Day 10 – Hilo, Hawaii

Oh hi friends. It’s been two days since my last post. How I’ve missed your beautiful eyes, lovely face, and supple breasts (Editor’s note: sorry about that joke, I’m pretty tired). Anyway, let me tell all-a-yous about my last two days on the Big Island.

Yesterday (Monday the 25th) we arrived in Hilo with a 5:30 wakeup call. My friends Nick, Greg and I rented a car to go the Volcano National Park, and on the way we saw two fellow SASers, Steve and Pam (both of whom I had yet to meet), hitchhiking with a sign saying “Volcano Park.” We stopped and picked them up, and ended up spending the day with them. They are both cool people, Steve especially. I could definitely see myself become good friends with Steve.

Once we arrived to the park, we paid a small entrance fee ($10 total), and headed in. We started with the volcano tubes, which are basically caves created by molten lava carving its path into the lush, tropic earth. The first tube was pretty cool, but the best part of the experience was the second cave we explored. See this cave was unlit, and among the five of us we only had a small flashlight and a single headlamp. Though the cave was not particularly difficult to navigate, the lack of the light made it more of an adventure. Similarly, the darkness made the sights seemed like more of a novel discovery. As I’m writing this I know it sounds stupid, so I suppose you had to be there.

It took about a half of an hour to reach the end of the cave, and once we got there we decided to sit for a while in absolute darkness and complete silence. It was a trippy experience; my eyes are so used to seeing when I look somewhere that I was convinced I could see a faint outline of the cave wherever I was looking. However, if closed my eyes, the visual image did not change. The total darkness was playing tricks on my brain. The coolest part, though, was my improved hearing in the conditions. Without any visual stimulation, the sounds of water slowly dripping into the cave were so vivid. The group enjoyed the experience for fifteen minutes or so, and then we made our way out the cave.

After a quick lunch outside of the park, we came back to hike in the enormous volcanic crater, the highlight of the park. The hike was absolutely magnificent. It began with an incredible overhead view of the crater, and then we made our way down to the crater through lush rainforest, where we got to see beautiful vegetation. The crater, which a friendly local described as one and a half miles wide, was almost entirely volcanic rock with only small patches of greenery poking through. In addition, there were multiple vents emitting clouds of a mixture of steam and sulfur dioxide, due to the underground lava. It was cool to stick my hand in the clouds; I could really feel the heat. We hiked through the crater, and climbed to the top of the largest steam/sulfur vent in the immediate area (Editor’s note: the climb and subsequent view of the volcanic vent were my favorite parts of the trip. I have some great video but, unfortunately, this won’t make it to the internet until I return. Same deal with photos). Initially, we had thought one simply hikes to the middle of the crater and then hikes out the way one came. However, after talking to fellow hikers, we learned the trail is a complete circle. So we were able to take a different route out of the crater, which took us through more scenic rainforest and, more importunately, gave us an overhead view of the largest volcanic vent in the park. The plume of smoke was coming from a crater nearly two miles wide, and we guesstimated that the plume itself was over a mile wide. The view was simply stunning.

One final noteworthy moment from the hike: at one point I was able to clear a four foot patch of land with my urine stream, and as a result the pee sailed over the edge of the cliff and down into the crater. Yay men!

After driving back to the ship, I recuperated with a bit of rest and a shower. Though we lost Greg (he had an early dive the next day) Steve and Pam joined us for dinner, as did Emma. We went a sushi place which was pretty decent, though the highlight of the evening was going to a Kava bar. Kava is apparently a root extract which has mild sedative effects, and it can be consumed in liquid form and in food. I enjoyed a cup of kava creation and a kava brownie, which left my body feeling a bit heavy and my temperament relaxed and content. The best part of the bar, though, was its owner Dave. When you think of the typical Hawaiian, think of Dave. He’s supremely kind and easy-going – the man clearly enjoys life. He suggested a bunch of fun things to do in the city, and offered his cell phone number in case we needed any help during our stay. Dave is, undoubtedly, the man.

