My good friend Rossana is accompanying me for the first week of a month's stay on the Big Island as Peter has business keeping him in California. The weather is cold and rainy on the day we leave for Kona. We are both really looking forward to a strong shot of sunshine.
 | Rossana cuddles into her seat
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 | Cold and rainy morning at SJC
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Since the pilots are bucking a strong
Jet Stream on the flight over the Pacific, it takes over 6 hours rather than the usual 5. It seems forever, but as we circle the Kona coast to come in for a landing, it's worth it.
 | Approaching the Kona airport as we come in for a landing
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Peter and I have been coming to the Big Island off and on ever since 1989. Usually there's always a haze of VOG lingering over the air, but since
Kilauea stopped erupting the previous May, the air has cleared and it feels like a completely different island.
 | Clear skies over Mauna Kea
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 | Love these tropical flowers
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 | The road into Puako with crystal clear skies
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We are staying at our friend's Julie's house and will be overlapping two Canadian couples who rented the previous month. We met John and Karen last year and really enjoyed their company. They are from the Vancouver area of British Columbia. Both have traveled extensively and tell great stories about their adventures. Their friends Rick and Kathy are also staying in the house for another night. By the time we get settled and reacquainted, it's time to grab some drinks and walk out onto the reef to watch the sunset.
 | Walkway to the reef
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 | Me & Rossana + John, Kathy and Karen
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Rossana and I have talked about our going in together to buy a house we could use as a vacation home for ourselves as well as a rental. Our realtor Karen is spending the day showing the houses on our list. Below is one house that we almost scratched off due to it's unusual entryway. It's a good thing we kept it on the list, as it turns out to be rather surprisingly good one.
 | Entrance from driveway to Zen House
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 | Wonderful outside kitchen
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 | View from Master BR - Yes I could live here!
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That evening Rick and Kathy return to Canada on a red-eye, leaving Karen and John for a few days more. The next day we drive up to
Hawi with them and have lunch at the
Bamboo Restaurant and Bar. They are famous for their
Lilikoi (passion fruit) margaritas and daiquiris. We are lucky to see the senior troupe of Hula dancers performing that day.
 | Karen and John toasting with margarita
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 | Hula dancers young and old
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 | Rossana and me enjoying our drinks
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After lunch, Karen and John return to the house, while Rossana and I stop at the
Pu'ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. This
Heiau (Hawaiian temple) was build by
King Kamehameha I, who was the first ruler to unite all the islands after several bloody battles. The large boulders used to build this temple were handed from man to man as they formed a 20 mile long chain from the
Polou Valley. If one of these heavy boulders was dropped and touched the ground becoming "unclean," it had to be passed all the way back to where it came from.
 | Entrance to the Pu'ukohola Heiau
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 | Boulder passing
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 | That's a lot of rocks!
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A few days later, we meet friends Russell and Mary, formerly of Santa Cruz who now live in
Volcano Village and are docents at
Volcano National Park. They have agreed to give us a guided tour of the changes in the park after the eruptions. Immediately, it's clear Kilauea is still very much alive and is only taking a rest. The volcanologists studying Kilauea believe it probably won't erupt again for another 40 years. However, they always quickly add - it is a volcano after all and can't be trusted.
 | Kilauea sleeping
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 | Many roads are closed
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 | for really good reasons.
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Mary stops us by one fissure and points out the shiny lava surfaces. Kilauea makes it's own glass which sometimes coats the surfaces of the lava. Other times, the glass is formed into small beads which can become the black sand on the island's southern beaches.
 | Glassy coated lava
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 | Oooo - I'd love to take this piece home
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 | Future black sand?
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We stop at some steam vents that are accessible for viewing. It's dismaying to see all the coins and other junk tourists have tossed into the vents despite signs in many languages prohibiting this practice. It's not hard to see why many of the island's locals take the tourist industry here with a grain of salt. Tourism is a double edged sword. It provides almost 40% of the jobs on the island, which means many people are out-of-work during the current COVID crisis and restrictions on visitors. However, it also degrades the island's natural beauty and creates more traffic. A friend who has lived on the island for many years likens the growth in tourism like a frog in slowly increasing hot water. You don't notice it until it's too late.
Mary and Russell then take us to the new part of the main crater created by the recent eruptions. In the photo below you can see a faint straight whitish line that running from left to right and ending at a dark cliff. This line is what's left of Crater Drive the road that used to circle the old crater. Looks like it might take awhile before there's a new road built.
 | New crater created by recent eruptions
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To thank Mary and Russell for their time and expert tour, we treat them to lunch at the
Volcano House restaurant overlooking the old main crater. When Mark Twain visited here in the 1800's during another major eruption, this whole crater was filled with a red hot lava lake (
Roughing It).
 | Volcano House Lobby overlooking the crater
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 | Last Kona gelato
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 | Last sunset this trip for Rossana
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A few days later, Peter arrives and Rossana flies back home. Thanks for coming Rossana - I had a great time with you.
