Christmas in Hawaii

Back at the glorious Morning Fire Ranch. Seems unchanged especially in the aspect of cloud cover. As we head up from the west coast beaches in the late afternoon, the clear sky overhead, we see ominous clouds on the mountain. As we drive closer we think they may be over Waimea, but no it is almost clear in Waimea, it is simply over morning fire ranch. What this means is that we have deliciously cool evenings where you must wear a hoody or sweater as there is no heat source in the house. Small price to pay we think, at least we don't need air conditioning.
Joop has valiantly picked oranges off our tree in the yard. The peel is thick and fragrant and rock hard. You really need tenacity to get to the fruit. Not a commercial variety I'm sure.
We have been snorkeling and tried out Kyr's underwater camera. I'm impressed with the shots. You can see them on Kyr's blog. It is hard getting your courage up initially to venture out the reef. The guide books warn of ominous wave things and currents when the water isn't calm at Mauna Kea beach. So both Kyr and I would be following out the fish when one or the other would motion that we were getting pulled out. You shoot your head up and scan the beach and see that you are much further out then intended and then the panicked first strokes which seem really tough and you frantically think for a moment that perhaps you will be up against a current that you can't win. And then suddenly you realize you are moving afterall in the direction of your choice and then the attempts to quietly reassure yourself that it is all normal and you weren't in danger after all. Lots of fish again, way more than greece but I do find myself missing the abalone shells and sea urchin shells for collecting. I loved the quest of acquisition. I'm hoping to transfer that zest to acquiring photos of all the different fish. I'll have to depend mostly on my boy because I don't like diving that much and I am hopeless at looking at the digital display and seeing what I have in the view finder. It is all blind luck and faith.
I am trying to quickly ease into the spirit of hawaii. I worry that all of this is almost beyond acknowledging because I have seen it before for the maximum 2 week period that the brain seems to notice new things. It becomes a conscious acknowledgment of the unique things that make it so - the smell of the flowery smell of the salt water because of all of the flowers everywhere, the noises of the different birds, the geckos and above all the warmth. And of course my obsession with the lava. I scan the ground everywhere and just see the clumps of lava being softened over millenium by the grasses and scrub trees. It is so reminiscent of Greece - just clods of rocks and perilous trees and grasses that seem desperate and only liked by goats. Then I think of all the landscapes in the world and realize that very few are friendly to just normal walking - most landscapes need trails. Think of it - forests, mountains, jungles, volcanic islands. Only the plains, and maybe some deserts can you traverse easily without trails. It makes me feel a tiny bit better to realize that I am not the only one with difficulty getting around some landscapes.
Food is very expensive here. More so than last time. I am thinking that we may try to embark on the Melissa tradition of a fondue for Christmas eve. I think it would be cheaper to buy a fondue pot than for all of us to go out for supper. We were planning to go to Hilo to the market and get some local fruit that is cost prohibitive if you buy it in the grocery but I am not sure if they will have a market on Christmas eve.
I am mesmerized by the people in the starbucks in Waimea. I watch them all carefully for signs of them being local or not.
Who lives in this paradise? They seem to look like the people I would see throughout North America. I expect them to look different - some kind of visual mark that they realize how lucky they are to live where you don't have to struggle against the elements.