Mauna Kea in the background, this was taken just off the Saddle Road connecting the East & West sides of the Big Island
As we drove up Mauna Kea we broke through the clouds to see the top of this crater and part of Mauna Loa in the background
The whole time we were on Mauna Kea it was hard to tell exactly what was horizontal
Another crater, higher up Mauna Kea, with a wider view of Mauna Loa in the background
A hill on the side of Mauna Kea
Clouds spilling over a crater rim
“Chinese biscuit” we picked up at the Volcano Farmers' Market
Noni fruit and flower
Steam rising from the ocean in the distance, where lava is flowing directly into the ocean - lava in foreground is from a lava flow in the 70s (I think)
A big, happening Farmers' Market - much bigger than the one we went to in Volcano earlier in the morning
One of the vendors identified this fruit we found by the side of the road as a strawberry guava, an invasive species (these were plentiful along the sides of the road!)
Chopping open a fresh coconut with a machete (and selling dresses on the side?)
YOU try to look normal while drinking from a coconut through a straw
So he used his machete to loosen it up for us!
The BEST green papaya salad, made fresh for me by a sage looking Thai woman at the Farmers' Market
Near Kiluea caldera steam seaps through the ground in several places
The ohia tree grows roots from its branches to capture water from the moist air
About to enter the Thurston Lava Tube
Ohia tree roots growing into the lava tube from above. Ground level is only about 5-10 feet above the top of the lava tube.
Lava flowing under this field is close enough and hot enough that it has caused the trees and many of the grasses to die
The Nene, the well loved native bird that has rebounded from near extinction, loves to eat this type of berry our guide told us
Mineral deposits causing various colors in the lava
Hiking to Mauna Ulu crater with Ronado and Brendan (our guide)
The Ohia tree's flower
It's amazing to see the first plants emerging from the lava
Mauna Ulu crater in less than perfect atmospheric conditions (15 minutes before this shot is was raining horizontally)
A crevice near the crater
A very colorful piece of lava, the blue is titanium we're told
The direct translation of the Hawaiian name for this plant is Nene poo poo because that's what the berries look like
The leaves of the Ohia tree create these little pollyps as a way of sequestering the sulphur they are exposed to, which is why the are one of the more successful plants in this volcanically active area.
Dragron fruit we picked up at the Farmer's Market that morning (yes, we're just wrapping up our first full day in Hawaii)
The view from our first B&B - the Volcano Village Lodge
Kilauea Iki Crater, with a view of the steaming Kilauea Caldera in the background (a caldera is larger than a crater) - years after it was created the crater filled with molten lava, creating a lake of lava which then cooled in place
Lava flowed around this tree during a 1974 flow
Lava tree mold, where the lava burned away a tree that it flowed around
Looking into the Keanakako'i Crater with the steaming Kilauea Caldera in the background
This is where the lava stopped in 1974
This forest is just feet away from the bleak 1974 lava flow area
Pauahi Crater - a big one!
Most potable water on the island is collected from rooftops
papaya tree, with more papaya trees in the background
Coconut tree
The tide pools at Kapoho Beach in the Puna District - the snorkeling was great here! There were so many types of tropical fish and the brightest purple coral I've ever seen
Crab!
Spring-fed thermal pool
Trees near the thermal pool - it was somewhat common to see these along the Puna District coast
A mango we found on the side of the road - yum!!
Isaac Hale State Park
Interesting masonry work at a driveway entrance
I guess the ground came out from under this tree
Tide pool next to a lovely black sand beach in Puna District
Chocolate dipped ika (cuttle fish)?!?! Needless to say, there were a lot of Japanese tourists in Hawaii
A crew was constructing a traditional outrigger canoe outside of the Imiloa Astronomy Center in Hilo, Hawaii
Obviously not using traditional tools, but that would take quite a bit longer
This is the type of tree they make the canoes out of. It's sometimes called a Junk Tree - it grows quickly and has very low density wood - good for canoes!
