On our last day in Hawaii, we decided to revisit the Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge) National Historical park because it was close by and we could visit it before heading to the airport. We had visited the park on a previous night, but didn't get to soak it in, as it had gotten dark. In olden times, this place was literally a place of refuge for people who broke the rigid "Kapu" (taboo) system. If Hawaiians were able to swim to this spot, they escaped punishment by death, which was the flat penalty for breaking Kapu. Things that were "kapu" ran the gamut from hard-core murder, to minor offenses such as stepping in the king's shadow.
At Place of Refuge, we found a nice gentleman dressed in a loincloth. He demonstrated and described to us the traditional Hawaiian method for octopus fishing. Anyone who thinks that ancient people were stupid, and didn't apply their ingenuity to feed themselves, are flat wrong.
A native Hawaiian describes Octopus fishing techniques
Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge)
Mina follows the guided tour
Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge)
Ki'i (Tiki)
Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge)
We left Hawaii feeling rested, and inspired, and eager to come back some day.
On the day before leaving Hawaii, we decided to visit the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. I had visited this park more than a decade before, and I wasn't very impressed. However, Mark had never been. Besides, we needed to get our money's worth out of our annual U.S. National Parks pass, so off we went.
On our way to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, we stopped off at the Punalu'u Beach, a famous black sand beach where we saw as many as 11 turtles resting and feeding.
Turtle feeding at Punalu'u Beach
Big Island, HI
Sleeping Turtle, Punalu'u Beach
Big Island, HI
At Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, we paid a visit to the visitor center and the Jagger museum before we decided to hike down into the Kilauea Iki Crater. This is a collapsed lava lake formed in 1959 (excuse my inaccurate geological terminology). Despite the view of the desolate crater from the overlook (see below), this is a verdant trail that descends through a lush rain-forest.
The Kilauea Iki hiking trail descends into this lava lake
Hawaiian Volcanic National Park, HI
Rainforest at Kilauea Iki Trail
Hawaiian Volcanic National Park, HI
Hiking along the rainforest-Kilauea Iki Trail
Hawaiian Volcanic National Park, HI
Flowers in the rainforest-Kilauea Iki
Hawaiian Volcanic National Park, HI
I enjoyed this hike tremendously: the rainforest made a nice contrast with the moonscape that we met at the bottom of the crater. The still steaming crater bottom was wild. I felt like we were un-supervised kids as we risked our necks climbing over and into still bubbling steam vents.
Despite our unlimited access at the crater bottom, I probably won't be paying another visit to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park any time soon. I am just not that interested in volcanoes or lava, despite the awesome film shown at the Visitor's center.
Kilauea Iki Trail
Big Island, HI
Thurston Lava Tube
Hawaiian Volcanic National Park, HI
After the park, we decided not to linger and returned to Kona. For dinner we ate spam musubi and fast food Hawaiian food at L&L Barbecue.
Today, we did some adventure diving. The local dive shop, Espace Plongee, recommended a site called Kona Paradise. Although it was not mentioned in any travel guide or scuba diving website, we decided to heed the local expert and try it out, anyway. It was some of the most exciting diving that I have ever done, not just for the marine life that we saw, but for the dark and foreboding ambiance of the place itself.
Kona Paradise is named after a quiet residential complex just south of Captain Cook, HI. At the end of Kona Paradise sits an unusual black pebble beach, the pebbles are fairly large, ranging from penny, to a quarter-sized in diameter.
One of the locals there was swimming his paraplegic dog with a hand held sling. Upon seeing our scuba gear, the man gave us intriguing, detailed dive site instructions. He mentioned that there was an underwater sea arch in the North that we would find if we just swam across a few canyons. We would know we were on the right path if we encountered a rift in the wall. Very knowledgeable of the dive site, he also told us to watch out for baby fish seen in the area. Baby fish eggs are swept down from the North Western Hawaiian Islands by the current.
Sizing us and our gear up, the man assumed we weren't beginner divers. However, he couldn't help but mention that a couple of snorkelers die at Kona Paradise every year due to deceptive currents and undertow. He wished us well, as we embarked on our dive and told us to watch out for the conditions.
