DAY 13 DEC 22, 2012:
On beach trail... started driving north
from the hotel. Quite hot for us.
Hapuna beach:
At the famous Hapuna beach.
Again we packed up early because of the
strong sun.
Hamakua nut factory:
We headed to Hamakua nut factory...
The wall has stones stacked up with no mortar...loved this driveway.
No we are NOT nuts... just totally loved this place.
Ahh the free sample table.... when we left a family attacked the table... and left after eating for free... some people have no ethics!!
We had bought the costliest coffee as well ...100% kona for the boss.
Ice cream section.... we had done so
much free sampling... did not have space for the icecream.
Took a drive up north... stopped by a
ranch. The cows were a little surprised at unexpected visitors.
This cowboy boot commemorates the
trophy won by their rodeo participants in Wyoming.
Another road side stop. Being weekend,
this place was closed. We just said hi to the owner who was leaving
and then took some pics of this scenic place.
Drove on further north... up the kohala
mountains ... cool and scenic. Passed several ranches including
naalapa stables . Reached Hawi... 4000 feet above sea level.
As we were 65 miles away from Sheraton,
reluctantly turned back to reach home before dark.
At Sheraton pool. The kid decides to
stick on for our pic.
Sitting at the room entrance having a snack,
watching the sun set.
DAY 14 DEC 23, 2012:
Went on a scenic drive and arrived at the Benedict Church
At the Painted church:
The church was painted by the Belgian
monk who stayed here.
Apart from the panels on the side
walls, the arch behind the altar is great, 3-dimensional...St Francis
of Assissi receiving the stigmata from Jesus.
Some meditation, little donation.
St Benedict in the church yard.
Bread fruit... well, Jesus did make
bread available to devotees.
As usual we were the only ones there on
the quiet sunday morning.
Tree laden with oranges.
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National
Historical Park:
This historical park preserves the site
where, up until the early 19th century, Hawaiians who broke a kapu
(one of the ancient laws) could avoid certain death by fleeing to
this place of refuge or puʻuhonua.
The offender would be absolved by a
priest and freed to leave.
Defeated warriors and non-combatants
could also find refuge here during times of battle.
The grounds just outside the Great Wall
that encloses the puʻuhonua were home to several generations of
powerful chiefs. the soldiers blow the conch announcing the arrival
of the chief... if a commoner looks at the chief, he'll be killed.
Chief in a yellow cape and head dress.
Must have been tough times to live in for a commoner.
This 450 acre site includes the
puʻuhonua and a complex of archeological sites including: temple
platforms, royal fishponds, sledding tracks, and some coastal village
sites.
The Hale o Keawe temple and several
thatched structures have been reconstructed.
Noni tree.
Hale pilli... grass house.
Stone structures hollowed to store
food, to use as grinding surface or to store sea water for
evaporating and making salt.
This is a tree mould... over 1000 years
ago, lava from Mauna Loa flowed here and knocked down this tree.
Behind is the reconstructed hale o
keawe.. old temple which held the bones of 23 chiefs... the old one
was looted by lord Byron (cousin to the poet)in 1825.
After the looting the queen gathered
the remaining bones and hid them.
Papamu... stone used for a game of
konane.
This is where royal canoes landed.
These are ki'i... carved wooden images.
These are recent re creations.
A royal guard.
This is the original wall built in
1500s... 10 feet high, 17feet thick... no mortar used...this
separates the place of refuge from the royal grounds.
Temple holding the bones of chiefs.
Offerings were left on the tower.
Their mana... spirit ...stands guard
over the temple.
Another royal guard.
Scenic path to the ocean; nice replica
of the shirt design here.
Tide pools. Caught the sea turtle in
our video.
Behind is the king's favorite seat...
holes to hoist poles to hold a canopy also can be seen.
Big lava rock.
On the king's seat.
This was once the principal heiau...
temple.
This is the ka'a humanu stone...King
Kamehameha's favorite queen hid under this once after a quarrel...
but her barking dog gave the game away.
This is the real papamu... the stone
which the royals used for their game.
At the ocean...this is what one
imagines Hawaii would be... sea and swaying palms.
Noni
Sunset at Sheraton.
Best part of Sheraton stay was the area
was a good 5 degree cooler than Kona area… we found the sun too hot
on the Kona side and entering the hotel grounds in the evening was a
relief.
We religiously watched out for manta rays on the 1st 2 evenings along with a huge crowd in the bar area and divers, snorkelers shining light in the ocean but it was a no show. On our last evening, we decided we’ll put in ½ hour but had no hopes but to our delight 2 mantas showed up and were dancing around quite early… by 7.30… there were just a handful of people….the mantas were the high point!!
We religiously watched out for manta rays on the 1st 2 evenings along with a huge crowd in the bar area and divers, snorkelers shining light in the ocean but it was a no show. On our last evening, we decided we’ll put in ½ hour but had no hopes but to our delight 2 mantas showed up and were dancing around quite early… by 7.30… there were just a handful of people….the mantas were the high point!!
I'll upload a video shortly
DAY 15, Dec 24, 2012:
We drove back in steady drizzle and decreased visibility to Hilo via the famous Saddle road.
Felt like a roller coaster ride.
In hilo we kept our bags at the Seaside Lodge and drove to Hilo Botanical gardens where they offered segway rides. The cows there were emaciated and the roads were all gravel. We took short hikes to a couple of water falls and then drove back.
Went to the airport, returned the car.
Then President Obama was coming in that day for his vacation with family. We saw the Airforce 1 parked. we took our flight to Honolulu and then onward to Honolulu.
End of a lovely holiday!
MAHALO!
Report on our AWESOME 16 day vacation to China starts here:
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