If you can get past the eye-dazzling colors of the flowers and don’t get lost in the sheer profusion of the greenery, some of those cool plants growing in Hawaii have fascinating leaf shapes, seed pods, and other structures.
If you can get past the eye-dazzling colors of the flowers and don’t get lost in the sheer profusion of the greenery, some of those cool plants growing in Hawaii have fascinating leaf shapes, seed pods, and other structures.
Maybe my perception has been dulled by years of living in drought-stricken California. The vibrance of the colorful flowers I encountered in Hawaii was almost overwhelming!
They definitely fall into the “1 picture is worth 1000 words” category.
I’ve always found spiritual solace in nature.
My preferred place of worship is the kelp forest in which I’ve spent many a Sunday morning suited up in dive gear. A coral reef will do in a pinch; it’s hard not to believe in a Higher Power when you’re snorkeling with green sea turtles, which I’ve done in the past at Kahalu’u Beach Park in Kona.
This trip I briefly explored the land side of the park early one morning, and discovered the magnificent Kuemanu Heiau, an ancient place of worship that is still very much in operation, judging from the offerings placed there.
Right next to it is a diminutive Catholic church.
In spite of the little structure’s charm, I found its proximity to the heiau — the symbol of the ancient religion that Christian missionaries set about to eradicate — more than a little unsettling.
Good friends, MaiTais, Mud Pie, and sunset at the Kona Inn Restaurant.
It just doesn’t get any better than this.
After several days of watching others paddle past our condo, Morgan and I went down to Keauhou Bay and rented a 2-seater sit-on-top kayak late one morning. We were just in time to catch the tail-end of a visit by a pod of dolphins. As we came out of the bay we saw several leaping and spinning in the distance, and headed our kayak in their direction.
Soon we saw the dorsal fins of a handful a few yards to starboard, then almost a dozen surfaced to breathe a bit further to port. Although all you see in the photo below is the Sheraton in the background…
…I did manage to capture about 10 seconds of video that hopefully won’t make you seasick:
The encounter with the dolphins swimming close to our kayak was amazing, as was the view of our condo complex from the water.
That kayak sure felt tiny on the heaving swells of the big Pacific ocean. I got a new appreciation for the courage of the paddlers we saw disappearing offshore every day, and felt a visceral connection to the ancient peoples who first arrived at the islands in their sailing canoes.
There’s nothing like the vision of a Hawaiian sailing canoe to make you feel like you’re in paradise.
Staying in Kanaloa at Kona, we saw watercraft ranging from SUPs to dive boats to cruise ships from our ocean-view lanai. Most mornings we were treated to the sight of a small fleet of outriggers paddling past.
One morning I walked down and watched them launch from Keauhou Canoe Club.
The well-practiced teams made it all look effortless: carrying the huge boats into the water, climbing in, maneuvering each boat out of the way to let the next one launch, then heading out to sea in close formation.
A solo paddler came in just as the fleet left. The beautiful little boat balances delicacy and strength like yin and yan.
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