Hawaii: Some people say
that this is a tropical paradise. Yeah, I'd probably have to
agree.
October 25-27, 1999
I arrived after midnight and went to the Waikiki hostel where I met a
Danish-American woman, Vibiana, and talked to her before I went to
sleep. It was a weird feeling to be in a backpackers again, having to
share a room. Better get used to it, I knew that I’d have a
lot
more of this to come.
I got up around 6 a.m. and went out for a walk. Jeepers, what
a
horrible place. The beach had 50-story hotels. I
haven’t
seen anything like that before. I really didn’t come to see
this
in Hawaii, but it was the only place to stay since I arrived so
late. I saw Vibbe, as she was also an early riser.
She
could only be described as bodacious. Six feet tall and
shapely,
friendly and outgoing, loud voice, with what can only be described as
very large breasts and a tight shirt. Well, not that I was
fixated on her chest or nothing...ok, ok, maybe I was, but she was
quite a character. It was a fun way to spend the morning.
I set off for Pearl Harbor and walked for many miles to see the city on
the way there. Pearl Harbor was my only real goal on the
island
of Oahu. I wanted to see the battleship Missouri, which was
docked in the harbor. The Missouri is the ship upon which the
WW
II surrender agreement was signed in Tokyo Bay in 1945. It is
the
largest U.S. battleship and arguably the most powerful battleship
ever. I could certainly see why. It had guns that
fired
shells 40-cm in diameter and 2 meters long and capable of throwing
them over 38 km. They were housed in turrets that were the
size
of a house. All clad in armor 40 cm. thick. Good
heavens,
talk about heavy duty.
Everything
about this
ship was huge. Unfortunately the engine rooms and turrets
weren’t
open to the public, but it was interesting to see what I did.
I’ve always wanted to see a battleship and this is the biggest
remaining battleship in the world. It really is quite an
impressive piece of machinery. I was able to see the battle
bridge, where the ship’s commander would stay during a
battle. He
was probably pretty safe in there, as the battle bridge is a large
vertical cylinder that is encased in 45-cm of armor. It all
seems kind of silly that some guy has to sit behind so much armor
because some other guy is lobbing pieces of steel and explosives the
size of small cars at him, but I guess that’s the stage of evolution
where the human race is. I know I’d want to be behind thick
armor
if someone was shooting at me. Later in the day I went to see
a
WWII submarine. What a marvel of engineering. It’s
surprising that this thing could be designed so that all sorts of
valves, pipes, food, men, etc., could be crammed into such a small
space. Glad I didn’t have to live in there for months at a
time. It’s bad enough sharing a dorm room with five other
people.
Later in the day I went to see the Arizona Memorial. When
Pearl
Harbor was attacked in 1941, almost half of the casualties were from
the battleship Arizona. A bomb hit a gunpowder room and 1400
men
died, most are still inside the sunken ship. It’s a floating
memorial in the middle of the harbor where the ship sunk.
It’s a
place of quiet reflection of what happened that day and what was to
come in the next four years. The symbolic meaning today is
that
Arizona represents the start of the war and the Missouri represents the
end. You can clearly see the ship beneath the water and every few
seconds a small drop of oil rises to the surface. The ship is still
bleeding, as it has been since the day it exploded in 1941.
I
went back to the
hostel and spent some time with Vibbe. I also met two English
women, Cornelia and Gale, and the four of us spent the evening goofing
off. It was nice to be around people from different
countries once again. The following morning I went to the
tourist
office. On the way, I saw several handgun ranges that catered
to
Japanese tourists, so much so that there was hardly any English on the
signs. I was told that Japanese people go to these places as
guns
are strictly controlled there and they couldn’t do this at
home.
