On an unrelated note, this is my 100th post on this blog. Hooray!

Along the way, we also passed through Captain Cook, which is a town near the place where the real Captain Cook was killed. Apparently when Hawaii was made a part of the U.S., the Queen gifted the small plot of Captain Cook Death Scene land to the English, though you don’t need your passport to go there. This gives new life to the old saying, “The sun never sets on the British Empire.”

From south point, we headed to Kilauea crater, which has been continuously erupting for several years, though at varying intensity. At the main crater, we saw an enormous sulfurous plume rising from a mysterious hole in the ground, and many side vents periodically turning off and on throughout the whole time we were there. The smell of sulfur was not pervasive, but it certainly was present, and would have been much worse had the plume been blowing towards us (though if it had, we probably wouldn’t have been allowed out of our cars).

Our next stop was the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut Factory further north towards Hilo. This stop was greatly anticipated by all, though it didn’t quite live up to expectations as the factory itself was closed for the holidays, and the self-guided tour suffered immensely from this. We still visited the shop, which I believe is the main attraction, and had some wonderful ice cream outside. The entire day, we had been passing coffee and Mac nut plantations, so seeing one from the inside was interesting, and learning how they worked is even more fascinating.

Content with our visit, we headed back to Kilauea, and took the Chain of Craters road past all of the many lava outlets towards the point where the road becomes…inaccessible. Apparently, this road used to connect all the way through to Hilo, but recent volcanic activity wiped out large sections of it. We were actually able to see the vapor plume a few miles down the coast where the fresh lava was hitting the water, though the park guides wouldn’t let anybody very close to the lava. We stayed out where the lava crossed the road until just before sunset, then headed back to the parking lot where we walked a short ways out to a sea arch. Imagine a black volcanic version of an Arches National Park arch, and you’ve just about got it.

The lava that we walked on was itself fascinating, with strange patterns and folds all over the surface. There were also many large cracks which afforded a view down into passageways the lava could flow through. While walking on it, I was half afraid that I would step on a hollow piece and break through, though I guess there’s no real danger of that.

We started back up from sea level just after sunset, and our drive back through the jungle to the highway was shrouded in a dense fog. The combination of this poor visibility and the jungle itself encroaching upon either side of the road made for a very eerie time, though in reality we were soon out of it. When we got to the highway, I noticed that the reflectors on the roadway were extremely bright in our headlights, and when we had long straightaways or interesting intersection ahead of us, they would light up like a christmas tree or an airport runway.

Then, of course, there’s the matter of the other drivers. I’d say about half seem fine-courteous, relatively skillful, and inoffensive. The other half seem to be the worst kind of jackass driver you always encounter, with perpetual hi-beam headlights, excessive speed, and tailgating reminiscent of New Mexico freeways. They never seem to want to pass, but to force you off the road into a pullout so that they can speed past and honk in annoyance, as if ten over the speed limit is far too slow.

But now we’re almost back in Kona, and though it’s late and I’m tired and sore from being in the car all day, I have to say, it was a wonderful experience. Tomorrow should prove to be just as busy, and let’s hope it’s just as fun.
LJS-8:40 PM

As we progressed into the saddle between the two large volcanoes, Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, we observed intense vog (volcano fog) on the slopes of Mauna Loa. While Mauna Kea is more compact and has more varied terrain, Manua Loa appears to be a perfect shield volcano-straight slopes all the way down to the sea. The sight is rather impressive, and though it doesn’t appear so tall (even though it is at about 500 feet short of being a 14,000 foot peak), the most impressive facet is the sheer extent of the volcano-truly massive.

Our route took us up the slopes of Mauna Kea to the Observatory visitor’s center. Outside, they had set up a 10 inch telescope with a solar filter, and though there are only a few very small sunspots visible at the moment, it still drew quite a crowd. We were informed at the desk inside that our car was likely not up to the trip to the top of the mountain, so we decided to forego the trip and perhaps try it another day. From here, we decided to head to Hilo for lunch and then north to view some waterfalls.

