"Big Island" Hawaii - Day 3: Searching for turtles and kings

 Well, Naomi was right. We didn't see the volcanoes today.  Instead, we drove south, searching for the storied Green Turtles of Big Island.

Our first destination (after a strong Starbucks coffee to jolt us out of bed), was south of Kona, to Kahaluu Beach, a state park reputed to be famous for snorkeling and turtles sunning themselves on the beach.  The drive took us up into the hills overlooking Kona, with brief but magnificent vistas of the island below and the ocean beyond.  Then we descended down Mamalahoa Highway, and then part of Kauakini Highway, and finally approached the park via Kamehameha III Highway.  See a pattern here?  Unlike British Columbia, or any other state in the US that I know of, virtually every place name on the Big Island has traditional names.  No doubt there are others, but the only place that had a western influence was "Captain Cook", a coffee growing region south of Kona that was named after, well, Captain Cook. Nearby is Kealakekua Bay, where Cook met an untimely end at the hands of the Hawaiians in 1779.  The Hawaiian names took getting used to... I don't dare say I can pronounce them correctly.  Hilary's often correcting my goofy pronunciation of ENGLISH words that I read somewhere but never learned how to say them properly, so I guess that's no surprise.

The crowded little park at Kahahuu Beach wasn't anything to write about, but sure enough, in the middle of a hoard of kids playing and families out in the water snorkeling, was a single lonely green turtle sunning himself (I'm guessing it's a "him") sleepily on a rock. Just one.  Perhaps the others were out playing in the water?  Though you could walk right up to the fellow, I dared not touch him for fear of being slapped with a $25,000 Hawaiian state fine for doing just that. And sure enough, just behind me, sitting on a chair, was a volunteer citizen "turtle keeper" (guard??), watching my every move. I took a picture and gingerly backed away.

That single Chelonioidean encounter pretty much satisfied our quest for turtles. So, with lunch approaching, we headed back up the mountain Mamalahoa Highway (highway 10),  to Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park, also known as a "place of refuge".  Apparently, it, too, is home to sea turtles. But, now that we had actually seen one, of more interest to me at least, was this site's place in Hawaiian history.  What we didn't realize when we set out on today's journey was what a beautiful place it was.

The picnic area overlooked a vast black beach made of smooth volcanic stone that stretched into the water.  Interspersed in the rock were tidal pools brimming with sea life.

The air was warm and slightly humid, despite overcast skies, perfect for exploring-->

 <--Hilary, in the distance, looking out over the surf's edge

Rebecca-->

<--Naomi

Satisfied with lunch and a such a beautiful walk, we set out to view the Palace Grounds and the Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau, the Place of Refuge.

Separating the two areas of the park is the Great Wall, up to ten feet high and seventeen feet thick, and built of stones packed so tightly that morter was not needed to hold them together.  The stone wall remains here to this day, together with reconstructed artifacts and 'tiki', tall wooden figures that silently stand guard over the site.

Hilary and Rebecca walking into the Palace grounds from the Puʻuhonua O Hōnaunau-->

The Palace grounds were kapu, or strictly forbidden to anyone other than royalty. Only royalty could enter inside the great wall.  Certain death would befall a commoner who stepped foot, or even allowed his shadow to be cast inside the walls. Thankfully, the rules have relaxed a bit now. Today, one can see a reconstructed Hale O Keawe heiau, or Hawaiian temple, which was originally built by a Kona chief named Kanuha in the mid 16th century.


<--Two ki'i, or wooden images standing guard over Keone'ele Cove, 

The Hale o Keawe temple once kept the bones of Chief Keawe, who ruled in the late 1700's, and 22 other chiefs -->

<--Fishing canoe, kept within the Palace grounds.

Keone'ele Cove, part of the Palace Grounds. Only royalty were allowed to bring their canoes here-->

<--A ki'i, near the canoe hut

Drying tea leaves inside the Palace grounds-->

Outside the Great Wall was the place of refuge.  It was called this because up to the early 19th century, Hawaiians who broke one of the ancient laws, or kapu, were able to avoid death by seeking this place of refuge, called a puʻuhonua.  Some sources I read suggested that a priest could then absolve the offender, allowing him to leave. However, others suggest that this place could often be the place he (or she) would spend the rest of their lives. During times of battle, this place also allowed refuge for defeated warriors and non-combatants.

The Ka'ahumanu Stone-->

Legend has it that Queen Ka'ahumanu, the favorite wife of King Kamehameha I (the same king whose statue we saw yesterday), had a fight with her husband. As a result, she swam a great distance to the place of refuge, the pu'uhonua, and hid under this stone from her husband for a long time. He came looking for her, and her dog barked, revealing her hiding place. The king and queen made peace after their fight, and went home together

<--the back side of the Ka'ahumanu Stone, with a cavern inside that looks just large enough for someone to hide there.

I could have lingered for hours, but not surprisingly the rest of the family were ready to move on after we completed our walk.  It was good that we did, because no sooner had we started driving up the hill back towards Kona when we were hit with a torrential downpour - the third in three days, all occurring about the same time in the afternoon.  The rain was warm, however, and passed quickly.

We stopped in Kailua for yogurt ice cream at a little shop that has become a favorite ever since Hilary and Rebecca visited here last year.  Walking along the sidewalk, it was evident that the downpour that had hit us on the mountain had just stopped only minutes before our arrival.

The kid's favorite frozen yogurt shop on Big Island-->

<--Hilary, checking out one of the many art galleries in Kailua









 

Carefully balanced stones standing on the beach, found along our walk towards the farmer's market-->

We wandered through the farmer's market, with makeshift tents covering a wide variety of native fruit and hand crafts, before returning home.

Fresh coconuts and citrus fruit at the market-->

This was our last day with $300/day economy car, so we decided to make the best of it.  After a brief interlude for the kids to chat with their friends on Facebook (what would we do without the Internet??), we headed back to the northern tip of the Island, for dinner once again at the Bamboo restaurant.

Once again, wonderful food, attentive, friendly service and the casual Hawaiian atmosphere of this unique restaurant made it a very memorable evening.










And so, we finally made it back to our condo at Waikola Beach, and time for me to turn in to bed.  Tomorrow, we're having a relaxing morning. I'll likely do an early morning bike ride towards Hawi, approximately 30 miles (48 km) up the coast.  Hilary will likely head for the gym across the driveway from our condo.  Then, weather permitting, we're planning to spend most of the day on the beach here at Waikoloa.