Sun, Sand, Surf, Space, 13 May 2010, Thursday

Sleeping into the late morning after an exhaustive day, we got up in time for brunch at the seaside. I had misplaced by sunglasses the day before after our little kayaking venture, and shopped for a new one today. Happy with my new Oakley's limited designer edition, [which I bought for half the price that sold in Singapore, as I later found out.] we decided that Kenon would plan the itinerary for the day. We called a cab and set a price for the whole day trip at 150USD and set out.

It was a hot day, the hottest day we experienced so far. The sun was shining brightly overhead and everything below was illuminated to their brightest colours. Sitting in the air-conditioned cab, I looked out comfortably to the open plains dominated by cracked black volcanic rock, eroded by the small amount of rain at places to reveal beige earth, where small yellow shrubs struggled to survive. We were heading north today, towards Kohala. Kenon had decided to visit a Heiau, which is a temple used for sacrifices to the gods in ancient times. It is, of course, out of use now, but preserved as a historic site. Pukohola Heiau is one of the biggest and most well-preserved.

Sloping to the sea, there must be more annual rainfall, as shrubs became abundant and white-yellow grass dotted the landscapes. Soon, there was even a twisted brown tree with a few small yellow leaves. After the first tree, more and more trees were sighted, at first few and far in between, with small yellow shrubs covering the ground, and then the first green tree. Towards the coastline, the land gradually greened until coconut trees and bright green shrubs filled the space just before the beach. We were advised by our cab driver that there was a beautiful beach, the Hapuna beach, that was very popular. We decided to stop by, and unregrettably, it was absolutely wonderful.

We descended the hill of large green trees and then our feet stepped onto the soft and loose brown sand, the sun shining brightly overhead, sending the moving sea into sparkles like millions of diamonds strewn carelessly over the ocean. It was so bright that when I attempted to peer above my sunglasses, it hurt my eyes. The sea was an amazing azure blue color, and the sky was a bright blue, and cloudless. Coupled with the sound of sea waves pounding the sandy shore, it was a feeling of freedom, space and wonder that filled the heart to the brim. It was wonderful to feel the cool breeze upon our faces as we baked in the unmerciful hot sun.

I snapped a lot of photographs, but as cameras go, it is impossible to capture that true element of spaciousness that a large landscape affords. I could not get a perfect shot. A blonde child wearing a red bathing suit however, waved at me and moved in front of my lenses. He was quite cute and his red suit contrasted brilliantly against the background of beige sand and blue sea.

We did not stay long as we began to over-heat, and headed back to the cool interior of our cab. Moving on, we continued on the highway towards Pukohola. The highway was lined on the higher side by black volcanic rock. On this, people have arranged white corals into letters and diagrams, usually the pair of lover's names. This is a very old tradition, and the Hawaiians believed that writing a couple's names with coral onto volcanic rock would ensure a good relationship that lasts forever. Some Hawaiians repeat the tradition yearly at the same spot.

Arriving at our destination, we exited the cab into the hot air outside, hot being 28 degrees Celsius, the usual being 20-25degrees. We were on a hill, which was full of browning shrubs and one or two palm-like trees. There was a small wooden sign that pointed to the heiau, and we started on the small winding path towards this. A park ranger in khaki shirt and shorts, and a wide brim hat hurried over to stop us, though. He told us that there was a new visitor centre and a safer hiking footpath from the bottom of the hill, and was so kind as to bring us there personally. I kept being amused at the bland landscape, which was so different from the equatorial climate that I was so used to, despite that Hawaii was only 30 degree North to the Equator.

Hawaii is, however, famous for its 11 out of the world's 13 identified climate zones that all exists in that small island cluster. Today we're in the leeward lowlands, and the ground was cracked dry brown earth mixed with charcoal black volcanic rocks, with those miserable dried up shrubs that littered the ground here and there. There were few widely-spaced stunted trees, and the whole scenery accorded line-of-sight miles around with no buildings or other impediment in between. That spaciousness that was so carelessly destroyed in the cities, is so precious to me. It gives you that feeling that you can be anything, go anywhere, and be free, that so much is given to each individual, that everyone was granted such precious much-ness, and that by that alone, none of us is deprived or cornered.

Musing about my feelings of spaciousness, we descended a small hill to the bottom. After being cooled down at the small visitor center lobby, we toured the heiau site with wonder and at no hurry. It was great to wander around the hills, just the two of us, admiring the sights, enjoying the air and space, laughing and joking about nothings. Kenon loves to have his photograph taken, and would ask for repeat shots until he was satisfied. When I asked for mine to be taken, his standard reply was, "No need," but he would proceed to take it anyway. Sometimes, he ran away.

At one point, the hill ran into the sea. A small beach with a clump of trees separated that salty water from the parched land. We wandered down into the churning muddy sea and commented that this beach was much like those in Singapore. There was a heiau here once, sunken into the sea after an earthquake four years ago. This was the temple of the sharks, and true enough, shark fins were frequently sighted. It was prohibited to swimmers. Kenon would like very much to explore the sunken temple underwater, and the thought of exploring an Atlantis of sorts, was very much attractive to me as well, but, not in this murk. I smiled and ignored him.

We had spent the whole afternoon wandering around, and by 5pm, was exhausted and ready to head back into town. Climbing onto the cab once more, we had a nice cool drink and headed back. Along the way, we noticed some carved wooden items let outdoors in the open, unguarded. It was the same scenario with the Painted church, these items were for sale, but the purchaser had to contact the maker whose details were written on a wooden board staked into the ground in front of the items.

Finally we decided to have a cup of late afternoon coffee and some famous cinnamon rolls at Lava Java along Ali'i Drive. Settling down on the patio outside the cafe, the outdoor temperature had cooled considerably and in Hawaii, we had to constantly remind ourselves that the cooler part of any restaurant was outside. We saw a shot that rented scooter, but unfortunately they were all rented out for the day. Kenon lamented this quite considerably and we hunted for another shop the rest of the evening, to no avail.