Bubbles

Kyr still hasn't lost his passion for bubble baths in the jacuzzi tub. The other photos detail the fun and excitement that occurs at our little spot at 69. The snorkeling was aquarium like despite the fierce winds pelting you with sand occasionally. So there really doesn't seem to be a way to predict the calmness and clarity of the sea. It seems not tied to local weather at all. That means you set off each day in nervous anticipation - not knowing how you will be received . It is a tense way to live when you have no backup plan - the despair you feel over not being able to fulfill your agenda seems disproportionate even to me. Going home we are almost always treated to a rainbow over Waimea. If you notice the landscape in these photos you'll notice it is incredibly desolate. I think it receives 10 inches a year of precipitation. A complete desert, which butts up against the rainforest that is Waimea, the leeward side of an old 60,000 years since its last erruption, volcano. On the windward side of the same volcano is the most beautiful lush ranchlands you'll ever see. The beaches we go to are just at the foot of this desolate volcano, so you can see hardly ever have anything but sun all year, no matter what the rest of the island is doing.

We partook of open mike session at our beloved Mexican restaurant last night, a little fun and excitement. Almost all performers were regulars we recognized from last year. Not much changes. The place was almost standing room only and gave us a vicarious feeling of being part of the action.

Today were spicing it up a bit with a trip to the volcano. The variety has me a tiny bit tense. Where will I get my sun? We're driving down the wet side of the island through Hilo because it is closer. Last night I found out I had seat heat in the car - a perfect foil for that dreadful airconditioning.

Gilligan's Island

Even though Harris claims to never have seen Gilligan's island, he is living it and loving it.

Today 69 beach let me down. We arrived and it was somewhat overcast. Somewhat in the sense that the sun was behind what looked to be a temporary cloud ( the rest of the sky was clear, clear!) Somehow that temporary cloud lasted interminably. Long enough for Joop to gallantly drive back the 30 km to Morning Fire and retrieve the forgotten lunch cooler ( it was a particularly good one with leftover ribs and sandwiches). I was so chilled that I huddled under a towel reluctant to go in. Perhaps I was fighting something -( I woke up this am with a sore throat and swollen lymph glands, I was very reluctant to read infection because how could anyone get ill immersed in so much Vit D?) After a desultory attempt to snorkel, I'd had enough and encouraged moving on; I thought the sun shone brightly over Hapuna. Just in case we advanced past Hapuna to Mauna Kea. Hold tight to your seats my faithful readers! - We actually got in! I hesitate to say that it was already 3pm and all the die hards had retreated due to lack of sun, but now I remember why I like it - completely uncrowded! We frolicked, the sun shone, all and all I began to feel warm and healthy again. And the best part is the boys salvaged many coconuts and turned into primitive beasts slamming them from their outer shells. I really think they are cro-magnon men. So tonight we are going to experience chicken, fresh coconut curry. They are chefing it up!

I am quite excited by the results. I'll let you know. Maybe I could term this the "Gourmet how to cook Hawaiian "expedition for grade 12 boys. When we drive along the highway - Mamalahoa- I think we sometimes come across a guy with a stuffed wild boar that he has in many compromising positions with a tripod fixed on him. I think it is some vain attempt to advertise Big Island culinary endeavors. I think my course might beat him.

One of the best things I have discovered is Kukui oil. Some lovely person waxed on about its virtues our first day here - he claimed it was wonderful for combatting sunburn and his wife makes him take home $100 worth per vacation. Now I know why - incredible wrinkle remover. When I got here I had several deep wrinkles on my sternum ( probably too low cut tops coupled with no sunscreen), and guess what - they are gone! So now I will be diligent with Hungarian serum on the face and kukui oil on the body. Let me know if anyone wants a bottle.