One of the aggressive eels we encountered Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI
The first thing we noticed when we submerged was the sound. There was a rhythmic raking sound going on in the background, caused by the pebbles scraping against one another in the waves. The second thing we noticed was how dark the water seemed against the backdrop of black lava rock. The overall visual and auditory effect was a little haunting.
This dive site was characterized by fingers of lava dividing black rubble valleys. As the visibility was around 80+ feet, I felt like I was flying over the valleys. At around 65' in depth I saw an unmistakable cleft in a sheer wall. I honked excitedly at Mark, and we diverted from our path slightly to meet our first milestone. I was just happy to find the cleft in the wall, which had been described to us by our friendly local, and never expected to go much further in our search for the underwater sea arch.
However, as Mark led us over the next ridge, in the foggy distance, there appeared to be a low hill at 65'. It was the underwater sea arch we had been told about! I had never been good at heeding directions, let alone on land. Finding the underwater sea arch with vague verbal instructions and no map whatsoever was the most successful underwater search we had ever conducted. I felt like we were explorers in an undiscovered land.
We found the rift in the wall! Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI
And then we found the underwater sea arch! Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI
We had swum out fairly far out, it was fairly deep, there was current working against us, and an hour had nearly transpired, but we still had not turned around. I indicated to Mark that we ought to turn around, but he kept on exploring. As if in keeping with the haunted, desolate feel of the area, the eels in this area were particularly aggressive. In one patch of coral, we saw not 1, not 2, but 3 eels swimming out in the open trying to catch baby yellow tangs. While taking pictures of one eel, we had prevented it from catching his prey, and in its frustration, it snapped its mouth at us in a threatening display:
Aggressive, Snapping Eel
Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI
Mina diving on a wall, and concerned about turning around Kona Paradise, Big Island, HI
The doom and gloom of the place was certainly starting to concern me, as I feared we would not find our entry point with a still generous air supply. The only cheerful thing about this dark, mysterious dive site were the clouds of baby fish we saw everywhere:
Babies, Babies everywhere
Kona Paradise Dive Site, Big Island, HI
On our way back, we actually started to hear that rhythmic scraping sound again, a sound that should have told us we were at the beach (a hint given to us by the local dive shop). But we didn't trust the sound and head in as we should have, and continued on. When we reached some significant white water, and were considerably low on air, we decided to surface to see where we were. We had overshot the beach considerably. Taking a heading, and swimming back to our entry point, we saw a cute pair of baby Humuhumu trigger fish the size of my thumb getting tossed in the waves.
Back on land, we were excited to describe our dive to our friends at the local dive shop. Although the owners of the shop were primarily French speaking, we managed to pantomime to them that we had found the underwater sea arch, and I think they understood how awesome we thought the dive was.
In the afternoon, after a cup of our favorite Cafe de Pele Kona coffee, we perused the Farmer's market and bought some Dragonfruit, starfruit, guava, and passionfruit for our trip to the volcanoes the following day. Based on recommendations from the retired physicist we had met the previous day, we decided to eat at the Kona Brewing company. It poured cats and dogs as we ate outside on the patio listening to the live music. but rather than being disappointed, I fully enjoyed it, and think this was one of the most poignant moments on our vacation. I enjoyed seeing the kids prancing with their mouths open to the rain pouring down, and I delighted in the sound of the guitar music against the backdrop of a torrent of rain.
Dive Details:
Dive #206: Kona Paradise
Depth/Time/Temp: 68'/1:20/? deg F
-ridges and valleys, grand canyons
-schools of baby damselfish
-3 whitemouth eel hunting baby yellow tangs hiding in the coral. Only eel that hunts during the day, and will apparently collaborate with jacks
-cleaning behavior
Postscript
I can't help but wonder while writing this blog post whether or not the haunted ambience I felt at Kona Paradise was due to the snorkeling deaths that occur there yearly. I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, but I know for certain that different places boast different flavors. This particular dive site felt mysterious and not a little gloomy. It reminded me of the Monastery Dive Site, in Carmel, CA, which in my experience is one of the darkest, scariest dives I have ever done. Monastery also boasts diver and swimmer deaths yearly. Could the ambiance in these dark places be caused by the deaths, or is it caused by the conditions causing those deaths in the first place?
