After six long days at
sea, everyone was super happy to touch down on solid land. Though the floor was
no longer rocking, as soon as we got off, we were in for a rude awakening
regarding how hot Hawaii is. Rather than following an excursion from the cruise
(most of which were overpriced), we decided to piggy back Rony’s sister’s (Irene's) car
rental. We rented a van and visited the Hilo volcano, which is located in
a national park. It was cool to see an
active volcano and all the strange terrain that comes along with it.
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| Landdddddd |
When we first arrived, we
checked out the sulfur plains, which were tinged yellow from the sulfur
escaping underneath cracks in the floor. There was a wooden bridge/trail for us
to walk on and we followed it closely, knowing that if you ventured off the
path, there was a chance that you could fall through the floor and be scalded
by the steam escaping. From then, we drove out to a lookout to get a vantage
point of the volcano. It was a large crater, with steam escaping in the middle
– quite a sight to see. From then, we checked out some underground caves that
were created from the volcano. It was dark and quite wet in those caves, but
overall, nothing super special to see. We also continually bumped into Fannie,
Rony and their family as their tour group remained right on our tails behind
us.
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| The weather in Hilo was cold and then hot.... |
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| Did somebody fart?! =P |
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| The crew minus 1 |
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| Reunited for 5 minutes |
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| Hilo known for its active volcanoes |
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| Cave hiking |
From then, we initially planned on seeing the black sand
beach at the edge of the plain, but while we were stopping by, we drove through
Devastation Plains, a valley of black, scorched volcano earth with little else
to see. It was really unique to see that kind of terrain, and we got out of our
car to see. The rock was sharp, jagged, and black, the colour of molten lava
after it has cooled. However, the heat and pressure create several uniquely
colour rocks and cool, folded patterns in the ground. We saw lava formations
after they have covered trees (‘lava trees’). However, even in this wasteland,
we saw plants growing out of the ground. Life has a way of existing, it looks
like.
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| Look at all the black stuff... |
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| ...and more black stuff! |
Afterwards, we continued
our drive to the edge of the island. We had to stop, as the road was closed and
our plans to check out the black sand beach was cut short, as we were informed
that it would be a 11 mile hike to and from to check out the beach. However, we
were not disappointed, as the drive and landscapes to the beach were
breathtaking. Blue skies, clear water, rolling hills of black volcano rock
interspersed with green Hawaiian vegetation, it was beautiful. But rather than
describing it, here are some photos:
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| Hilo is so scenic |
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| "Is it worth it??" |
Lastly, we got back into
the car and realized we haven’t eaten since breakfast on the boat. Eager to try
some Hawaiian dishes, we quickly yelped a hole-in-the-wall poke shop. Though
the interior was quite poor, many locals were coming in to order food. Maybe
because we were so hungry, but that poke was delicious and was a good
introduction to Hawaiian cuisine.
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| Our first poke bowl |
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| So hungryyyyy |
We spent our last hour on
land checking out another nearby black sand beach, where sea turtles are known
to frolic. We were really short on time, and the rocks were extremely jagged.
Mandy and I snorkeled for about 10 minutes before we were ushered to get back
to the car. I had cut the heel of my foot, which would end up annoying me for
the following several days of walking. We made it back to the boat and enjoy
the rest of the day just chillaxing. Pre-diner, then regular dinner, then sleep
for me!
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| Black sand beach |
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| The last of the black stuff |
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