Going to the Beach

I think we've discovered our perfect beach. Simply by default, never being allowed into Mauna Kea, we were reduced to 69 beach but have learned that it is the best. The torrential trade winds are ravaging Waimea where we live. It sometimes is dangerous to get out of the car because the car doors become lethal weapons in the wind's grasp. The ocean is also behaving wildly - white caps everywhere and at Hapuna - very large boogie waves. But for some reason little 69 bay is almost perfectly calm. Once in awhile a large swell, but mostly just gentle and there are wonderful coral areas that don't get too stirred up with flailing sand so visibility is actually quite good. I think we spent 6 hours yesterday just snorkeling then resting in the shade of the big trees. We met our little turtle friend taking a breather on the sand. When her eyes are closed you swear she is dead. I got a kick out of her beach path - the flipper marks on each side of the deep tail trench.

I had to replace Kyr's snorkel mask, I think it was irreparably damaged in the ferry tsunami we endured that time we all were at Pender 4 years ago. Kyr has heroically endured a leaky mask ever since - even in Greece. It was to the point that he was emptying it every minute. We collectively decided that it was somewhat of a safety feature as it forced him to see where he was at all times. With a good mask it is almost too easy to find yourself way out, with huge distances ahead trying to get back. Harris bought himself some flippers and is enjoying the speed they enable him while snorkeling and diving. Apparently diving is way easier with flippers, something I'll probably never know.

I became engrossed yesterday in a crab collective. At least 10 crabs were whipping in and out of their holes all within 2 feet of where I stood. By standing very still I witnessed their comings and goings and interactions with eachother. Mostly they liked to stand poised at their hole openings and train their eyes on me. I felt like a conductor. The brief movement of even my hair would send them scuttling down only to reappear moments later when they would arrange themselves facing me. I wonder what they eat?

I've quit suggesting other outings ie) volcano because I'm going to wait and see if the others ever tire of beaching it. I don't tire but I feel the normal anxiety that plagues me that we should be doing other things.

We're eating very gourmet. Last night while making supper a gecko sprinted across the kitchen floor and unnerved me - that flash of fluorescent green!

I've even quit harassing everyone for an early start - now that we've found 69 beach there is no big hurry. As you can see from the last three photos how we start our day - me making breakfast sandwiches and delivering them to the computer people and then the slow realization as I make lunch that perhaps we will have someother demand on us during the day, we might actually have to go somewhere, even though the winds rage around dear little Morning Fire.

Calm Beaches

A very busy few days. Trying to be diligent and perhaps with any luck penetrate the beach fortress that is Mauna Kea, we set out earlier and earlier each day. But there are some things that I will not forsake in the quest to get to that particular beach - and that is a good lunch (dutifully made by yours truly) and Starbucks vente black ice tea. If I had to forsake that, it is not worth going. Every morning we are dutifully turned away at Mauna Kea. To the point when we ask how early we must be there the entry time keeps getting earlier by a 1/2 hour.

But as luck will have it each morning we have ended up at 69 beach. Winds are raging around us and for some reason 69 is perfectly calm and with shade. It doesn't get any better. For 2 years we have dutifully gone to 69 always with huge waves. I read about the snorkeling but could never get there because of the currents associated with the waves. The last two mornings have been calm and perfect snorkeling weather. We all enjoyed squid, turtles and Kyr even saw an octupus! It had been such a delightful beach. We have been so lucky!

After several hours spent in snorkeling spendor we try to do an afternoon outing . Yesterday we did the saddle road between 2 volcanos and in the span of less than an hour dropped from 87 to 50 degrees. The landscape on the saddle road ( crosses the island) is like a moonscape. It is surreal in its elevation and bleakness. The American military have a base near the top and it is beyond desolate. Apparently it was incredibly strategic during WWII, but god knows what important nefarious activity occurs now. The thing that was so incredibly disturbing was the complete death of all vegetation surrounding the military base. Admittedly it is just very dwarf scrub trees, but they are numerous and definitively dead. The only hopeful thing I could come up with is perhaps a brush fire?

We arrived in Hilo to find it even more decrepit than before. Will the economic crush never end? The market was even very paltry. Joop bought two beautiful island bouquets that are elevating our surroundings here at Morning Fire and we bought lots of papaya and tomatoes. But really it was almost depressing. We made the big faux pas of trying to get a snack at a restaurant. It was an exercise in futility.

Today after our beach sojourn we hiked Pololu valley. So beautiful as you can see in the windswept beach photos.

