la vie en rose

The film is back!

After seeing the lava trees, we went to the Kapoho Tide Pools. Our guidebook suggested snorkeling here, and it's a good thing we had the book because we would never have found it otherwise. No signs and it's at the end of the highway, at the end of a couple dirt roads, behind some vacation houses. There are dozens of tide pools - formed from lava rock, some fed by cold spring water, others volcanically heated. We checked out a few different spots, then put on our snorkel gear and slid in. Some of the pools were pretty shallow (we both cut the palms of our hands on the same spot - must be love), but then we'd swim across into another pool and it would be super deep and filled with all different colors of coral. We saw iridescent lavender, neon yellow, orange the color of sherbet, silvery white, pale pink - all contrasted against the black rock. We saw lots of cool fish and shells, too, but the coral formations were absolutely amazing. Hanauma Bay has its fishes, Kapoho Tide Pools has its coral. The picture doesn't do it justice.



After a stop at a Taco Bell outside of Hilo (Kahlua pork burrito - only to be found in Hawaii - delicious!) we drove north along the Hamakua Coast (east side of the island). We took a scenic diversion off the main road along the Old Mamalahoa Highway.


Only a couple miles in from the coast is Akaka Falls, falling 420 feet from top to bottom. We walked through a bamboo forest to get to the falls, past those huge leaves that they use in movies to fan equatorial dictators and Indian princes with.


Next time you're at a waterfall, watch a part of it fall all the way from the top down to the bottom. It's trippy.


Onward to the north we passed old railway bridges and abandoned sugar mills. Hawaii used to be a "Garden of Eden," producing everything that the people needed. Now 2/3 of their food has to be imported. This is not due to too many mouths to feed. This is due to food industries closing up and moving elsewhere. Many people lost their livelihoods and many boom towns went bust. Tourism is the only thing keeping these places alive.

The fishing center of Laupahoehoe, on the other hand, was wiped out by the 1946 tsunami that devastated this stretch of coast. Among those killed were 21 schoolchildren and 3 teachers.

Our last stop was the Waipio Valley lookout. The road to get down into this valley is 4WD only; consequently it is forbidden to drive your rental car on it. 25% grade!

At one time thousands of people lived in this valley. Called the "Valley of the Kings," chiefs used it as a meeting spot, and it was considered the breadbasket of the whole island. Kamehameha the Great used it as his starting point for conquering and uniting all the islands. The 1946 tsunami wiped it out as well, and it took about 20 years for people to return. Hippies came in the 1960's, looking for utopia. They farm taro and use the horses that were abandoned as a result of the floods. They don't have electricity or phone service down there, just solar power and generators. Check out these pictures to see how stunning the landscape is.

Then it was back to my aunt's house for some cheese pizza, mangoes, and papaya. We had to get to bed early - we were leaving the next morning for a 7am flight back to Honolulu, for our last day in Hawaii.