We woke up at sunrise. The light was streaming through the tops of the rainforest and the birds were singing. Peter's basket of fruit and pastries was delightful. We snacked on papaya and a Hawai'ian scone. Susan made us a bagel with banana and honey for later and we took the hard boiled eggs with us for the day as well. First stop was the village of Volcano. It's quaint, with just the basics; a couple of restaurants, a gas station and small market, and a few bed and breakfasts and arts and crafts stores scattered throughout the jungle. There's also a couple of workshops and schools. On Peter's recommendation, we went to his friend Ira's Volcano Garden Art Center.....and it was awesome. Ira curates the gallery which meanders through his outdoor garden and from room to room in the house. He's also done a fantastic job with the grounds.
There are large sculptures, hidden shrines, a "natural" room created by a grove of pine trees planted by the former owner (where weddings take place), and Ira's goat, Ernest, keeps the grass mowed.
Ira gave us carrots to feed Ernest, who seemed to really like us and wanted to play by butting us with his little devil horns, and standing up on two legs. There were also little lizards all over his yard, sunning on rocks. Susan picked out a beautiful platter that looked like lava with a leaf impression in it. Ira assured us it was not the real thing, that it was made from concrete to look like it. We're well aware of the curse of taking things from the island, and didn't want to flirt with any of that, especially after our adventure yesterday. Susan also picked out a small turtle carving and a small frog carving for us to take home. Ira's store is beautiful and his prices are very reasonable....and he's a very nice man.
We left from Volcano towards the park, finishing our bagel and eggs on the way. It only cost $10 to enter the park and your pass is good for a week. We checked out the visitor center, which had a lot of great educational displays on the history of the island, the animals and plants that have made it their home, and the volcanos. We were feeling a bit soar from the day before's hike, so we decided to take it easy on our first day in the park.
We first did the short Thurston Lava Tube hike. It's very interesting and spectacular. It's basically a tunnel running through the jungle for a couple of hundred yards. It's easy to imagine lava flowing through it. We were both reminded of Gilligan's Island. Maybe I'm being a total tourist, but I believe they did a great job capturing the look and vibe of polynesian islands for the show.
Next, we began heading down the slopes of Mauna Loa towards the coast. A short ways down, we took a detour in order to check out the Halina Pali Overlook. It's a striking 9 mile drive out to it.
You pass through forest, which slowly thins into vast lava fields. Meadows also dot the landscape and you have to drive slow in order to avoid the possibility of running over the endangered Nene. We were fortunate to see a pair of them.
Susan and I joked about the couple being on their own honeymoon. Time seems to be slowing while we're here and I have no idea how long it took us to get to the overlook....maybe 25 minutes, maybe an hour. But it doesn't matter. Rounding the last turn and seeing the overlook is an amazing experience. Easily one of the best views of the earth we have ever experienced. You're about 4000 feet above sea level looking out upon the ocean. The coastline stretches for tens of miles in either direction...I would guess that you can see 50 miles, maybe more of the shore. You can also see where the lava is entering the sea again. It's very isolated in this part of the park and we only saw one other couple and some tents at a campsite. We're definitely considering camping here on our next trip to the island. Plus, you can't beat $7 a day for a place to sleep on the island.
The drive back to the main road was slow and beautiful and we saw our friends, the Nene, one more time. Then we continued down the slope, passing lava flows from 1973 and 1974, more viewpoints (we stopped at most of them) and views of the new mountain, Mauna Una (1970!!). We passed on the petroglyphs, only because we needed to find a bathroom, and made our way to the end of the road. I recognized that this is probably the location of old footage I have seen where lava is slowly inching across the highway on the coastline. You literally walk right to it and then over the flow to a viewpoint where we could see the other side of the lava flowing into the sea. Again, very beautiful. You can also look up the slope and see steam rising out of fissures. At night, the hillside glows (we witnessed it the night before from the other side) and this is probably the better view to witness the side of the mountain "on fire."
We were getting hungry again and also wanted to pick up supplies for the room so we drove back out of the park and back to the town of Pahoa where we had noticed a couple of local grocery stores. There, we picked up some Trader Vic's Silver Rum (delicious), guava juice, ice, some macadamia nuts covered in chocolate and prepared to go get some takeout Thai food and have a romantic evening in the sanctuary. But on the way back to Hwy 11, we came across a young hitch hiker, maybe 16 years old, who had been standing in the rain for over an hour trying to thumb a ride. We picked him up, trying to return the favor to the island. His name was Stephen and he said he was going to Hilo. Susan looked at me and asked, "How far is Hilo?" I knew she was already thinking we should take him all the way home. It was only about 8 extra miles, a 15 minute drive at the most, and I felt we should take him there as well. We started talking to Stephen and asking about any restaurants he liked in Hilo. He immediately said his favorite was Garden Snack Club. Stephen was a little shy and got quiet after that first outburst for about two minutes, and then he got more excited and started talking about how Garden Snack Club was supposed to be Thai, but it really wasn't Thai at all...it was something unique to the island. He highly recomended the Thai Pizza. We were sold and after dropping Stephen off at his doorstep in Hilo, we headed straight for the restaurant....and Stephen wasn't kidding. Garden Snack Club is amazing! We ordered the Nut Salad and Thai Pizza with Opakapaka (not sure if I'm remembering the name of the fish right), which is somewhat like red snapper. The Nut Salad was a delightful mix of imported nuts from the mainland (I guess this is fancy to the locals) and local greens and fruits. Even though the nuts are cashews and peanuts and walnuts and hazelnuts, all things we get at home, I found the dish to be very hawai'ian tasting. The dressing included pineappe juice and everything was very fresh.
And the Thai Pizza was out of this world....It's nothing like pizza at all. It's more like a quesadilla mixed up with a crepe, except it tastes better than any crepe or quesadilla I've ever had. The crust is different than the middle and very crunchy. The middle was green and spotted and moist and filled with fish and something like a potato and other local vegetables and fruit. And the portions are giant and the prices very reasonable. Susan and I could have split either dish and have been full. Instead, we took a meal home for the next day.
We also began our sit down with their Thai Iced Coffee, which must be made from toasted coconut milk and fine coffee over ice....heaven on earth. We finished our meal by splitting a bowl of their handmade durian-macadamia
nut honey ice cream, which also had shredded coconut in it. If Garden Snack Club ever licenses their recipe for this icecream to a company like Ben and Jerry's, they're going to make a fortune.
We drove back to Volcano Rainforest Retreat and made cocktails and soaked in the tub. The frogs were in full effect and again, and we slept very well. We woke up just before dawn, and noticed that it's the one time of day in the rainforest where there is silence....both the frogs and birds take a break. We're looking forward to another beauful day on the island.
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