Aloha

Aloha family and friends!

Please forgive us for the gap in entries these past few days. We have been acquainting ourselves with our new home at La'akea (plus the internet was out).

On Monday we rose before the break of day to catch the 4 hour bus to Hilo. To our surprise, our friends Annette, John, and Lorenzo were also getting on the bus at 6:00am for their work shifts. It was a pleasant departing from Captain Cook to have them see us off.

As we climbed up and around the mountainside, we came to the flat "cowboy" land. Rolling green hillside scattered with cows came into view. I no longer felt like we were in Hawaii (actually I have to keep reminding myself that I am here). As we got to the other side of the island, the abundant lava rock reduced and lush greens of differing shapes and sizes replaced it. The towns here look more rustic and reminiscent of hang towns with faux front paneling.

Our bus dropped us off at the shopping mall in Hilo where I was able to pick up a few necessities for off grid living, candles and a fuel tank for our whisper burner. Time was of the essence, since we only had an hour before our Pahoa-bound bus would arrive. Thankfully Mike stuck with our huge packs and backpacks while I ran around to obtain our goodies.

I got back to the bus station at 11:10 which was perfect because our Pahoa bus was set to arrive at 11:22..... yet it didn't arrive till 12:02. HA! So the bus system here is ran by the county and is completely variable as to whether or not they will be on time. We weren't in any rush, so it didn't bother us. We were able to sit in the bus stop while the Hilo rains poured down and greeted us to this side of the island.

As we hopped onto our bus, reggae music filled the cabin and my excitement started to build on our last leg of the journey. As I stared out the window, the rain forrest progressively got denser. We were dropped off in downtown Pahoa, a small town 4 minutes from La'akea. Amara, one of the community members, graciously picked us up and took us the last four miles.

As we entered the land, elegant painted wooden signs and totems greeted us. We were dropped off at the main house which is complete with a semi-outdoor kitchen, wooden multi-purpose room filled with books and instruments, and an upstairs lanai. We were shown our hut and started to unpack our bags.

Dona kindfully toured us around the land, which includes topical fruit trees everywhere, pineapple, chickens and sheep, garden area, outdoor shower, tool shed, path to the crater, citrus trees and a few homes of the community members. Dona had us process some bananas before we started the tour. This variety of small bananas is cut from the tree before they are ripe or else the birds would get to them. We cut off the rotten parts, sprayed them off and hung them in netting to finish the ripening process. Lilikio (passion fruit) dotted the ground so we collected some throughout the tour.

To be continued....the weeding of the pineapple fields is calling.

Manago's...The gathering place of South Kona District

Est. 1917 Manago Hotel

Getting settled into our room

View outside the window of Amy Greenwell's Botanical Garden

...and view of the ocean sprinkled with a little VOG

Mike scarfing down some pork chops

We arrived at Manago's hotel and settled into our homey accommodations. Our room consists of a bed (no box spring just two mattresses with a few planks of wood in between), desk, dresser (which holds our groceries currently), and plush wicker chair. We share a bathroom with the floor which has kept the cost of the room slim. A few other patrons wander about the hotel but the majority of the people are here for the food.

After a long day of travel, 4 mile hike to and from Kealakekua Bay, and an hour of snorkling, we landed at the restaurant downstairs. Think linoleum tables from the 40s, menu of 10 items posted on the wall, and locals gathering to enjoy food with friends and family. We quickly choose the pork chops and ono (white bass), not knowing what else would accompany our choice. To our delight, our grumbling stomachs didn't have to wait more then two minutes before our side dishes made their entrance. A large bowl of white rice, sweet black beans (cooked to the perfect density), cabbage and pork mix, and a creamy tuna potato salad was laid before us. Come to find out, every dish comes with these sides served family style. Shortly there after our main dishes came! Pork chops smothered in gravy and grilled onions for Mike and lightly crusted limey ono with a tart dipping sauce for Megan. Manago's delievered with a perfect welcome to South Kona district!

Good Bye Mainland!

Mike got the floor for our last night on the mainland after a farewell gathering at our old house in Berkeley.

How are we this chipper at 5:45am with no coffee?  Must be going on a big trip.

Last Supper (aka Chili's Breakfast, who knew Chili's served breakfast?!)

mmmmm....breakfast.

Can I interest you in some light reading for your trip?

I'm SO EXCITED! I just pooped my pants!

After a 5-hour flight from Oakland (which apparently is the hometown of the world according to...?) we touched down safely at the Kona Airport.  Humidity and hula dancers greeted us in the open-air airport (haha! play on words), but unfortunately we did not get leid upon arrival.

After realizing that the one and only bus to our hotel would depart in 4 hours, we decided to hop in a brand new Mercedes Benz shuttle van (ballin'!).  A friendly native to the Big Island, Dustin, drove us the 20 miles out of Kona into the town of Captain Cook.  As we drove southbound on the Mamalohoa Highway, the dry and arid black-rock lava flows of Kona changed almost instantaneously into a lush, green tropical paradise as we neared our destination.

Passing by coffee farm after coffee farm, many advertising daily coffee tasting, we finally made it into the sleepy town of Captain Cook.  After a few words of wisdom for life on the islands from our driver Dustin, we were dropped at the Manago Hotel.  We quickly checked ourselves in, dropped off our bags, and promptly started our new adventure on the Islands!