America Through My Eyes – Hawaiian Islands – 4

America Through My Eyes

Hawaiian Islands (Part 4)

Telugu Original : Dr K.Geeta 

English Translation: V.Vijaya Kumar

          Fortunately, the climbing down to Mount Mauna Kea wasn’t as difficult as the climbing up. We climbed down easily by the asphalt road. But no electrification except the jeep lights even at the Visitor Center. Strangely many people were gathered in the dark on the premises of the Visiting Center.  Then I understood that there was a special show for the visitors to watch the infinite sky with telescopes. We watched it one by one to keep Siri engaged as she couldn’t stand that cold. There was no space for car parking.  Somewhere in the rows, Varu and I parked, walking with a cell phone flashlight. Everyone was curious about the rangers’ description of the glimpses of the space despite the bone-chilling cold. Both lines have telescopes in two sizes for viewing. There were ten to fifteen people in each line.

          We stood in queue lines shivering in the cold. The first one was a star that is invisible to the naked eye, and a nebula lying next to it.  The second one was the moon valley. Both are worth seeing. Even in such a cold wind, they were visible in the cloudless sky through the telescope. Then I remembered that we were on high hills above the clouds.

          After these two telescopic visits, we got back to the car as the cold was unbearable. That night, while coming back, we felt like we were returning from an extraterrestrial world. On that moonless night, we didn’t get a chance to watch those vanishing hills behind our jeep.

          We spent the day watching the warm east coast of the Big Island. In the evening, we watched the sunset and the constellation at the astronomical observatory on the top of Mount Mauna Kea located in the middle of the island, before returning to our warm accommodation on the west coast.

          We reached the restaurant at closing time, by the road leading to the shopping mall next to the hotel, and ordered fish, chips, and vegetarian rice and could only eat half of it. We slept peacefully enjoying the night with the echoes of waves and the sweet fragrance of Deva Ganneru flowers.

          The next morning, we drove south around the island and visited Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, south of the city of Hilo. Usually, a day is required to see any National Park. That’s why we decided to visit the other petty attractions on the way that day.

          Thinking of not wasting time somewhere on the way for breakfast we ate the sweet bread bought the day before in the car.

          On the way, we stopped for half an hour near Punalu’u black sand beach. It was famous for its large tortoises. But by that time, we could not find any traces of a turtle. It’s a kind of pricking sand we couldn’t step on without sandals. Siri shrank back. These kids used to roll on the soft white sand beaches. This was all muddy and a little bit pricky. 

          We traveled south for about an hour and a half on the East Coast and turned west. We postponed our proposal to travel to the end of the island. From the Kona area, we traveled south for a long time over the hills, filling our eyes with the beauties of the beach visible somewhere below.  After a short distance traveled from Kona, on the narrow road skirting the hills, we saw rows of tall trees and thousands of tender fruits clinging to them. They are mango and pine trees.

          I asked Satya to stop at a tree, then I jumped out of the car to pluck some fruits. Those wild mangoes that grow in forests have up to sixty pods in a single bunch and grow upward hugely into the sky.  It was the first time I saw a mango tree in America, so I have no bounds to my joy. I tapped the tree, plucked the leaves and smelled them, filled my lap with the fruits, and enjoyed the rapturous bliss of joy. It was not a safe place to stay a while there on the ground with dry and broken branches. We may fall into the valley below if we slip on the side of that narrow road. Satya anxiously got out of the car, calling me to get back. but I loitered there for at least ten minutes.

          That night, and until the next day’s flight, we relished those mango pieces sandwiching the bread. It felt delicious even without salt and pepper. Varu looked at us in surprise. I remembered my childhood memories of waiting all year for the mangoes in our backyard and eating the small pieces with salt and pepper. I never had tooth sensitivity. It’s the age where sourness was greatly enjoyed. Varu was very eager to listen to such memories.

          In our hurry to reach the National Park by eleven o’clock, when Satya said he would not stop even if I saw trees elsewhere, I chuckled at him.

          The entire archipelago spread here was the southernmost part of the United States. I treasured my desire of visiting the crest extending into the Pacific Ocean, for the return journey.

          After turning to the west coast the sea sometimes seemed to come close to us now and then. In a short time, seeing a billboard, “Coffee Tasting” near the bends of dense trees, Satya turned the car back and drove into the farm. When we were about to step outside the car, a strong wind blew through the car doors.  Until then, we were unaware of the force of the wind blowing the glass doors. When the car stopped, Siri ran towards a small lamb in the enclosure. There I found a young African-American woman at the counter of a shop in a small tent.  When she first came to this island from Los Angeles, she didn’t feel like going back. That’s why she preferred to stay here after getting a job. She said she liked the climate, the sea, and the silence. The Hawaiian Islands are a great escape from the hectic lives of America. I felt it would be better if I stayed there like her. I appreciated her for choosing such a life. We rocked on a swing and tasted bitter coffee, bought and ate something like a jaggery cake made with nuts, took leave from her, and continued our journey.

          Even though we left the hotel at nine o’clock, we could not reach the national park until 11.30 a.m. The sun suddenly disappeared and it started raining heavily.  We traveled a long way from the entrance of the National Park to the Visiting Center.  We were drenched till the end of the day, walking around in wet clothes, but we felt pleasant, warm, and comfortable without feeling the chill.  We heard the island tour is incomplete without seeing Volcanoes National Park on the Big Island. Spending that day there, we realized that it was true.

          The park was spread on two sides. The last point where the car can be driven is the Jogger Museum.  After that, if we go back through the visitor center and take the second route, we will finally descend all the hills and reach the beach.

          Even though it’s a 38-mile distance, it took us three to four hours to watch.  We wished to finish it by four o’clock in the evening. First, we took the small road. We planned to take a lunch break and then the other route. Best places are awaiting that side.

          We thought the Jagger Museum was a splendid one, but we were mesmerized by the huge valley adjacent to the museum. The sight of the largest circular chasm, as if a huge asteroid had fallen, shocked us. Various igneous rocks and videos were displayed in the museum.

          While coming back, we had our lunch at the park restaurant near the visiting center and left quickly.  We also had our first Hawaiian meal there. The food was served on a nice, pretty plate with cold and lumpy rice and small pieces of raw fish soaked in oil, seaweed, slightly sweet tofu, green leaves, a single piece of fried fish, and bean porridge. We ate only fried fish and rice. Varu ordered vegetarian items like beetroot chips and red sweet potato chips. Though they appeared good, they were sharp-edged without salt. Satya, after eating Hawaiian food there, gave up eating it permanently.

          The “Thurston Lava Tube” was one of those best places to watch, a small bridge that leads underground after a short walk from the car parking lot. On the other side was a large cave. It seemed like a man-made railway tunnel. It was raining outside. The surroundings were filled with moss and the rainwater continued to leak from the ceiling of the cave. To reach the other opening of the cave it took us ten minutes. When we reached there, we found stairs and the sky above it. A fabulous wonder!  It was a natural cave formed by the flow of lava in the middle of the volcano.  In every step, we found a new world of wonders. When we finally discovered the steps to get down, we felt relieved and the joy of reaching the familiar world had no bounds.

          When we came out, it was surrounded by lush greenery everywhere. No place was left without greenery, and no tree was left unsoaked.

          We did not care about the pouring down of the rain. We roamed freely around the green trees without coats. Maneuvered like birds. Siri wet in the rain, splashed, and ran happily. We followed her like dragonflies. It was such a unique thrill we enjoyed that we splashed the rain threads hanging from the heavens to the earth, with our arms outstretched till our hearts overjoyed.

*****

(to be continued)