At the kava bar we met up with a few friends, and a mix of us ended up leaving to check out some beaches. It was around 11 pm at this point, so it was dark out. The beaches were really serene at night. At the first beach, I climbed a cool tree that I figured I would not be able to get up, and at the second I talked with a couple locals out fishing. We turned in to the ship a bit past midnight, hoping to get a good sleep to recharge for our next day.

The recharge didn’t go as well as planned. I slept fine, just wish I had gotten to do it longer. But we had things to do and people to see. Well, more accurately, we had to the return the rental car by 9 am. Otherwise, we decided to do a low-key day to get more in touch with the relaxed lifestyle that is the Hawaiian Islands. After breakfast, Nick and I returned the car. Now we had heard from numerous friends that it was fun and safe to hitchhike, so we decided to try to hitch a ride back from the airport. Apparently it’s easier if you have boobs. After many failures, we ended up getting ride from a cool dude named Roofus. Roofus had been driving toward the airport earlier, and went to make a left turn into a small shopping center. Nick and I were crossing the street at the same time, so we jogged to avoid holding him up. Roofus gave us the “hang loose” hand sign as a token of his appreciation, and Nick and I continued on our way. After Roofus finished his errands, he began to return home when he saw that Nick and I were still looking for a ride. So he picked us up. What goes around comes around, I suppose.

After Roofus dropped us off, Nick and I decided to mosey toward the downtown area. For part of the journey, we walked along the ocean with our feet in the water. We then cut across the road to a park Dave recommended the previous night, which has a cool golden statue of King Kamehameha the Great. While the statue is cool, the best part of the park is its natural beauty. It had numerous colorful trees, plenty of open grassy areas, and a small, crystal blue lake with a pretty little bridge going across it. We stopped to do a sketch for art class, then continued downtown. Just as we reached downtown, we decided to stop at another park (there are a bunch in Hilo) to check out a few cool-looking trees. There we met these three local women, with whom we relaxed and chatted for a good hour or so.

Then began the food extravaganza. We started at the farmers market, where we got strawberry guavas, some of the world’s finest pineapple, a loaf of unbelievable banana bread, and tamales filled with rice and sweet coconut. The produce was so incredibly cheap and delicious, it’s hard for me to imagine why many Hawaiians are overweight. If produce near me was this good and this cheap, I’d eat little else.While eating our fruit and other goodies in the park, the park began to get invaded by local kids out from school. I began talking to the first ones who arrived, and asked what grade they were in. The said they were in seventh and eighth grade. When I asked what they did after school, they looked at me like I was stupid. “We play,” one simply replied. And play they did. Games of football and kickball broke out, and Nick and I watched in surprise as these kids enjoyed the simple pleasures most kids on the mainland give up after elementary school. In my case, I stopped communal playing with fellow students by the time I hit sixth grade, instead sticking to my group of friends. Life really is different on the Islands.

After gorging ourselves on fruit and banana bread, we grabbed lunch at this small hole-in-the-wall place the park locals had recommended. We each got an island specialty, called loco something-or-other, which consists of a fried egg, meat, and sauce over rice (hence the overweight Hawaiians, I guess). I went with a teriyaki burger patty for my meat selection, Nick got ahi tuna. We also both added grilled onions. It was incredible, though by the end I’d felt like I’d eaten an entire cow. After the feast, Nick and I laid in yet another park to digest.

With satiated stomachs, we made our way to the downtown shops. Nick had seen some he wanted to check out the night before, though reevaluating in daylight we were underwhelmed with the Hilo shopping scene. Nick bought a cool spoon kit hand carved from wood, though I opted to wait because I figure these same things with will be cheaper in many future ports.We capped off the day with ice cream; the home-made treat is a Hilo staple. I got a cone with a scoop of mango ice cream and a scoop of strawberry. The ice cream was so creamy and delicious, and entertained me as we shared a cab with fellow SASers back to the ship.

And that was my Hilo adventure. Here’s to looking at you, Honolulu.