Lunch in Hilo was rather amazing. We found a small family owned thai restaurant that was highly recommended by our guidebook. We ordered several dishes, including an excellent chicken satay, thai fried rice, an amazing spicy green curry, and wonderful noodles with thai basil, but the star of the show, by far, was the cashew chicken. The sauce, we figured out, was a combination of red curry paste and coconut milk, and was as unique as it was amazing. Nearly every time I have thai cuisine, I’m convinced that it’s the best thai I’ve ever had, but this time is going to be hard to equal.

We finally headed for some waterfalls on a quick hike, and discovered amazing scenery along the way along with some peculiar flowers. As usual, I’ll let the photos do most of the talking.

Though our sojourn was short, we nonetheless were rather tired, and several took naps on the way back to the condo. We finished the day with a quick dinner in town, and some laid-back time to relax. All in all, not a bad day.
LJS-10:15 PM

We started the day by heading to the large harbor to the north for our submarine ride. We were very early, and consequently had quite some time to wait around. This we spent watching the ocean and surmising on the possible presence of sharks (which my dad hates). When the guides arrived, they told us that they only saw a shark maybe once every month which set my dad at ease, but slightly disappointed me. We were soon on the short ferry ride over to our little submarine, and after a five minute ride, boarded the undersea craft.

Immediately when we got underwater, everything turned blue. As we dove deeper, this simply intensified, and at about 60 feet under we basically lost the color red. Throughout the entire trip, we were followed by many Sergeant Majors (a small black and white striped fish which apparently like submarines), and while down on the sea floor, we saw approximately seven species of fish by my count including surgeonfish, yellow tang, pufferfish, and at least one eel. These were all most common among the several shipwrecks we passed.

We eventually got down to 108 feet below the surface, which is apparently a depth which only 0.5% of humans ever experience. It is indeed rather odd-everything turns blue. I was, in fact, rather surprised that we could see much at all down there. There was considerable particulate matter in the water which created a haze and made it impossible to see much further out than 10 or 15 feet. When we surfaced, I found myself wishing that we could have stayed below for hours–this ride felt like only a small taste of the ocean, one I enjoyed quite a lot.

Back on shore, we made our way back to the submarine headquarters, where I found and purchased a small plush submarine called “subbie.” I was particularly drawn to subbie for two reasons: first, he has an entirely dopey expression and weird googly eyes, which, though subbie is an inanimate object, I find strangely endearing. Secondly, “subbie,” or more accurate, “subby,” is a term used in the forums of my favorite online news aggregator, Fark to refer to the submitters of articles. Subby can be either a term of endearment or a pejorative depending on the context, and in Fark, it is typically used to berate the submitter for a mistake in the headline, a weak joke, or simply an inane article. Couple this with the aforementioned dopey expression, and you begin to see how I was drawn to subbie.

We then drove up the coast to see if a seahorse farm we had heard of was open. Unfortunately it wasn’t, so we drove back to a picturesque lava beach where we had seen large waves breaking earlier. In exploring this beach, I found several fascinating little black crabs, which scurried across the rocks and seemed to battle each other before getting swamped by the incoming surf.

I also found a tiny little crab in a tiny shell, scuttling along a small crack in the lava which was half filled with water. He was a dark red with bright white bands across the legs, and each time we reached down to get a better look at him, he withdrew into the shell and wedged himself into a crack. Eventually, the tiny little crab disappeared deeper into the water, and we moved on to watching the waves crash in over the rocks. A small tide pool housed several small brown fishes of indeterminate type. After an hour or two of exploring this incredible beach, we left to look for our Luau.

