Hawai'i--Day 8 & 9

Spotted near Pahoa....mer-matron (obviously not the skins of mermaids....) skins left to dry in the late afternoon sun.

A view of our "snorkel pond" just out front of the little hale (house) here. It's an unusual photo because there is no one in the water snorkeling. There is almost always at least one or two snorkels going by---with good reason!

We went to the Sunday market in the little village of Pahoa. The little place we've rented is close to Pahoa. It was a very nice market and was larger than we expected.

There were wonderul offerings of fruit and vegetables, mostly organic.

And, of course, the very inexpensive fantastically beautiful orchids for sale. You've no idea how much these cheap orchids annoy me. I would like to buy them all. I would take them all home with me---and promptly kill them. (Not on purpose.)

Pahoa has the look of an old Western town. I love the buildings and how the boardwalk goes up and down a few steps between each of the store fronts.

This is the Pahoa Cash and Carry. It's one of those wonderful little stores you find in tiny towns. It has EVERYTHING. We spent a happy half our cruising the aisles and enjoying all the varied items for purchase.

This is a breadfruit tree. Isn't it beautiful? I think it is the most wonderful green.

This morning we drove to the Hawai'i Volcanoes National Park. It was just a short drive from Pahoa, but about 3500 feet higher in elevation.

There is lots of steam to be seen around the crater of Kilauea. There is a road that circles the crater rim but part of it is closed due to elevated levels of sulfur gas. We only went as far as the steam vents in one direction and to the lava tube in the other.

I found the juxtaposition of the moon-like crater with the beautiful native vegetation surprising.

These leis were left in the tree as offerings. To Pele? Note the steam rising out of the crater in the background. You could hear ominous rumblings and rocks falling in the distance. The whole thing made me very nervous.

this is the crater floor of Kilauea Iki (Little Kilauea, I think).

On our way home we stopped at the Akatsuka Orchid Gardens. It was chuck-a-block with the most gorgeous orchids in a rainbow of colors. Everywhere I looked was a bloom more fantastic than the last.
When we got back to our little house we immediately headed for the ponds to go snorkeling. It was a good afternoon for seeing lots and lots of fish.

Pahoa---Days 6 & 7

On Friday we flew from Honolulu on Oahu to Hilo on the big island of Hawai'i. It was only about a 50 minute flight but in a sense, it was like flying back in time. The eastern side of the Big Island is sparsely populated and although Hilo is listed as the second largest city County. I read somewhere that Hilo is like Honolulu before the jets arrived and that about sums it up! I like the slower pace and the not-so-touristy feel.

Yesterday we spent a good part of the day in Hilo. We went to the Farmers' Market in the morning and then to the Chinese New Year celebration. Hilo's Farmers' Market is a big one, full of an amazing collection of booths and stalls, selling everything from fresh organic fruits and veggies to prepared foods and baked goods. There are jewelry stalls and Kona coffee is on sale. If you can't find something to buy here, you're just not trying!

We bought some rambutan on the advice of a couple of tourists and we certainly weren't disappointed. You cut through the outside shell to reveal a white inner fruit with a big seed in the middle. It is rather citrus in flavor....well, it's tropical and sweet and very tasty! I can highly recommend them even if I can't explain exactly how they taste!
Many of the food stalls were selling prepared foods of all descriptions. This beautiful lavender colored tapioca soup caught my eye, along with the "noddles" soup. It looked really good.

I bought a pound of Kona coffee from this fellow. His brand is called Buddha's Cup. How can you resist that?
There were lots of fruits and veggies one of which was an apple banana. I have no idea what that banana actually tastes like, but I could hazard a guess.....

Oh, how much I wanted to buy some mochi! I love, love, LOVE mochi but having made it myeslf I know it is about half sugar. Not exactly on this diabetics menu.

Everything looked so good! I could have just grazed my way though the market. I did get some locally made chevre, cherry tomatoes and sugar snap peas that we had for our pupus before dinner.

But, to be totally honest, I think what "hurt" me the most were all the orchids for sale. Prices were between $ and $8 for the most gorgeous orchids I have ever seen. I was foaming at the mouth with orchid envy. If I lived here there would be no room for furniture in my house as it would be filled, from top to bottom, with orchids.

We had lunch at Puka Puka Kitchen, a tiny little restaurant we discovered yesterday, right smack dab next to the Hawaiian Candy Company (an evil shop if ever there was one). On Friday I had the lamb pita and it was fine. Yesterday I had the ahi don plate and it, too, was really tasty. VERY tasty. The salad that accompanies the main course is crisp and fresh and the tomatoes taste like vine ripened ones, something I hardly ever get anymore. (Even in summer in the Seattle area it's hard to find a vine ripened tomato.) I could happily eat my way through the menu at the Puka Puka Kitchen.

Nonie ordered the lamb pita the first day and the barbecued chicken pita yesterday. She is in complete agreement with me that the food here can't be beat. Nonie even offered to stand out front as their tout, funneling in passersby....but they don't need it. It's a constant stream of locals and visitors, coming in hungry and leaving full and happy.

Never did get a photo from the outside as I am always on the inside---eating!

After lunch and another stroll through the market, we headed off to the Chinese New Year celebration in Kalakaua Park. It's a beautiful park just a few blocks from the harbor and yesterday it was jammed with people, food booths, craft stalls and lion dancers!

There was a booth where you could get something written in calligraphy for good luck in the coming year. I got a slip of paper that reads "Great Prosperity, Great Wealth" or something close to that. The gentleman and lady who were doing the calligraphy were fun to watch. They were both very precise and careful but each had their own style.

On the drive back to our rental, there is a very beautiful section of road on Highway 132 (or maybe it's Hwy 130---somewhere along there!) that has huge trees arching over the roadway, making a green tunnel for you to drive through.

We had a lovely steak and potato dinner on lanai---a fitting end to a beautiful day.