Dear family and friends,
We had been told by several people that Wednesdays at the Hilo farmer’s market was the place to be, so we planned to be there for all the goodies. Knowing we would be flying again soon; I couldn’t buy all the fresh fruit I wanted but just seeing all the choices was enough. We bought apple-bananas, which are shorter and sweeter than a regular banana; and we bought star fruit, whose taste and texture was like a grape. Trevor and I at some of both and the next morning I used the rest to make us a yummy smoothie. There were three lots of artisans and food at the market. Jewelry, t-shirts, food, vegetables/fruit, paintings, and more. I chose a hand-crafted item as a souvenir from this island. A local Hilo man preserves orchids and plumeria and creates hair clips and magnets out of them. The flowers look and feel real. He attaches the flower to a piece of Koa wood. This wood is native to the island and in the past was used to make canoes and boats. Nowadays it is used for musical instruments and furniture. He uses the remnants from these two industries for his mount. He adds a pearl and a tiny turtle to complete his piece. I’m going to wear it in my hair for the luau 😊
Next, we wandered to Rainbow Falls, the boiling pots and PeePee Falls, all along the Wailuku River and the state park just outside of Hilo. Now, I know that looks like “pee pee”, but Hawaiians don’t blend their vowels, so it’s actually “pay-pay” lol. The falls were gorgeous! The boiling pots are named because when storm water fills the pools at the bottom of the falls, the ‘pots’ start swirling and appear to be boiling. No boiling or rainbows for us on that day, but beautiful none the less.
The hike at Akaka Falls State Park to the fall’s lookout was a hot and steamy one. Only a mile or so, but through a rain forest. The lush vegetation, ferns and flowers were like something out of a movie, or maybe a trip to the Omaha Zoo rainforest. Downstream from Akaka Falls were Kahuna and Ulihi Falls. They were wonderful, just not as tall as Akaka. Akaka was a magnificent 442-foot fall of water over a moss-covered cliff into a pool of cool water. The sign noted that it is two-times the height of Horseshoe Falls at Niagara.
After lunch in Hilo, we headed back to Volcano National Park. That’s one of the things I love about National Parks, you can by a 7-day pass for $30 and come and go as you like 24/7. Our journey back was another one of Trevor’s crazy ideas (they always seem to turn out well!). He wanted to do a two-mile hike onto the crater rim of an active volcano – in the dark – so we could see the lava flow at night. Why not?!?!
The hike along old Crater Rim Drive was flat and easy because it was the former access road to the crater, ya’know before it erupted again and caused damage to the road. Park rangers were at the entrance and at the rim with us and about 100 other people. We used head lamps for light. Watching the sky go dark and the orange glow of the lava lake come into sight was incredible. A couple from Boston shared their binoculars with us. First, we saw the steam billow from the crater, then the outlines of orange, then the sky filled with purple, pink and red. The lava lake was a half mile from us, inside the three-mile-wide crater. We stayed for a couple hours then decided to go to the opposite side of the rim and see what it looked like from there. That hike was only a half mile. When we got out of the car, we could already see the red sky. Well, I guess the sky isn’t really turning red, the smoke rising from the lava lake is red in color because of the glow of the lava. It was beautiful. It was starting to rain, but we went up the hill to the overlook to see if the view was any better than at the car. It was too obstructed by trees and the old Jaggar Museum. The museum is closed because the rim it’s sitting on is unstable. It used to be the best viewing spot. Excited, wet, and a little hungry, we decided it was time to drive the hour back ‘home’ and get some rest.
Tomorrow, we take a dive in a submarine!
Your friend, B
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