Alright so blog number two, here it goes…
Picking up where I left off, Day 4 in Hawaii. Day 4 might
have been the best one yet. We started off with breakfast at the military camp
and immediately when on one of the most amazing hikes I have ever been on. We
started off along the “Crater Rim Trail” at Volcanoes National Park. As we
walked, steam lined the trail coming from vents in the Earth. It was almost
like walking through a sauna. It’s a shame looking that pictures can’t capture
the vast beauty of looking out over a volcanic crater, probably 1000 feet deep
and miles long and wide.
We took a little break at the Visitor Center to learn a
little bit about volcanoes and lava and such and then progressed down another
trail even more beautiful than the first. As we walked, the active Kilauea
volcano (hasn’t erupted since 1984) was visible in the immediate distance.
Again, pictures can’t do the view justice. The trail descended into a lava tube
(which is basically a cave that was formed by lava) and all of a sudden, we
were in the middle of a rain forest.
After the hike and a couple hours of free time, we had a
cultural presentation by a Hawaiian couple who educated us about the goddess
Pele (the chief deity of the Hawaiian culture), Hawaiian instruments, and
Hawaiian dance. We participated in playing music and followed along with some
hula dance moves (which I learned that all hula moves have a meaning). The
beauty and tranquility of the couple playing music and singing was very
striking and it is really characteristic of Hawaiian culture. We actually
learned that when explorers arrived in Hawaii for the first time, the Hawaiian
queen actually conceded all of the islands because that’s what she thought
would be safest for her people. Afterwards, we had dinner and class for a
couple hours and after reading a bit, passed out.
Day 5: We got picked up by a coach at the military camp and
went to the black sand beaches to see sea turtles. We only saw one, but it was
still a pretty cool sight. Our next stop was a five mile round trip hike along
the coast to the green sand beaches (one of only two in the world, the other is
in the Galapagos Islands) and to the southern most point of the United States.
We had a picnic lunch on the beach and got caught in the rain (which has been
characteristic of the trip) on the way back to the bus. We made one more stop
at the place where Captain Cook landed in Hawaii (and where he was killed) with
dramatic scenery. Steep mountains lined the coast because when tectonic activity
happens, earthquakes will actually push sides of the mountain into the water.
The bus finally took us into Kona, which is the tourist part
of the Big Island. Of course, since we’ve been here it’s rained a bunch and
they haven’t had rain in eighteen months. Upon arriving at the Kona Seaside
Hotel, we were relieved of the itinerary and given the night off to go into
Kona. We ate dinner at a good seafood restaurant and walked around for a couple
hours and then came back to the hotel. Although I had the intention of getting
some work done, I sat in the hotel lobby with my laptop open and talked instead
of getting any reading done.
Day 6: In the morning, we listened to a presentation about
conservation and alternative energy at the National Energy Laboratory Hawaii
Authority (pretty boring, not gonna lie) and came back to the hotel before
getting turned loose for a few hours of free time. At 4 pm, we departed for
Mauna Kea at an elevation of 9000 feet. Who would’ve thought there was
sub-freezing weather in Hawaii? Unfortunately, the sky was pretty cloudy, but
we saw some stars for a little and we got to look through a telescope to see
the rings of Jupiter.
Day 7: We got up, ate breakfast, and hopped on the coach to
take a tour of a Kona coffee plantation, which was pretty interesting, even
though I’m not a coffee drinker. Afterwards, we had a couple hours free time to
grab lunch in the city of Kona and then took a tour of the palace that all the
Hawaiian monarchs before Hawaii became a US territory. Those monarchs
definitely had it pretty good in an 1800s style New England home right on the
coastline. Later on, we had a couple hours of class and were turned loose to
study and work a couple of 250 word essays due on Saturday.
Today, we got up early to depart for our sea-kayaking and
snorkeling trip. We got to the place around 9 and headed out of the harbor. We
attempted to find some whales to see if they would come get close to us. Though
that didn’t happen, if we went a few feet underwater, we could hear their
noises as they communicated with one another. The next stop was to attempt to
cliff jump. We kayaked toward some cliffs and few of got out of the boat to
swim to shore. I was actually ten feet away from the climbable part of the
cliff before 15 foot swells started slamming into the side of the cliffs. The
guide decided it would be unsafe to swim any further, but it was sort of fun
bobbing up and down in such large waves. Afterwards, we went to snorkel before
wrapping up the expedition. We got back to the hotel to hang out for a
little/work more on the essays before having class for an hour or so before
having our last-night-in-Hawaii-dinner with the whole group and with our
instructors who will be departing tomorrow. As always, we came back to the
hotel to work on schoolwork, but thank God I sit here now having finished all
of my work for Hawaii with a little bit of time to relax before going to bed.
Sure nice you have this blog as there is no other way you could possibily remember all the places you've been, what you've seen and what you've experienced! NEAT!!
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