Impressions from Paradise

Our flight from Seattle to Hawaii arrived at 9 pm local time at Kailua Kona Airport on the largest of the Hawaiian Islands, the Big Island. It was pitch dark night and we were surprised that the airport had no enclosed buildings, except for the toilets and dining facilities. Since the weather on this side of the island is always mild, it's probably not necessary.
After picking up our rental car, we headed up the mountain to our first accommodation, where we would spend the next three nights. We were greeted by a well-tempered whistling concert. These were not nocturnal birds singing their hearts out, but Coqui frogs. They are sand-colored, grow up to 4 cm long, and were introduced to the island where they are now thriving.

On Day 1 on the Big Island, we did some shopping and explored the main town of Kona. We strolled through galleries and enjoyed small bites and cool drinks right by the sea. Many artists have settled on Hawaii, drawing inspiration from the diverse nature and enjoying the relaxed life on the island.

A daily highlight is the so-called 'Sundowner'. As the name suggests, here you watch the sunset together and use the hour after for a few drinks. We watched our first sunset at a small beach, Maurice slept through the whole thing. Afterwards, we got into a conversation with the locals. Among them was a former US soldier who spends his reserve time surfing in Hawaii. He told us that he will soon travel to Germany because he was called back into active duty by the American military due to the Ukraine conflict.

On Day 2, we went up into the jungle where we took a short hike among ginger plants and giant ferns. Here, too, we mainly heard the song of an introduced Japanese White-eye bird, which is originally from - ta-da - Japan and was used for pest control. In the evening, we admired the performances of the local animators at the resort hotel at the pier, which resembled a polynesian cultural show and explained the customs of the Polynesian natives with a lot of dance and song.

Our second accommodation on Day 3 was located in a somewhat surreal place called 'HOVE'. The letters stand for Hawaii Ocean View Estates. Behind them are checkerboard-like land parcels on a cooled lava flow from an eruption 100 years ago. Resourceful investors and the military developed the land and gave the streets melodic names like 'Paradise Avenue'. For a few hundred dollars, you could secure a place in paradise. Only, it looks more like a moonscape. Nevertheless, a community has settled here, which is very well connected. But it is also a closed 'community' of which no one knows anything exact, except that the people are very secluded and strange. It is rumored that former intelligence agents live here in the witness protection program.
Our accommodation, in any case, was a small guesthouse on the yard of Rikki and Matthew, who both come from Minnesota and realized their lifelong dream of running a nursery in Hawaii. Matthew originally built the guesthouse for his daughter, but she preferred to go back to the mainland. Now guests like us have the privilege of enjoying this great view and the outdoor shower. The daughter has since returned, but her house continues to be rented out to guests.

On our way to our accommodation in HOVE, we passed by a historic beach, a snorkeler's paradise. The Two Step Beach, as the name suggests, offers the opportunity to dive into diverse snorkeling worlds with just two stone steps. There were also several seawater-filled stone pools where Maurice could splash around. After sufficient wet fun, we continued to the nearby open-air museum. In earlier times, there was a kind of monastery at this location where war refugees could seek refuge. There was also a lot of magic, or mana, involved, which is why the peace within the safe harbor was not disturbed by anyone.

Day 4 on the island led us to the southernmost point of the island and thus the southernmost point of the USA. There was a strong wind blowing and the waves were dancing an impressive dance. Afterwards, we continued towards Black Sand Beach, where the sea turtles come ashore and rest. Maurice was fascinated by the black sand and stuffed his little mouth with it. It was too cold to swim here, so we took a few snapshots of the turtles and moved on.

The next day, my birthday arrived and it was supposed to be the coldest and most rainy day of our island stay (haha). I didn't let that spoil my mood, especially since Day 5 started with our hostess Rikki bringing me a homemade chocolate cake and a bottle of sweet sparkling wine, so sweet! We had booked a guided tour of the nearby lava caves for early afternoon. Our guide was a funny guy named Brian and two other couples joined us on the tour. First, Brian informed us about the different lava flows on the island and the diverse climate zones: Of the 14 existing climate zones, 12 exist on the Big Island. Only the permafrost and the desert are missing, but they gladly do without them. We can confirm this because during our stay, we drove completely around and across the island once. In the far north, it is only 18 degrees and it feels more like Ireland or England than Hawaii. In the east, on the other hand, it is tropical and humid, and the plants are correspondingly gigantic.

With Maurice in the carrier at the front, I made my way through the lava cave and even climbed a small ladder up and down. Sometimes, as a mother, you already exceed yourself: D. After the cave tour, we drove to a small paradise garden that was supposed to close when we arrived, but we were allowed to stay for half an hour, which made me very happy. I would love to spend a whole day there, like the cute mongooses do. There are beautifully planted and designed areas for every world religion, as well as retreat areas, all with a magnificent view of the sea. We ended the evening at a small community beach, where you could help yourself to the vegetable garden. The waves were relatively strong there, but with swimming goggles, you could swim in the waves and observe great fish. There were also small pools with seawater for Maurice to splash in. So, everyone was happy and satisfied, and at home, we had the remaining chocolate cake and sparkling wine under the starlight (hidden behind clouds).

The third part, Day 6 of our trip, took us to the east of the island and to Volcano National Park. During the day, we hiked through the sulfur fields, and at night, we went to the lava crater with a horde of tourists in the light of the full moon. You have to go there at night because you can only see the lava glowing far in the distance at night, making the excursion worthwhile. It was all very impressive, although I found the 'beach' near our accommodation much more impressive: A landscape of cooled lava flowing into the crashing waves, and in the diminishing light of the setting sun, you feel like you are transported to another world.

We spent Day 7 exploring the city of Hilo, which is located to the east. The city enticed us with its farmers market, and we couldn't resist slurping a fresh coconut and then savoring its tender flesh. We also quickly stopped by the Rainbow Falls, and there's not much else to say about the day.

Day 8 brought another highlight as we traveled back to Kona through the north of the island, where the Tropical Botanic Garden was located, and it was truly enchanting. I think the pictures speak for themselves. In the evening, I enjoyed the pool of our hotel in Kona, and Matthias finally bought his long-awaited lava-inspired artwork at the gallery.

The little trip to Hawaii was definitely worth it for us. The feeling of life here is really special, everyone is in a good mood, and it's easy to slow down. Maurice loved our beach stays, I think he will become quite the water baby. If I were to move to Hawaii, I would probably open a sanctuary for animals or a garden for stressed souls. Matthias, on the other hand, would climb the big volcanoes of the islands.