Tonight the boys made a tropical meal with local papayas, pineapples and chicken. It was delish.

The opening photos are of the horses here at morning fire. They love their morning apples and gallop up.

Boogie Boarding

I'm having to blog at night now because my blogging slowed down our progress to such a significant degree that we missed getting into Mauna Kea by one car. I thought we were doing exceptionally well being at the gates by 10:11, but apparently that is too late. I was initially distraught because being at Hapuna again means that I have to make my way past all of the boogie boarders in order to get to snorkeling territory. Not being a boogie boarder myself, they seem a wild, unwieldy lot that would as soon mow you down as abandon their wave. Needless to say I am traveling with boogie boarders. In the pictures you can see them strutting out to the waves clutching their boards and in some pictures even see Kyr and Harris catching some. It is quite the art.

I managed to snorkel a bit, not much because it is so choppy and even once you get to the corral there is not many fish. Is that significant? I don't know what to think on that point because I'm here so seldom and can't really say much about the amount of fish. I'm sure it is variable even in good years.

Once again we are struggling against the ravages of the sun. Today though, the ravages were in the attempts to foil it. Harris accidently burnt his left arm yesterday. After much nagging by me because I promised his mother he would not be burnt, he was vigilant in reapplying his sunscreen, but somehow it got in his eyes. He was in such agony for hours that I was contemplating attending emergency, but then through a miraculous self medication of sucking up Starbucks icewater through a straw and then dribbling it on his eye, he was cured, thank god. And then Kyr somehow spasmed his shin muscle into an S shaped that was unrelenting for 2 days despite my prescription muscle relaxants. So with the boys and their ailments, I am exhausted. I am thankful that neither condition precluded them enjoying the boogie boarding.

Tomorrow we will attempt to get to Mauna Kea by 9 am and then take the newly paved saddle road to Hilo where we will partake of the market. The boys are supposed to make supper every 3rd night. Somehow the plethora of Costco ingredients was uninspiring. They aim to make the market their destination - fruits and veggies galore. I'm pleased as long as Harris doesn't sneak Spam into the mix.

We'll probably take the coastal route back because it is so beautiful. For some reason the only people we run into are from BC. We are assured the volcano is open for observation by the native BCers. I'm pleased because that would be quite spectacular even to see the video footage of the latest explosion. The good thing about the Hawaii volcanos is that they erupt so slowly - 10mph, that they are easily outrunable.

Joop cooked supper tonight - a very delectable blue marlin - the very fish of trophy and fantasy.

There is so much to see and see again that I already feel panicky that we might miss something. I was wrong in my last post - the temp actually goes down to 64 F. Sandra and John would feel right at home at Morning Fire.

Hawaii 2011

Another gruelling journey to paradise. I spent much more money to ensure we spent only 8 hours traveling with plans to arrive at noon and spend the day at the beach. An unscheduled extended layover in San Francisco thwarted my plans and all the extra money, which also included a night stay at the Hilton in Waikaloa because we couldn't get into our beloved morning fire on time. Not only that but my wallet mysteriously went missing on the plane with the $300 I had just gotten out in SF. The picture above is of the boys heroically enduring the layover, having been up since 3:30am.

Despite being almost too exhausted to enjoy it, the Hilton was quite amazing. I'm glad to have experienced a resort like that at least once. It is so massive that a train is necessary to take you from building to building. There was also a series of canals so that we could have taken boats from place to place as well. On 64 acres there is a series of outdoor pools. The boys managed to take them all in that night. Our room was perched overlooking the ocean - one of the pictures in the middle of the palm trees. I think we all enjoyed the spectacle, though whenever I experience something like that I look around amazed that people are able to afford extended stays. How do they do it? The food is very expensive, everything is expensive, yet you still see families that are digging right in to the $25 breakfast. As Joop says, as more people become poorer, some are becoming richer. I guess we glimpsed the ones getting richer. One of the things I especially enjoyed about the resort was their collection of art. Partly because it is so not necessary, I think it is so very wonderful. I'm sure the resort would have been almost as awe inspiring without the art but the art just pushed it over. There is a long corridor that you can walk that connects all of the resort; it is outdoors but covered with a roof and pillars and within this corridor are massive paintings, many statues and even puppets from Burma.

