I’ve been to Hilo 6 times now. I love the funky, laid, back town and the less touristy atmosphere. The countryside seems a little like old Hawaii. I was not going to blog about this trip, but it is getting interesting, in a self-exploration sense.
I flew into Hilo on January 3rd, arriving mid-afternoon. I had reserved a mid-sized car, but they gave me a full-sized Chrysler, 4 weeks for $1059!! The rental car price gouging has ended, at least in Hawaii. The Airbnb I booked is an efficiency condo, in a nice complex, across the parking lot from the lagoon. Actually, it is more like a hotel room with a kitchenette. It is so small that the eating area is on the patio, but it is nicely furnished and the bathroom is beautiful. There were more nenes wandering in the parking lot than I had ever seen in one place. Wild chickens everywhere (like the whole island) and I even saw a feral pig one afternoon. Overall, it is just fine. I was a little spacey from the flight, so I just hung, until dinner. Dinner was at Miyo’s, a favorite Japanese place.
Thursday morning, I was up early and headed to the Hilo farmer’s market to start satisfying my fruit addiction. I was so early that many of the stalls were not open yet. I loaded up on papaya, lilikoi (passionfruit), rambutans, longans, and tiny apple bananas. My first Hawaiian breakfast in a year, yum. Eventually, I picked up some Poke for lunch from Suisan Fish Market. Afterward, I hung out at Lili’uokalani Gardens reading a book by Thor Heyerdel. I did one lap around the park. Dinner was at Van’s, the best Pho this side of Viet Nam. My thoughts were about the population of the world.
By UN estimates, the world population in year 1, was ~300 million. In the year 1000, it was ~310 million. In the year 1500, it was ~500 million. In the year 1800, it was 1 billion. In the year 1900, it was 1.65 billion. Now it is over 8 billion. In my lifetime, the world population has more than tripled. Those are pretty tough numbers for people who want to live in the past.
Friday, and every subsequent morning, was fruit for breakfast. The road north is a beautiful drive along the Pacific with many scenic side roads and small villages. I missed my turn on the way up, so I drove up a side road to the Kapola recreation area. It is a gorgeous place in a fern forest. Several cabins to rent or camping available. Eventually, I got turned around and arrived at Lapahoehoe Point. This is my favorite reading spot. The wind was up and the surf was crashing. The power of the sea was a violence you could feel. It was too windy to sit outside, so I just read in the car. I mostly just watched the sea. Dinner was at Osaka, it was advertised as Japanese American but the menu was mostly Korean. I had ika (squid) tempura.
When I was in elementary school, I learned about lemmings, one would run and they all would run in the same direction, even off the cliff. I would go out on the playground and one kid would run and they all would run, without caring where. I then realized that most lemmings have only 2 legs. Now I am an adult (sorta) and when some idiot says “Follow me”, millions run after him, often to their own detriment. When a crowd forms most people join the crowd to see what is going on and get caught up in the mayhem. For some reason, I go the other way.
Saturday morning it was raining so I waited a bit. I tried to go to the main farmers market but it was jammed and had no place to park, so I went to a different market with good reviews, but it closed early. By the time I got there most of the vendors were packing up. I did get papayas and a pineapple. I kept looking for the guys selling fish out of the back of their trucks, but they seem to be gone this year. I drove to Lehia Beach Park, just south of Hilo to read and watch the ocean. That evening I found Ebisuya Sushi, takeout, dirt cheap, and quite good.
One of the scariest things to happen in my adult life was what happened as Yugoslavia broke up. A country of mostly caucasian, educated, middle-class people (just like me) woke up one day and started killing their neighbors over something that happened 500+ years ago. Lemmings
Sunday, I headed down to the Maku’u Market just north of Pahoa. It is huge, with mostly artisans, lots of ready-made food, and several produce vendors. I found a rollinia, my favorite Hawaii fruit, and some yellow Lilikoi (stick to the purple lilikoi). From there I took a dead-end road thru a massive lava field from the 2018 Kilauea eruption. It looked like a giant mudflow with ripples on the surface of the rock. There were, unfortunately, a few houses untouched. Unfortunately, because insurance pays for damage not loss of access. From there I went to Kapalana. I thought they had a market on Sunday but it turned out to be Saturday. There was an old Hawaiian dude there selling fish. He was quite a character, 20 years in prison, and lives right there in “the Kingdom.” I bought a large piece of Mahi, enough for three meals, $20. From there I drove along the SE coast, stopping here and there, one of the most beautiful drives anywhere. Eventually, the road just ends where it was cut off by a lava flow.
