Granted they would rattle the teeth a bit, but they were no worse than the washboards in the streets of Iona when I was growing up. Then, after 4 miles of this rough off roading (this was a joke), we were back on a nice paved road for the next 4 miles all the way to the top. So, I ask myself, why leave a 4 mile stretch of unpaved road? Maybe if they paved that road then everyone and their dog would be coming to the top. Oh, that reminds me, while we were heading out to snorkel, I saw a dog swimming in the bay with its owner. It had a harness on its back like a seeing eye dog. So I was wondering if this dog also guided its owner in the water? Who knows.
Once we arrived at the top, it was spectacular. We were far above the clouds and there were a lot of clouds. It looked like a carpet of cotton laid across the sky. I believe we had something like hour before sunset, so we looked around and tried to find the best vantage point to see the sun go down. The temperature dropped from around 85 degrees in the valley to at 40 degrees when the sun went down at the top. I was in shorts and a light jacket and to say the least got a bit cold. The sunset was spectacular. About 15 minutes before the sun went down, a bus load of Japanese tourists came dressed in yellow coats and leggings with hats and gloves. And, they were everywhere and in front of us. Oh well, we watched the sunset and decided we didn’t need to stay around to see the stars. So we headed back to the warmer climate and sleep. It had been a long day.
We were a bit hungry by the time we arrived back at Kono, it being 9:00 p.m. and us having the BBQ on the boat. So we stopped at this fast food place to grab a quick bite to eat. I ordered garlic shrimp. It looked like they had taken the shrimp, shell and legs and put them in a garlic sauce and cooked them. I wasn’t sure if I was to eat it as is or peel it. So I tried both and decided that peeling it was the best for me. Not sure I am a fan of the shrimp shell.
At this point I want to bring up something that I find interesting here in the islands. Spam is a big sensation. Not exactly sure when it was introduced, maybe during the war, but it is served everywhere. I have seen spam sushi, spam burgers, spam platters and spam in breakfast offerings. I saw a lady eating a rice ball with spam in the center. While at the macadamia nut factory, they had spam flavoring on the nuts. From what I understand McDonalds even has a spam sandwich. Sadly, I have not tried this delicacy, but I still have the final day and maybe I will become a true Hawaiian and eat spam.
So, thus ends day 7 of the Hawaiian trip. Our last day will be a presentation from the condo complex and then free time to do whatever we decide. Our flight leaves at 10:00 p.m. and we don’t turn the rental in until 8:00 p.m. So one last fling before we are out of here. Mahalo.