The art plus the landscaping makes me think of ancient Egypt. Reading Cleopatra, I am completely incredulous about all of the pomp and luxury that went into living. The necessity for those in power to demonstrate through excess their position, their hold on mortality, I guess we haven't lost that.

We left the poshness and settled at Hapuna beach, having heard that one of our favorite beaches for meeting turtles was destroyed in the tsunami. The boys bobbed up and down in the waves body surfing - they are the two furthest dots in the ocean photo. I struggled to snorkel in the waves with my stalwart companion Joop dutifully swimming beside me, not snorkelling mind you just swimming along to ensure my safety. I must talk him into wearing his snorkel stuff on our next outing.

The temp dropped from 87 to 67 as we crested the mountain heading from morning fire. It is wonderful to be back. Smells and looks the same, though a new hideabed for Harris. We attempted to go to the Mexican Restaurant - massive crowds, standing room only, despite that my Metro got some acclaim from the crushing crowds. We ended up at Paniki Grill where none of us could figure the cultural origins of the food - everything with beef patties and eggs and no veggies. Harris had some concoction that they were proud to say contained Spam!

Off to Mauna Kea this am, once I've made the sandwiches.

O'Keefe Country

Joop and I went to New Mexico and Joop bought a fender for his car and I bought a Navajo headdress. It sounds weird but that is what it amounts to.

The New Mexican landscape it exceptionally beautiful. In the northeast section where we were, the land is a series of open plateaus interspersed with occasional mountains and land formations that look more like badlands. There is the sense of open vistas like the prairie where the sky is all but at the same time in every view there is sometype of geographic relief that adds incredible interest. So it is always about the play of light on the land and the many subtle colours. The vegetation is quite consistent at the various altitudes mostly scrub junipers and pinyon bushes, not much grass which could explain how even though it seems as though you are driving through miles and miles of ranchlands, and it is all fenced with barb wire as though intending to keep something in or out , there is not a cow or horse visible. People dress the part though and stopping in a tavern in an old ghost town called Madrid (has subsequently been taken over by squatters who set up galleries) the clientele are weathered old ranchers with hats and boots and neckscarves as though they just dismounted.

Driving through the landscape there is vast emptiness with the occasional fenced pueblo, which I took to be sometimes like a town on a reservation because they are quite vigilant about their privacy and often don’t encourage visitors. The dwellings in these pueblos are definitely adobe or pseudo- adobe, all meant to look the same and as part of the earth. There are also many, many casinos. I have decided that the native population that is not making pottery, jewelry, weavings or drums is running the casinos.

The only other visible industry is galleries. There is such a plethora of galleries in Santa Fe that it is enough to paralyse you.

Of the three towns that we visited I would say that Santa Fe is the place to make your base. Aside from too many galleries, too many shops, it is a nice little town to walk around. Our bed and breakfast was within two blocks of the downtown core and plaza. We walked everywhere. It was very pleasant. The food we ate was very good. We ate at 2 especially nice restaurants – an Italian and a bistro. With the food so good and accessible it was almost easy to overlook the paralysis that overcomes you when faced with too many goods to buy. I was so inundated with jewelry, pottery, weavings that I was completely unable to purchase. That has never happened to me before. The handful of goods that I did admire were all over $1000.00. I tried and tried to find something to purchase from the natives that sell their wares directly by sitting in front of the governors place which is like a long porch that is along one side of the plaza, but even then things were too overwhelming. A belt buckle I liked was $500.

So in the end the only items I ended up purchasing were at the hotel shop in Albuquerque. I even had to exclaim to the shop attendant that I had looked everywhere and only liked the things in his shop.

We went to the Georgia O’Keefe gallery in Santa Fe and really enjoyed the movies and collection. To visit her house in the town of Abiquiu you must book one month in advance. I would have liked to have seen it, just to see what aspect of the landscape consumed her so.

Last night we had guacamole made at our table. It was very entertaining, cheap and tastey, someone should take it up at home.

The one thing I will miss is my New Mexican hair - sleek and flat with no humidity.