Japanese garden in Hilo
Kahuna Falls
Near Akaka Falls - this was the most tropical place we visited
Akaka Falls
The view from the lanai of our house in Waipi'o
You can see Maui in the distance in this view
We liked this place!
View from the Waipi'o Valley Lookout, about 500 ft down the road from the house we stayed in
Hiking down the switchback-free road to the valley floor - I think it's the steepest road I've ever seen!
Looking up into Waipi'o Valley
Where Waipi'o stream meets the ocean
Waipi'o Valley
Tea growning at Mauna Loa Tea farm - tea growing is a very new phenomenon in Hawaii and is only done by a few people so far
Vast swaths of the island are range land - not what we expected of Hawaii!
Pololu Valley Overlook - this is about 4 valleys to the north of Waipi'o Valley, where we started our day
Looking up into Pololu Valley
Ancient ruins at Lapakahi State Historic Park - it reminded us a lot of sites in Ireland - lots of piles of rocks that used to be something
Mauna Kea Resort Beach
Sunset at Mauna Kea Beach
The view from our room at the Aloha B&B
The view from our room, you can just see the ocean in the distance
The back yard of our B&B, Aloha Guest House - Debbie is running with their dog Mango
The lanai
Interesting foliage just outside our B&B
Picking coffee next door to our B&B
Coffee beans drying in the sun
Coffee beans drying in the sun - at this point they still have their outer parchment layer. Once that is removed you have green coffee beans, ready for roasting
Peaberry coffee beans drying in the sun - can you tell the difference from regular coffee beans? (answer on next photo caption)
Joanie of Rowesview Coffee (and our B&B's neighbor) with her coffee roaster (peaberry beans do not split into two halves, so you just get one bean piece from the cherry instead of the much more common two separate halves -peaberry is said to be milder in flavor)
A fruit stand down the street from our B&B in Captain Cook
At the Hawaiian Chocolate Factory - these are nearly ripe cacao pods
Cacao beans drying into nibs
Once they are dry, they will be put through a winnowing machine to remove the “muscilage” which has now dried into a brittle outer coating around the nib
To the left are fresh cocoa beans covered with muscilage - about a dozen geckos came running to lick the slightly sweet fresh beans
A fresh cocoa seed
Ripe pods come in a variety of shades depending on which tree they were harvested from, but they are all the same variety of cocoa plant
Behind the macadamia nut factory, huge containers of mac nut shells
St. Benedict's Painted Church, just a few miles from our B&B
It was very common to see religious statues piled with shell necklaces like this one at the painted church in Kealakeua
This is how a pineapple grows
A grasshopper is not named Abiu in Hawaiian, but this large grasshopper seemed to like the Abiu sign (Abiu is a fruit)
Puuhonua o Honaunau (City of Refuge) National Historic Park - think of it as an ancient “safety” zone - if you broke one of the social rules you could swim across a bay to this place and be absolved of your wrongdoing (and avoid death, the only punishment they handed out, regardless of the violation)
Brett would have made a good Ki'i (guardians of the place of refuge) (the type of carving he's standing next to is a “tiki” of a Ki'i)
More tiki carvings of Ki'i, this inspired our pumpkins for Halloween this year
Enjoying the scenery at Puuhonuao o Honauna (City of Refuge) National Historic Park
There was a free hula demonstration at the park. The man on the left is a world-renowned hula instructor.
Brett is puzzling over his next move in this Konane game (ancient Hawaiian game that's very much like checkers)
It turns out the Island Itch comes with its own back scratcher
These drinks must be strong!
We were fortunate to see turtles all three times we went snorkeling on the leeward (west) side of the island. The turtles at our last snorkel spot were close enough to the short to pose for a few photos!
Daisukuji Japanese Buddhist Mission in Kealakeua
Plumeria in Kailua-Kona, the largest city on the big island
No trip to the big island (or to anywhere for that matter) would be complete without a trip to the local brew pub
We tried a couple of their beers...
View at our B&B as we departed for the airport
