Shake it Baby

Today I have the opportunity to write a guest post about our journey to Big Island, and I don't really know where to start. After a very relaxing one-hour flight, we landed in Hilo on Big Island at a very idyllic small airport with painted wooden facades, quickly got our car, and drove towards Volcano. From that point on, everything was different than expected. First, it started raining, which was to be expected since Hilo is one of the rainiest places in the world, and it became more and more lonely until we finally reached our cottage, which looked very idyllic. We checked in and found out that the volcano park (which is why we came to this area) will be closed for several years due to the earthquake. The lady at the reception gave us tips for restaurants and activities in the region (e.g. a visit to the glassworks "2400 Fahrenheit" 🙈). So, we stood in the rain in the soaked cottage garden and were frustrated. Therefore, we decided to eat something first, as it is better to make plans without hunger. So, we set off and checked out the hotel's tips, as among them there should be a vegetarian alternative. Volcano is such a small place that it consists of only one street, and the recommended restaurants were checked off so quickly. So, we ended up at the Garden Arts Center in Cafe Ono, which was already closed. All the other restaurants closed by 5 o'clock at the latest, so we drove back towards the airport for 40 minutes. On the way, we browsed through the travel guide and found a nice restaurant with a beautiful ambiance where we had dinner. Afterwards, we strolled through Hilo.

I quite like the city. Small houses, a bit rundown with street art on the walls, some with really cool shops. Unfortunately, it started raining again. Patrick got carried away. He dragged Sabrina under a dripping drainpipe and jumped into a puddle, so we were all somehow wet afterwards. Since then, we've gone crazy... After a short detour to Coconut Island, a mini beach park with volcanic rock and palm trees, we drove back to the cottage. Since we didn't have TV or reliable Wi-Fi, we made ourselves comfortable on Patrick and Sabrina's bed and laughed more than we had for the whole vacation so far.

Tomorrow we will visit a tropical botanical garden and the Akaka Falls (a 50m high waterfall in the jungle), which I like to call Alaskafalls, for some reason... we're excited!

Steffi

Update: After we had peacefully fallen asleep, we were awakened (at least Sabrina and I) by an earthquake, according to the internet with a magnitude of 3.7! The earth rumbled and shook the whole night, and our hut was shaking quite a bit. Very frightening, and for the first time, I really realize where I am. So far, there hasn't been anything visible or noticeable from the volcano!