After working on the house and making arrangements for other repairs to be completed, we have time to enjoy the island. In fact, we have more time than other trips because the house doesn't need as much attention, we have given up our real estate search for living here, and all of our friends we used to hang out with have left the island.
Keauhou Surf and Racket
Here's a few snaps of where we're staying. Although we've stayed in many different places on the island, we tend to like staying at the
Keauhou Surf and Racket.
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| Lava foundations of a king's residence |
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The condo complex has several archeological sites within the compound as the area was once a favored residence of Hawaiian royalty - Ali'i. In fact, the main road through this area is Ali'i Drive.
One area not pictured is a men's residence. Men and women lived separately with male children joining the men's house once they were weaned from their mothers. |
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It has a good location with lovely grounds and nice amenities.
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| Pool |
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| Club house with tennis courts |
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Many of the units are ocean front, including the one we have rented for the week.
South Kona
In looking for some garden plants, we visit a nursery a few miles south.
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| Shade house |
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| White striped bamboo |
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| Peter chats with Jerry |
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Jerry, the owner, turns out to be a talkative old hippy from the Vietnam era. Besides running this nursery, they have a non-profit
parrot sanctuary of over 400 birds given up by people who could no longer keep them. Parrots do tend to be longer lived than most people expect and plan for.
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| a prized Macaw |
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| Jerry gives his pet a good head scratch |
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Farther south we explore a black "sand" beach in Kona Paradise for a friend who's considering buying a home there.
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| the beach at Kona Paradise |
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| Not exactly sand... maybe in a few thousand years |
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We stop at a few of our favorite roadside stands.
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| South Kona Fruit Stand |
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| My favorite Lei stand |
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| You gotta like the price |
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Most days we have lunch out since we're running around the island. One day we decide to check out Sam Choy's which as gotten mixed reviews from our friends and Yelp... in short the view is great, the food is so-so.
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| I toast Peter with a Kona draft |
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| Bar area with Marlin |
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Coffee Farm Tour
Unfortunately, our planned tour of Hualalai Crater is cancelled for our last day on Kona. So we decide to check out an organic coffee farm operated by
Mountain Thunder in the Kaloko cloud forest at the 3000'+ level.
Our guide starts by explaining how the plants continually set flowers and coffee cherry on the same branches necessitating hand picking to collect only the ripe fruits... which makes Kona coffee so expensive.
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| Flower buds with green cherries |
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| our guide |
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| Ripe cherries with raw beans |
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We then head into the processing factory... We are surprised to learn that Mountain Thunder ships many of their processed beans to other roasters and only roast a small proportion of their own beans on site.
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| Bags awaiting shippment |
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| local roaster |
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| Peter enjoys a taste of their best estate coffee |
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Being an organic farm, they reply on integrated pest management solutions rather than sprays.
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| Feral chickens |
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| Geese and ducks |
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| with occasional help from wild turkeys |
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The cat patrol has the night shift and snoozes during the day.
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| this kitty had to be prodded to get out of the road |
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| zzzz... wake me when a mouse shows up |
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Keauhou Farmers' Market
There's a small market on Wednesdays at the
Keauhou Beach Resort, which is right next door to us. Even though we have to leave the next day, we decide to check it out for future reference.
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| Small Weds Farmers' Market |
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| I show off a new lei |
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| Peter gets one too |
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Next to the Keauhou Resort, an old hotel was torn down and the land was given back to the native Hawaiians since the site was originally occupied by a large Heaiu (temple). Over the years, we've watched the destruction of the old hotel and the reconstruction of the Heaiu. We are pleasantly surprised at how much progress has been made on this visit.
The ancient Polynesians originally came to the Hawaiian islands in large ocean going canoes, Kai Wa'a, from Tahiti. This migration was a truly remarkable feat in ocean navigation in which they used not only what they could see and feel from the ocean and sky. This ancient art is now being taught again, but is not easy to master. On Mother's Day, we are treated to a single sail Kai Wa'a crossing close by our condo lanai.
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| Kai Wa'a off shore by our lanai |
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| Single hull Kai Wa'a in Keauhou Resort |
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| Model of double hulled, two sail Kai Wa'a |
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Good Bye to Hawaii 'til we meet again
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| Coral Tree flowers |
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| Pink Plumeria flowers |
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Sunsets we enjoyed during our stay. The red color is influenced by how much vog (volcanic smog) is in the air.