It was our 4th day on the Big Island, and our 13th day in Hawaii overall, and we wanted to kick back and relax. In the morning, we played with the feral cats at the Lucky Farms B&B and took pictures of the prolific plants in the backyard:
Feral cats on the porch
Lucky Farms
Flowers at Lucky Farms Big Island, HI
Morning coffee took place at the Coffee Shack, which was recommended in Lonely Planet. The coffee was nothing to be wowed by, but the shack had a magnificent view of the Kona coastline:
View from the Coffee Shack
Kona, Big Island, HI
Energized by our coffee, we decided to do a shore dive at "Two Step", the most famous shore dive in all of the Big Island. Two Step (the entry way consists of naturally formed steps formed into the lava rock) is situated just outside of the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park (Place of Refuge). The dive was justifiably famous. The entry was extremely easy, the water was the calmest water I have ever seen, and visibility was 100'+. Mark wandered as much as 50 feet away and I never worried that I would lose him.
Despite the fact that it was the Saturday on Labor Day weekend, we were the only divers in the water. And what snorkelers were there did not venture more than 20 feet from shore. The water was teeming with healthy coral structures, schools of butterflyfish (something I have never witnessed anywhere else in the world), and interesting topological structures to dive under and through, such as this coral overhang that Mark explored:
Coral overhang,
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI
Mark swimming through a cloud of butterfly fish
Place of Refuge, Big Island, HI
My attempt on an "overwater/underwater" shot of snorkelers
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI
Crown of Thorns,
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI
Pair of Moorish Idols,
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI
Mark underneath a rock overhang
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI
Spotted Moray
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI
School of Raccoon Butterflyfish,
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island
Yet another Turtle video (check out Mark in the back)
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island
Mark getting out of the water
Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI
Diving at Two Step felt like we had an entire Disneyland amusement park to explore for ourselves. The place reminded me of Point Lobos State Park in Carmel, CA, which is not only a protected park, but also a gorgeous underwater refuge. Like Point Lobos, Two Step is also the underwater extension of a government protected park. It is probably not a coincidence that the beauty seen on land extended itself underwater.
The beautiful dive made me wonder whether there are energy fields, or something unseen that are simply more present at certain special places than others. There are spiritual places on earth that have been treasured by humankind through the ages. Macchu Picchu comes to mind, as does Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, otherwise known as Place of Refuge, has been a sacred place to the Hawaiians since ancient times. It was so special, that it was saved, even when many other ancient Hawaiian sites were being destroyed.
I like to believe that modern Americans also felt the sacredness of this site (a sentiment that was echoed by a park ranger we met there), and made it a National Historical Park in order to preserve the site for the ages. Could these energies extend underwater as well, creating a strong concentration of marine life for us divers to appreciate?
After a 1.5 hours underwater, Mark and I were tired and decided not to pursue a second dive. A retired nuclear physicist who was also diving at the park provided us with some entertaining conversation, and some dining recommendations. In Kailua-Kona, we had coffee at Cafe de Pele. It was here that I finally had an excellent cup of Kona coffee. Lemony, and sweet, the coffee at Cafe de Pele exemplifies the unique acidity of Kona coffee. Not a fan of acidic coffee myself, I could even appreciate how good a cup of Kona coffee can be. For dinner we ate at Mi's, an excellent Italian restaurant on the Kona coast which combines Asian and Italian influences.
Dive Details
Dive #205: Two Step (Place of Refuge, Pu'uhonua O Honaunau)
Depth/Time/Temp: 69'/1:32/? deg F
Sightings:
-lots of grouper, one being chased by cleaner fish
-turtle
-ugly brown tang/butterfly
-trumpetfish being cleaned by purple and yellow fish
-eel
-shrimp
-mark saw interesting barracuda but smaller, and unique triggerfish with unicorn fin that popped up. Saw puffer fish
-70 foot visibility
-interesting topography, including small cave like structure being pounded by waves
-not a lot of variety, lots of little fish. Mark says aquarium.
