twangster

Finally it was time for the main event.

  As the sun dropped lower it reappeared from behind the clouds.





It was pretty magical and soulful.  
With that it was time to regain feeling in my frozen fingers so we boarded our bus for the drive to our restaurant just over an hour away. 

The tour continues with our first sitings of old lava flows.  Not the Kraken variety.
Driving along the highway everything looks normal then you come across a barren section of land where it looks like someone has tilled the land but really it's a lava flow from decades or hundreds of years ago.  In some cases plant life is starting to make roots.

The brown area may look like dirt but it isn't.  It's more lava rock.

There are three predominant types of lava found on Hawaii.  Most of this is an example of aa lava, a very fast moving form that causes the flow to crack and break into pieces.

This is the big island.  The whole island was like this once but in areas that haven't received new flows a soil has formed over hundreds or thousands of years.  The isn't soil very deep though and lava rock like you see here is never far from the surface.  That makes it hard for trees to take root or to plant electric poles like this one.   This is an example of pahoehoe lava and it moves slower allowing a skin to form that protects the molten lava within so it doesn't crack in the same manner as aa lava.

The side of the lava exposed to air oxidized and became the porous lava rock we use in our BBQ grills while the lava flow further from the surface cools at a different rate that often causes it to crack and splinter.  

Note the brown lava rock versus the black lava rock.  More on that later.

The Southernmost point in the US in the distance.


To give you an idea how slowly plant growth comes back there are three lava flows in this area.  The oldest flow is brown in color now because of the high iron content.  It basically rusts over time turning the lava rock into a color that looks like soil.  It's not soil though, just more lava rock.  

The brown lava rock is believed to be from a flow between 750 and 1,500 years ago.  The darker "newer" lava flow is from 1907.




Note there are no trees on the darker flow, only the 1,000 year old lava has plant life.

This one species of tree has adapted to life on lava and it produces an enzyme that can break down the lava rock and allow its root to penetrate the rock.  The tree and the red flower that blooms on them have a storied beginning in Hawaiian folklore.  More on that later.

 
This lava flow rock is very sharp.  If you fell down it would hurt and probably cut you.  This is what the native population had to deal with prior to modern times.  No roads, no cars but to navigate Hawaii the native population had to deal with navigating across these types of flows all over the island for hundreds of years.  

The tour continues with our first sitings of old lava flows.  Not the Kraken variety.
Driving along the highway everything looks normal then you come across a barren section of land where it looks like someone has tilled the land but really it's a lava flow from decades or hundreds of years ago.  In some cases plant life is starting to make roots.

The brown area may look like dirt but it isn't.  It's more lava rock.

There are three predominant types of lava found on Hawaii.  Most of this is an example of aa lava, a very fast moving form that causes the flow to crack and break into pieces.

This is the big island.  The whole island was like this once but in areas that haven't received new flows a soil has formed over hundreds or thousands of years.  The isn't soil very deep though and lava rock like you see here is never far from the surface.  That makes it hard for trees to take root or to plant electric poles like this one.   This is an example of pahoehoe lava and it moves slower allowing a skin to form that protects the molten lava within so it doesn't crack in the same manner as aa lava.

The side of the lava exposed to air oxidized and became the porous lava rock we use in our BBQ grills while the lava flow further from the surface cools at a different rate that often causes it to crack and splinter.  

Note the brown lava rock versus the black lava rock.  More on that later.

The Southernmost point in the US in the distance.


To give you an idea how slowly plant growth comes back there are three lava flows in this area.  The oldest flow is brown in color now because of the high iron content.  It basically rusts over time turning the lava rock into a color that looks like soil.  It's not soil though, just more lava rock.  

The brown lava rock is believed to be from a flow between 750 and 1,500 years ago.  The darker "newer" lava flow is from 1907.




Note there are no trees on the darker flow, only the 1,000 year old lava has plant life.

This one species of tree has adapted to life on lava and it produces an enzyme that can break down the lava rock and allow its root to penetrate the rock.  The tree and the red flower that blooms on them have a storied beginning in Hawaiian folklore.  More on that later.

 
This lava flow rock is very sharp.  If you fell down it would hurt and probably cut you.  This is what the native population had to deal with prior to modern times.  No roads, no cars but to navigate Hawaii the native population had to deal with navigating across these types of flows all over the island for hundreds of years.  

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

Our next stop was at Bay View Farms where among other things they have 10 acres of coffee trees.  If anyone is a die hard coffee lover they've probably heard of Kona coffee.

Our driver and guide Dastan talking about the process of picking coffee cherries and the tree itself.  They have to be picked by hand and it's a lot of work for little pay.

The farm has other crops also planted.




While the Papaya and Pineapple are nice, this stop is all about coffee.




Coffee cherries have to be picked when they are red, not before and not long after they have turned color.

We were welcomed to sample a medium and dark roast variety of their coffee.




The farm has beautiful grounds with plenty to see.


We were warned when buying Kona coffee to avoid anything that said "blend" but insist on 100% Kona coffee.  A blend could have just 1 or 2 Kona beans and the rest something else where as 100% Kona coffee is just that.





Very interesting stop and of course I had to buy some Kona coffee right from the source.

Our first stop is at The Painted Church.
In the early days of missionaries coming to Hawaii they were faced with either local native Hawaiian or immigrant workers few if any of which spoke english.  To get the message across this church resorted to paintings to help convey the message they were spreading.