When I got back, I initially thought I would cut the Mahi into steaks. I discovered I would need a band saw to cut thru that spine, so I filleted it, marinated it in a bit of soy and ginger, and sauteed it. It was superb. I realized I hadn’t had liquor or coffee since I left Portland. I had been drinking a lot lately and was wondering if I had a problem. Apparently not, it is just something I enjoy and I don’t have anything else to do most evenings. I need to work on the “something to do” in the evenings. TV is not the answer, too much killing.
Monday was a beautiful sunny day so I opted to go to Volcanos National Park. As I got close, it started clouding up. By the time I got there, it started raining. So I decided to stop at the village across the road and have a coffee. The only coffee shop was closed on Monday. I stopped at a gallery that had some nice things, priced like 5th Avenue. The rain was letting up so I went to the park. In my 5 previous visits there was never a line, that day there were 25 cars lined up. I got to two nice overlooks of Kilauea crater. Last year it was bubbling red lava, but this year was quite different but still stunning. The rain started up again and looked serious, so I gave up and headed back. Just west of the park is a site called Lava Tree Molds State Monument. In the 1700’s lava swept thru there and encased several large Ohi’as trees leaving deep wells with the imprint of the tree bark on the rock, fascinating. On the way back I stopped at the Kea au farmers market and picked up some Langons and Mahaphalas (also called Jamun Berries). The sky was again, clear and sunny. That night I went to Ponds, an old classic Hilo place, sitting up on legs part way into a koi pond. The food varies from good to exceptional and the atmosphere is wonderful.
This is my 6th visit to Hilo, one of the rainiest cities in the US, and Tuesday was the first time it has rained all day. I went to the grocery store and got ½ lb of butter, ½ lb of sugar, 1/2 lb of regular coffee (they sell the good stuff by the ounce), and a small bag of mini rice cakes; $24!!!
Wednesday looked better so I took Saddle Road to the Mauna Kea Observatory visitor’s center. Years ago I drove all the way to the top. It is pretty desolate except for the observatories and they were all closed. I refreshed myself on the astronomy information at the visitors center. When I was young the world’s largest optical telescope was the 200-inch one at Mt Palomar CA. Now they are building a 39-meter one in Chile. There is not much to see going west from Mauna Kea so I decided to try the Mona Loa observatory road. A short way in, I thought I saw an antelope. I got a good look when it stopped to look at me. After some research, I found Axis deer were introduced on Molokai and recently four were illegally introduced on Hawaii. They are an invasive species. The drive was a barely one-lane road winding thru an otherworldly lava-covered landscape. About 11 miles in the lava covered the road, u-turn time. I guess that was why there was no other traffic on the road. In November of 2022 Mauna Loa erupted and they were worried the lava might cross Saddle Road. It stopped 2 miles from the road.
On the way back I spotted a guy selling Ahi on the side of the road. I got about a 2 lb piece, enough for 5 meals. Next to him was someone else selling boiled peanuts. I guess he confused Hilo and Huntsville. Anyway, they were good for an appetizer. Who needs a grocery store or a restaurant? A trick I learned recently, is if you throw a little soy sauce in the hot hot and then sear the Ahi, it comes out great. I had eggplant from the market, so I sauteed it up with a tomato, squeezed some lemon juice on it, and, Oh my, yum.
I do not remember much about Thursday except that I went to the market and had pho for dinner. How can I remember every stupid thing I ever did in my life, and then lose the day before yesterday? I guess that means I did not do anything stupid that day.
(A few days later) now I remember. I visited Rainbow Falls, my favorite waterfall on Hawaii. There is a big cave behind it so it is truly free-falling. Then I went to Boiling Pots, further up the Wailuku River, which are pretty, but if you come just after a rain they are really dramatic. And finally, I stopped at Wai’ale Falls which are beautiful but don’t attract many people. A nice day.
Friday was a lost day. I started with a pedicure, at the same place I went last year. When they finished, I pitter-patted out bared-footed and went to the park to read. Sure enough, I messed one of them up. I went back and they fixed it but told me it took 3 hours to dry. That sounded ridiculous but I was in no hurry. When I got back to the condo, it happened. I found the cure for neuropathy! No feeling in your feet? Just try walking on gravel, barefooted, when you almost never go barefooted. The feeling comes back very quickly.
