Pololu Valley

Yesterday the waves at Mauna Kea were wild. Mist and Kyr tried to rent some boogie boards from the hotel because Joop had them in the car and he had gone off to try and meet his nephew Harmon. The hotel refused to rent them on days like that because they wanted them to be able to come back next year. So that meant Mist and Kyr just body surfed them. Initially I thought the currents to wild to go out snorkeling. But after watching the motley crew that headed in I changed my mind and attempted it even though I was apprehensive about a few of the types snorkeling around. While I sat there on the beach contemplating a group of what I term the ruthless russians strode by. Ruthless in the sense that they appear to be the successful type that has become flush since the end of communism. With all of the corruption, I'm sure some of these types are quite ruthless. The group that passes me certainly seemed it. It was headed by a guy with expensive snorkel gear and wielding a large spear gun. He was attended by a guy in a white outfit that followed in his steps 1&1/2 paces behind, tentatively speeding up every once in awhile to catch up. They both were attended by a woman in a sarong and a blond boy. The young boy watched the two men gear up in giant waves, the guy in the white suit staring at the head guy mimicking his movements several minutes behind. After the masked hunters entered the water the young boy scampered up over the volcanic boulders and was lost to sight. The woman just watched the hunters bobbing about in the waves. The whole thing perplexes me. I don't know about the fishing rules but it doesn't seem right to hunt with a spear gun at a crowded public beach. And I could tell all of this equipment was foreign to them. They hadn't the slightest confidence putting it on or how to even hold the gun. I was determined to stay way away from them and headed out into the corral. The waves were so strong you just bobbed around like some flotsam and jetsam so I got out. A tiny bit sorry to witness the masked hunters return somewhat later, with no bounty. I was pleased about the no bounty part but I felt they should have looked worse for wear from their stupidity.

After the beach we headed to an old historic town Hawi (pronounced haavii) on the north west coast. It is an incredibly beautiful area, to my mind the most beautiful on the island. Not as wet as Waimea but still the undulating ranch lands. Just north of Hawi the highway ends at the Pololu lookout. I wan't able to do the hike down 4 years ago, but this year thanks in no small part to reef shoes - just socks with rubber soles, I was able to navigate down. I rarely feel vulnerable to kneecap luxation if I'm in bare feet and these shoes mimic the feeling of bare feet so I am able to go down small inclines. Such a huge triumph for me psychologically. I still require the security of Joop's arm for most of it and my knees begin to swell just from the quad contraction, but it works and I have no lasting pain. Down on the black sand beach we were treated to the sight and unbelievable horrific smell of a dead whale in the shallow water on the beach. The whale had been dead three weeks and sometimes up to 17 tiger sharks were witnessed to be feeding on it. In one of the pictures you can see the grey undulating mass near the shore that was the whale. Aside from the whale it is a spectacular beach. Very isolated. Some hardy souls try to stay there awhile, you can tell by the plethora of rope swings scattered everywhere. The most disconcerting thing though was the amount of beach plastic everywhere. Just small pieces that are reminiscent of sea glass but they are only plastic. Is this the new wave of collecting? I certainly hope not.

Afterward we attended Melissa's gourmet feast. It was very tastey although Melissa encountered the pitfalls of cooking in a kitchen with out any staples and it necessitated multiple trips to the grocery store in the midst of preparations.

Little Pip was in very fine form thank god. And Tabs was wildly practicing her golf swing. For some reason I can picture her a champion golfer.

Today we're off to Hilo again to the market. Just can't stay away.