July 15th

Aloha from the Big Island! What a different place this is from O'ahu! The airport is right on the water, and the area around it is like no man's land - barren and largely covered with lava rock. We are currently staying on the west side, where they get about 10 inches of rain per year. Contrast that with the SE side, where they can get as much as 300 inches per year! Spent the afternoon in some shops along the waterfront, and later drove to see some cool petroglyphs. No one knows what the significance of them is, but there are over 3,000 of them! Fell asleep to the sounds of about 150 frogs chirping, as well as some peeping sounds from a gecko on our wall - makes you feel as though you are in the jungle!

Yesterday we toured the Kona Coffee Living History Farm. Besides seeing the coffee trees, as well as many fruit trees (banana, papaya, orange) they had equipment used during the early 1900's to harvest coffee. There was also a Japanese hut typical of one that would have been lived in by the people who came to work on the farm. A Japanese lady demonstrated cooking and living conditions, and told interesting stories.

After lunch we walked around the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau historic park. This is a sacred area where commoners who broke rules, defeated warriors and deserters could seek refuge, provided that they could swim through the ocean currents and avoid the sharks to get there. This settlement dates back to the 15th century, so was very primitive.

Last night was our chance to snorkel with the Manta Rays. The rays feed on plankton which is attracted by the lights from the nearby hotel which shine into the ocean. After getting fitted with wet suits a boat takes you out, and while they wait for darkness a photographer tells you about the pictures he shoots, as well as talking about the characteristics of the rays. We then entered the water, held onto a metal beam and waited. We only saw one ray, and she was fairly young, but she put on a good show for us, doing lots of flips, which Michael was able to capture on video. I was actually glad that she didn't get too close, because sometimes they get close enough to actually bump into you! The one that we saw was about 6 feet across, but sometimes they can be as big as 15 feet across. Michael will post some video after we get home. Unfortunately he'll have to post other pictures then as well, since he hasn't been able to figure out how to post from his iPad here.

This morning we are getting caught up on laundry while waiting for our Mauna Kea tour this afternoon. We will be watching the sunset from an elevation of nearly 14,000 feet, as well as seeing the stars - should be pretty cool! Apparently the temperature will also be cool, as they will be loaning us parkas and mitts!