Große Insel

On the day of our arrival and after being informed that the Volcano National Park would be closed for a long time, we had already decided to drive to the western side of the island a day earlier. And after the very shaky night, this plan was only reinforced.

However, we started the day with a few points of exploration on the current side of the island.

First, we visited the Akaka Falls. These waterfalls are not particularly remarkable in terms of volume, but in terms of height. They are twice as high as Niagara Falls and are among the tallest in America. We walked up to the waterfalls on a nice path paved with green trees and colorful flowers.

From there, we continued to the Botanical Garden. We owe this beautiful green spot to a couple who bought this property and built it into a garden on their own. Afterwards, they obtained plants from all over the world and planted them. And thanks to their work, we were allowed to walk through this beautiful green park.

After so much nature, there wasn't much more to see on this side of the island, so we drove back to our hotel, picked up our suitcases, and checked out. As a final greeting from the volcano side, there was another earthquake with a magnitude of 3.8... bye bye 🏎💨🌋

The drive to the other side through the volcano area was not as exciting as we had hoped. We thought we might see something from the earthquake and eruption a few weeks ago, but they were already busy cleaning up and paving. Everything looked normal.

On the way to our bed and breakfast in Captain Cook, it was a good opportunity to stop at two beaches. The first stop was at the Black Sand Beach. As the name suggests, the beach consisted of black sand, which was formed by lava flows. But for me, the turtles that had made themselves comfortable on the beach were much more interesting to observe. Turtles return to their home beach (hatchery or birthplace) to lay their eggs. Whether they were there for that reason or just chilling, I can't say 🤷🏼‍♀️ but it was cute 🐢

Then we went to the Green Sand Beach, which was much more difficult to reach. You could drive to a parking lot and hike from there. But the trail was much longer than we thought, so we turned back after a while. Along the way, we saw green sand, giving us an idea of what the beach might look like.

Upon arriving at our really beautiful bed and breakfast, we followed the owner's recommendation and went to the nearest pizzeria for a cozy dinner.

Yesterday, the day started very comfortably on our terrace with coffee and breakfast. Afterwards, we went to a historical park that showed an old Hawaiian village where young and old could seek refuge when their village was at war. This was the so-called neutral zone where no fighting took place. This was only adhered to because they (allegedly) were in contact with the gods there and did not want to jeopardize their favor. But this village was much better known as a sanctuary for lawbreakers. If someone broke a law and was sentenced to death, they would be chased and killed by their own village. However, if they managed to flee to this village, they could rehabilitate themselves through a several-hour ceremony. This is the story.

In close proximity is the Two Step reef where Steffi took the opportunity to go snorkeling. 🐠🐟🐡

We spent the rest of the day at a beach with strong waves and later in the city of Kona, where we had dinner.

We have one more day on the largest island in Hawaii before we fly to Maui tomorrow. ✈️🏖