Island Time... Pt. 2

In my previous visit to the Big Island, I had failed to make it over to the Hilo side, so this year I made time for the trip. Hilo is well known for the tsunamis which struck the city back in 1946 and 1960, and for being the wettest city in the United States, with some areas near the town receiving over 200 inches of rain annually. I honestly hadn't heard many great things about the place, but I went over to find out for myself, and I'm glad I did...

Taking the famous Saddle road outside Waimea, I climbed up and over the lava flows below Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, watching the landscape unfold into a most amazing juxtaposition: From the ashen, motionless sea of lava at the summit, an almost immediate change to a verdant, blooming oasis as I dropped towards Hilo. First order of business was getting some lunch, so I dropped into a secret Thai spot and had a wonderfully authentic curry. Next on the agenda was Akaka falls, just north of the city. There is a small hiking path that leads visitors around an incredible tropical jungle, eventually popping out with a stunning view of the plunging horsetail falls...

Urgency was a word left behind with the end of my race season, so I stopped at the Aloha farms coconut and fruit stand just down the road from Akaka falls. This is a small family run effort, and completely organic, so it was easy to hand over a few dollars in exchange for a fresh coconut. Would love to have my mountains and canyons, and the ability to grow tropical fruits all in one place. Oh, mango, pineapple, rambutan, guava.... I love thee.

In my first real athletic effort since the Ironman, I roused my roommate for the week, Dave Old, and headed for the aquamarine waters of the coast for a little surfing. Sadly, Dave was not to be joining this most pure day on the water, as he was still suffering from a toe infection initiated by the marathon run, so he enjoyed the views from the beach while I paddled around. I wish to report incredible successes on the water, but alas, I really only caught a couple waves at Pine Trees. My surfing needs some fine-tuning, which means I will have to find an agreeable beach in the near future...

I offered to take it off with a chisel and hammer, cauterizing with a blowtorch after, but Dave went with antibiotics instead. To each his own...