It has been observed that the palm fronds on the ceiling are painted brown in one direction and green in the other.  The message being follow Christ forward where there is life but if you don't the other direction is death.

Day 10 - Kailua-Kona
Up early for arrival at our final port of call on this cruise.  I've never been to the big island of Hawaii before.




Also a tender port and our excursion met again in the theater before being escorted to a tender shortly after 7:30am.  Today's excursion is a full day tour called Hawaii Volcanoes National Park - Kahuku Unit booked through Royal.

The port area for tenders is a short rise without the narrow channel that Lanaiha has.  This made for a faster tender process.


Our group had around 9 in our bus and there were 5 smaller shuttle like buses used for all participants.  On the way to our first stop we had a 25 minute drive.  As we got closer the roads went from highways to smaller two lane roads.  Interesting tree along the way that has grown in a full loop.

The big island clearly shows that this island is a volcano.  While all of the Hawaiian islands are born from volcanoes you feel it more on the big island.  As our guide and driver put it, you were on an active volcano the moment you stepped off the tender.  Lush and tropical in places contrasted with areas that have been wiped clean of any vegetation by a lava flow at some point in the last several hundred years.

After 45 minutes in the water we were given some turkey wraps, chips and water or local fruit juices.  We were getting ready to leave when a pair of dolphins visited.






On the ride back to Maui more dolphins came by.



Pretty cool seeing them up close like this.

I wanted to wander a bit before my 2pm excursion that met on the island.
Clouds have formed over much of the island in just a few hours.

Here is the crew fixing the ramp after a swell knocked it off it's normal position.

The boats themselves are very comfortable with padded seating.  I think the capacity is 170.

Off and away we go...


The port area where we landed.


Walking along the shore for a bit.



Very close by is a street with shops.


It was very hot, over 31°C or almost 90° F.  I though something to cool me down was in order.  Conveniently located across from the port area is a hotel with bar.

Fortunately I found a Big Wave Golden Ale to cool me down.

After 45 minutes in the water we were given some turkey wraps, chips and water or local fruit juices.  We were getting ready to leave when a pair of dolphins visited.






On the ride back to Maui more dolphins came by.



Pretty cool seeing them up close like this.

Finally it was time for the main event.

  As the sun dropped lower it reappeared from behind the clouds.





It was pretty magical and soulful.  
With that it was time to regain feeling in my frozen fingers so we boarded our bus for the drive to our restaurant just over an hour away. 

Today's excursion is called the Haleakalā Summit Sunset Experience. 
Our excursion met and we boarded a small shuttle type bus where we met our driver and guide.  We drove around 45 minutes to their business where we could get a coffee, snack, use the restroom and get a jacket for the summit.  

The summit is around 10,000 feet in elevation and the weather is very cool up there.  Today it was 41°F.  Jackets were highly recommended due to the strong winds and wind chill.
Menus were passed around for a post-summit dinner.  We picked our entree which was called into the restaurant prior to our arrival later in the evening.

Our bus ride continued up through changing weather and ecology.  Entering the Haleakalā National Park we stopped at the visitor's center for a restroom break and interesting talk about the type of plants in this area.   At this point we were above the clouds at around 7,000 feet.

We learned that many plants found here are endemic to Hawaii - they only exist here and nowhere else in the world.  Some are unique to each island and are not even found on other Hawaiian islands.

The Silversword is an example of one unique and exclusive to Maui.

We continue our drive towards the summit first stopping at a viewing area halfway there.

The sun was getting lower on the horizon.

Our guide tells us the story of Pele and Maui, both gods in Hawaiian culture.  Pele is the goddess of volcanoes and fire and the creator of the Hawaiian Islands.  Maui was responsible for the mountains rising from the ocean floor.  

This area includes a viewing platform for a view into the crater behind the summit.


Cinder cones were easy to spot on the crater floor.  These are from past eruptions.  Scientists believe Haleakalā has erupted at least 7 times over the past 1,000 years and they predict she will erupt again at some point.

From here we proceeded to the summit.

Another view of the crater from the visitor's center at the summit.

Not quite sunset yet the sun popped behind a cloud.  Looking closely you can see the shoreline of Maui before us.

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

That the insurance division of the farm.  He told me how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars by switching to gecko.

That the insurance division of the farm.  He told me how easy it was to save hundreds of dollars by switching to gecko.

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

Yikes !  There's a demon lurking in [bird of] paradise !!!

Our next stop was at Bay View Farms where among other things they have 10 acres of coffee trees.  If anyone is a die hard coffee lover they've probably heard of Kona coffee.

Our driver and guide Dastan talking about the process of picking coffee cherries and the tree itself.  They have to be picked by hand and it's a lot of work for little pay.

The farm has other crops also planted.




While the Papaya and Pineapple are nice, this stop is all about coffee.




Coffee cherries have to be picked when they are red, not before and not long after they have turned color.

We were welcomed to sample a medium and dark roast variety of their coffee.




The farm has beautiful grounds with plenty to see.


We were warned when buying Kona coffee to avoid anything that said "blend" but insist on 100% Kona coffee.  A blend could have just 1 or 2 Kona beans and the rest something else where as 100% Kona coffee is just that.





Very interesting stop and of course I had to buy some Kona coffee right from the source.

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

That photo speaks volumes... about the need for some better photoshop skills :) 

I haven't forgotten about this thread.  
With three ports days in a row with long excursions each day followed by disembarking in Honolulu this morning there hasn't been time to post.  I'll finish this off from the comfort of my living room back home.