It’s only 9pm, and I’m already EXHAUSTED. So today’s update will be mostly pictures!
Breakfast: Honey raisin-granola with soymilk and pomegranate. NUM NUM.
We visited a gorgeous place called Place of Refuge. It was once a refuge for Native Hawaiians, and now a refuge for sea turtles. <3 My favorite thing about the beaches here are how you can see exactly how the lava flowed into the water, leaving rippling patterns and cracks.
Tidepools! Always an exciting place to explore! I haven’t gotten to visit one since I lived in California. There was a poor little angelfish stuck in the shallow pools, stranded there since high tide. I also found some crabs and convinced them to pose for some photos! (Well… they were empty crab shells… but still!) I also found some ADORABLE shingle urchins. I can’t get over how cute they are! They look squishy, but they’re hard as a rock…
This talented lady (who I forgot to ask permission for posting her photo online! hence the mosaic, just in case…) was making stone towers on the beach. It’s a lot harder than it looks! Also, some of the neighbors of the beach made their disapproval of tourists and and US colonization clear by flying an upside-down Hawaiian flag in protest. A little awkward, considering this was prominently displayed right next to the beach where all the tourists were gathered… Well, I guess that was their intent.
The birds here are all super colorful. I was lucky to get a pic of this redheaded bid and the bright yellow one in the same shot. They’re so fast and skittish, it’s hard to get a good picture! Also of interest… the most disgusting fruit I have EVER seen. Every part of this plant looks like some kind of nightmarish insect monster. The first picture reminds me of some kind of freakish, toothed worm. Then, the fruits themselves look like a nasty cross between a pine cone and a maggoty larva.
I found a giant spider (about the size of my pinkie) with a very interesting abdomen design. (That’s my brother lurking in the background.) Also, a photo of one of the most common flowers on the island, the plumeria. It has a simple elegance to it, and it smells very sweet, which is why it’s common used to make leis. (Hawaiian flower chains.)
After hitting Place of Refuge, we drove up to the world-famous Kona coffee plantations to buy some Kona coffee. There were some… interesting outlets along the way. (Yaoi fans in particular might appreciate the “Just Ukes” store…)
The Kona coffee itself was exceptional. For myself, I picked out a chocolate-macadamia nut flavored brew. I was sniffing the bag all the way back to the hotel. *___*
Today was EXTREEEEEME. We took the Captain Zodiac tour (lol, check out their charmingly mid-90′s website). I want to KILL myself (and my family!!) for not bringing the waterproof camera. When we weren’t seeing humpback whales and dolphins and manta rays (the latter practically jumped into our speeding boat… jesus! I didn’t know they COULD jump! Those things are the size of a SMALL CAR) we we speeding around on this crazy dingy. If you didn’t hold on with a white-knuckled grip to the ropes, you would definitely have been flung off on some of those hairpin turns. I’ve got rope-burns on my palms and my hands are permanently hardened into claw-like shapes, but it was SO worth it.
We also snorkeled at Captain Cook’s monument, the location where he was murdered by locals when they thought he was trying to kill their chief. Ahh, good times!
Now… it’s time to put on some aloe vera… My sun-deprived alabaster skin is turning blotchy, despite my best efforts. TILL NEXT TIME.
