Day 2: Of papayas, coffee and lava

I left Seattle for Hawaii hankering after a thing called adventure – a vague, possibly unrealistic vision starring volcanoes, rainforests, maps, and flashlights. But god damn it, I wanted it. So Tuesday morning, Brian and I set out on a two-day romp to Volcanoes National Park, Hilo and Waipi’o Valley on the Eastern side of the island.

I am impressed with The Big Island in a way that I have never been with any other piece of land. This place offers an astounding range of topology, climate and vegetation that change drastically in as little as 50 miles. Kailua-Kona on the Western side of the island are sunny and mostly dry. Our route took us across the centre of the top of the island, through terrain that was a cross between a desert, rural California, and what could be the surface of a hot, arid neighbour planet. While the first picture itself may be interesting (old cinder cone in the foreground, shield volcano in the background), it is downright incredible when contrasted with the next one, taken less than 50 miles away, along the Eastern coast of the island. On that side, you see the Hawaii you’ve seen in pictures – a lush, tropical green skirted by blue ocean.

Cruising down Highway 19 we see a sign that says ‘Scenic Route’ and dart left onto a small road closer to the ocean, and a lot closer to the ISLAND. It was here that I met the tastiest papaya of my life - at a little wayside kitchen serving up smoothies, fresh-baked pineapple muffins and fruit straight from the farm. I realise I'm glorifying a freaking papaya, but something tells me it was probably the alphonso of the papaya clan. Also present were some big, burly avocados – the kind you don’t want to come across in a dark alley on your way home from the subway station. All in all, one of the best spur-of-the-moment pit stops I’ve made. The rewards of spontaneity can be oh so sweet.


After checking into a hostel in the Hilo, we headed to Volcanoes National Park. Before I get to the lava (or lack thereof), it would behoove me to record the quote of the day. So here’s the scene: I’m in a tiny bakery slash coffee shop in a small village outside the park, aptly named ‘Volcano’. I spend five indecisive minutes peering at the baked goods and finally order a solitary coffee. “Just coffee?” they ask me (clearly the lady behind the counter felt I should have more to show for those five minutes than a measly cup of coffee). “What goes well with coffee?” I ask. Without batting an eyelid, she says to me, “Life. Everything goes well with coffee.” I guess I don’t have to explain why that moment made me hella happy. I’ll go through thousands of coffee shops in my life, but I’ll always remember that one.

Volcanoes National Park is an amazing place. Nowhere else can one carouse with an active volcano, steam vents, lava tubes, calderas and craters aplenty, and (if you’re lucky) active lava flows. Unfortunately, most of the Crater Rim Road has been closed to the public since an explosion took out an observation platform and parts of the road two years ago. It didn't help that the 470 foot wide active vent was spewing forth copious amounts of poisonous gas. As I stared at the giant hole in the ground, the rising plume seemed to connect the Earth with the overcast skies above. You could be forgiven for imagining the volcano was basically busy manufacturing clouds. Returning to the overlook at Jaggar Museum around 10 pm that night presented an even cooler view. The overcast skies and haze stifled the moonlight, and the only light source was the plume of volcanic smoke, illuminated a bright orange by the lava lake within the vent. It was awe-inspiring to just stand there in the cold still of the night, buffeted by wind, watching the glow change in intensity, reflecting the level of the liquid lava underneath. I guess the awe I felt was because in that moment, I felt like I was privy to the Earth’s living, beating heart. It’s been pounding away since before we showed up, and will continue long after we’re gone. Up there at 4000 feet, on the crest of the world’s most active volcano is a place you won’t find people reaching stupidly for their phones or Nintendo DSes. If you have any sense at all, you’ll just stand and stare, and walk away wondering. Sounds like a sappy thing to say? Yeah well.. perhaps you ought to visit.

Alright. Moving on. While it was still light outside, we had taken a short trek through an old lava tube. Part of it was lighted, bust most of it wasn’t. It felt downright spooky to be walking gingerly down the pitch-black tunnel that had been created by flow after flow of lava, all those years ago. So glad we’d picked up LED flashlights outside Hilo. It was a little daunting to come across piles of rock and rubble, then to look up and see the cavernous recess above me from whence that rocky mass obviously fell. Shudder quotient 8, coolness factor 10. We turned back at the end where the lava tube pinched off. I was little sad to emerge back into the daylight. Our topside is like.. so uncool :)

Apparently, five weeks before we arrived, the surface lava flows had diminished, and had stopped running into the ocean. Disappointeded. But still, driving to the southern end of the island did present a view of the fresh (but sparse) lava that was ponderously moving down the hillside in the distance. These pictures look cooler than what we actually saw out there – long exposure night shots can do that for you :) But still, it was pretty cool.

All in all, a truly memorable day.