I started thinking about race. Race, as a concept, was created by the English in the 17th century to justify looting, pillaging, and colonizing all around the world. Then oppressing, abusing, and enslaving “inferior races” they encountered. It was formalized in the 18th century and endorsed by many prominent thinkers; i.e. Immanuel Kant, Voltaire, and Thomas Jefferson. Originally “white” was just Anglo-Saxon, later the Germanic people were added. Southern Europeans, no way. Slavic people, ha. In the 19th century, they conflated language and race. A Semite is someone who speaks a semantic language. 3% of Semites speak Hebrew and 95% speak Arabic. In the 20th century, they added Latino. Sounds like a man that speaks a Latin-based language? No that would include French, Italian, and several other European languages. It doesn’t even include people from Spain. It just includes people in the Americas who speak, or once had a relative, who spoke Spanish, but not Portuguese (no Brazilians). It includes females despite the masculine ending. When I was a kid in New Mexico, many of my friends had Spanish heritage (not Mexican) and identified as white. Their families had lived in the NM area for 400 years. People self-identify with these imaginary, degrading classifications. Josephine Baker said there is only one race, the human race. Race has no more meaning than the signs of the zodiac.
Saturday I went back to Kalapana to check out the market. It was not like previous years. Not a produce vendor to be found, mostly junk. A guy was selling biscuits and gravy but I’d had too much fruit for breakfast. The fish seller wasn’t even there. After an hour of reading and looking at the ocean, I headed back. I stopped at a couple of farm stands on the way, but they did not have much, and prices were higher than the Hilo market. I don’t do that much when I am here, but I am out doing something every day. In Portland, between the crime, the homelessness, and the winter rain, I spend too much time sitting inside. That night was take-out sushi again, Yum. My diet here is certainly different from home.
Sunday was, again the Hilo market (every three days) After that, It was off to Akaka Falls State Park. Five years ago it was $5 to park and $1 entry fee. Now it is $10 to park and $5 entry fee. Usually, I just go to the falls and return. The falls are very dramatic, 442 feet straight down into a pool you can’t see from the trail. For some masochistic reason, I decided to do the whole loop this time, .5 mile and 357 steps. The walk was beautiful, especially the part thru the Banyon trees. There was supposed to be another waterfall (cascading) but it was pretty much hidden by the vegetation. I must have looked exhausted, since several people asked if I was ok, or did I need help? I told one person the help I needed was to be younger.
Monday I did a road trip to the northernmost point of the island. I started on the Hawai’i Belt Road and headed north. When I got to Honoka’a I found a detour to the old Mamaloa Highway. It was about 10 miles, winding through farmland and old Hawaiian houses. There was a center stripe but the road was so narrow it was hard to stay on one side. Eventually, I came up behind a dump truck, which was great. He was straddling the line, so I knew no one was coming and I could rubber neck the rest of the way. Eventually, I hit the west coast and stopped at Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site. This has a large temple built by King Kamehameha when he was trying to consolidate his rule over all of the islands. After that, I drove north and stopped here and there for the view. You can see Mauii not far in the distance. I tried to go to Kamehamea’s birthplace but when the pavement ran out, the GPS said 2 more miles on a very rough-looking road. I had lunch at the L&L Bar-B-Q, Pork Lau Lau, and a guava nectar. I didn’t think I would eat it all, but it was so good, it soon disappeared. I took the high road back to Waimea and then the Saddle Road into Hilo.
On Tuesday I visited the Hawaii Tropical Bioreserve &Garden. I visit this stunning garden every year and never tire of it. The trails wind down thru 17 acres of the Onomea Valley to the ocean. I spend about 2 hours in the garden and looking out over the bay. It is very well done with both local plants and plants from other tropical regions. It is private, and the price keeps going up, now $30, but it is a must-see. That evening, I decided to take a break from my own cooking. There was a Mexican restaurant, Luquin’s, close by and with good reviews. The bar looked quite nice. The dining area was stark, with no decorations, no windows, just a TV playing a video of Dubai. I thought the fish tacos would be a good bet. They had no discernable flavor. Oh well, sometimes you find a jewel, sometimes a cow patty.
Wednesday was market day. Afterward, I visited the Mokupapapa Discovery Center. This place is fascinating. It is all about the other Hawaiian Islands to the northwest of the islands everyone is familiar with. The islands start out being formed where the Big Island is now and then they, slowly, slide to the northwest and start to disintegrate. This has been going on for 30 million years. Midway Island (famous from WWII) is part of the Hawaiian Island chain. It sat where The Big Island is now, 27 million years ago. All of the NW Hawaiian islands are now a Marine National Monument. My final stop of the day was at the Panaewa Rainforest and Zoo. It is a free zoo and as a zoo, it is meh, but as a lovely garden to wander thru, it was a delight. Probably, midafternoon was not the optimal time to see the animals.