A couple weeks ago we made it to the other side of the Island. We spent our first month here exploring all the amazing places in Kona, but finally we decided it was time to see some of the other stuff this island has to offer. Like volcanoes, rain forests, and warm ponds. We also found sprouted coconuts...something I have been looking for since arrival.
We stayed at our friend Nicole's house (she's also the one who taught us how to crack coconuts on the lavarock) in Puna. About 3 in the morning sirens started going off to warn of the impending tsunami that you probably heard about on the news. Luckily we were at 2,000 ft. Tsunami day was actually one of my favorite days yet! We all hung out at the house, doing a puzzle (I love puzzles) til 11 when it was suppose to hit us. Then we went to brunch to watch it on tv. The town was abuzz with uncertain energy. Thankfully nothing really happened except for several small tidal surges, but they eventually called the warning off. So then what did we do? We went to the beach! A very secluded beautiful beach that you had to walk over a relatively new lava flow and through a forest to get to. About ten years ago, the area we walked through was pegged for a large housing development. Then the lava started flowing in this direction and took out the whole development. You can see where the flows went right over the roads and everything. Now that the lava has changed direction, people are starting to come back and build right on top of the lava. What a wierd place to put a house! And the lava is flowing only about a mile away still.
So on our way to the beach through the forest, we found sprouted (cotton candy consistency) and unsprouted (water and flesh) coconuts. Both are delicious and refreshing. The ocean was very angry, so after our scenic snack, we headed to the warm ponds for a dip in a volcanically heated pond. The water was fed by the ocean into the pond through a crack in the rocks and heated by volcanic vents. It was a beautiful day of hiking, swimming, and exploring.
That's a caldera on Kilauea Volcano in the bottom pictures. We stopped there on our way to meet up with Jill and Nicole in Hilo. It is a pretty crazy place, and the source of all the air pollution on the island.
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