We eventually found it, and went in to wait to be seated. Like nearly everything in Hawaii, the Luau was held outside. We watched a slightly kitschy Hawaiian/Jazzy band, then followed our hostess towards the cooking pits to watch the meat being extracted and prepared for our consumption. We soon got into line with large plates and were set loose on a buffet-style selection of Hawaiian fare. I can hardly describe the food except to say that it was delicious, though all agreed that the beef was exquisite.

The best and most interesting part of the night finally began when dinner was cleared away, and the dancers came out. The dancing seemed to alternate between very old traditional dances and the typical touristy style dances you might expect. Whereas the older dances seemed to have a very primal power and intensity, the more modern pieces appeared to be simply put on for the benefit of the tourists-the dancers didn’t seem to be as focused on those. It strikes me that this could describe the entirety of Hawaiian culture. There is a fundamental conflict between the traditional island culture and the culture that has been encroaching because of the rest of the world. I also note that this parallels the Island’s biological development. All I can really say is that I preferred the older dances, the traditional ones. They were eminently fascinating, and genuinely made me want to learn about the history of this culture.

The show ended on a spectacular, if anticipated, note. For their finale, they brought out a firedancer-a guy who lights sharp knives on fire and spins them around at blinding speed. If you haven’t seen a performance like this, it’s really hopeless to try to describe it, so I’ll let a picture do the talking:

And that, essentially, ended our day. Back at the condo, I had a beer on the patio and reviewed the day’s events. Today was busy-full of fascinating events, sights, and new thoughts. Tomorrow promises to be a bit slower, thankfully. Maybe I’ll be able to catch up.
LJS-12:30 AM

As I sit here in the spectacular and dazzling Tucson International Airport, slowly forcing some so-called “Mango Chunks,” (these taste…green. Even though they’re yellow…) into my reluctant stomach, I find I actually have some time to collect myself from this morning’s hectic activities. You might say that I woke up at around 9:00 AM to take a shower, and you’d technically be right. However, in reality, I also woke up at 3 AM, 5 AM, and 6 AM during a long and restless night. It seems my upstairs neighbor decided to stomp around his apartment at all hours of the night, then take a shower at 6 AM for no apparent reason. Wonderful.

This horribleness was compounded by a seemingly perpetually sour stomach which started several days ago and simply refuses to abate. The “mangoes” this morning were a bid to settle it, since I seemed to be craving some fruit. Even though these “mangoes” were horrible, I take solace in the fact that soon I will be in a place with some truly excellent fruit. Maybe I’ll get some real mangoes when I get there. The real kicker is that I usually don’t even like mangoes.

While reading through my old Australia Travelogue (written nearly a year ago, which in itself is mind-boggling), I noticed that we flew over Hawaii on our way out, and I mentioned that it was a place which I badly wanted to visit. I would never have guessed that I’d be going there only a year later. I think that I should continue this tradition of flying far to the south-west of where I live next year and visit New Zealand. I can dream, can’t I?

In any case, my friend Doug picked me up around 10 this morning and dropped me off at the airport. After a relatively quick check-in and security process (made only slightly longer by one or two inexperienced travelers and one extremely pushy woman), I came to my usual ‘flying out of Tucson’ gate, A6. For some reason, I always get this one, no matter where I’m going. Being an experienced flyer (I’ve averaged about 7 flights a year for the last four years), I’m always amazed when I hear that grown people are flying for only their first or second time ever (example: my friend Doug has been on an airplane once that he remembers). I don’t think of it as a novel experience anymore-an incredible one, to be sure, but not anything special. I suppose my several trans-oceanic flights make me rather more unique as well. I know very few people (outside the ones who have taken these trips with me) who have flown across both the Pacific and the Atlantic.

So, dear constant reader, that’s where I’ll leave you for now. I’ve got about half an hour before boarding my first plane of the day-a minor flight to LAX before setting off on the real adventure. I’ll next update when something interesting happens.
LJS-11:10 AM (Tucson)

Note: you should also check out my new Travelogues page, which has links to each of the logs, and info on upcoming travels.