In the U.S., strict gun control is considered to be waiting for three
days to allow the police to do a background check. I thought
it
odd that this would be a tourist attraction, but I guess travelling is
about doing new things, even if it is something that I don’t think
of. Once at the office, I asked about the Waimano trail,
which
they tried to talk me out of as it had been raining a lot, but I still
went. The trail was ok, it followed a ridge high over a
valley
and allowed me to wander through the trees. Later I went down
the
valley and walked along the river. It wasn’t the nicest trail
I’ve been on, but it wasn’t the worst either. I went back to
the
hostel and hung out with the people I had met the last days.
Nothing special, but a nice day. I really didn’t like Waikiki
and
knew that it was time for me to leave. This place was so
overbuilt, it’s everything that I don’t want and it was time to
go. So I booked a flight for the following day to the largest
of
the islands, Hawaii (the island and the state have the same name) or as
it’s often called, “The Big Island.”
October 28-29, 1999
I met Vibbe early in the morning. To this day, I have no idea
how
it came up, but Vibbe told me her boobs were fake and told me how and
why she had it done. “One of the best decisions I’ve ever
made. My breasts started to sag and…” She showed me
how
they went up through the navel to put them in. It was quite
interesting to hear but also a bit unexpected. Some guys
later
asked me, “Why didn’t you ask her to see what they felt
like?”
I…think..who, um…err..I don’t know. Well, it was pretty odd,
but
she was a lot of fun. Travel is great ain’t it?
I flew to the Big Island. When I arrived, the car rental
people
delayed me as they said they had no compact cars available. I
waited for a bit and they kept apologizing for the lack of
cars.
After about twenty minutes, they said, “Sir, we have no compact cars
left. Would it be ok if we substituted a convertible for the
same
price.” Whew-hoo!
Yep, there I would be, driving a big, fancy, red convertible around
Hawaii. Talk about classy. So off I
drove. I stopped
on the side of the road and tried to get the top down. I
couldn’t
quite figure it out, but I managed to force it down by hand.
I
didn’t bother to go back to the counter and ask about the top, what if
a compact car had just come in and they wanted me to switch?
A
few kilometers away, I stopped at a grocery store. While I
was
inside, it started to rain, so I ran out and tried to get the top
up. However, nothing I did would make it go up. In
the
meantime, the leather interior was getting wet. Some guy in
the
parking lot was laughing (in a good way) and asked, “You’re a tourist,
aren’t you?” I said, “Yes, I am. Now could you help
me get
this up.” He continued to laugh as he walked over, but lo and
behold, he couldn’t figure it out either. He said, “there’s a
switch somewhere.” I replied, “Yeah, I know that,
but where
is it!?” As the car and the two of us got wet, I laughed at
him
(in a good
way) and said, “Guess we’re both pretty dumb, huh?” We
managed to
force the top up, but by this time, the seats were all
spotted.
It took an hour of scrubbing to get it back to its original
state. Later on I saw the button that operated the top, but
it
was very deceptively labeled and the picture on it looked like it
opened the trunk. D’oh! Once I pushed the button,
it was
amazing how easy it was to get the top up. Funny
how that
works, isn’t it?
I went into Volcanoes National Park for some sightseeing. I
drove
to the end of the Chain of Craters road. I was walking down the road in
the dark and stumbled on a small ledge. What I tripped on was
the
edge of the lava flow, where it covered the road on its way to the sea.
The Kiluaea volcano has been erupting non-stop since 1983. No
matter what it is that gets in the way of the lava, be it a house or
road, ends up covered. Off in the distance, I could see the
brilliant orange of glowing lava. It was seven-km. distant,
but
it was very clear and beautiful, even from this far away. It
was
late at night and I couldn’t go anywhere at the time, but some people
were returning from seeing the lava and I knew that I’d have to come
back tomorrow. I found an empty road to park the
car. It
was a warm night and I couldn’t believe how clear the stars
were.
It was as good as I’ve ever seen them. I lay down on my back
and
gazed at the stars for a long, long time. That’s also where I
slept for the night.
In
the morning, I
walked to the Napau Crater. The trail goes over the lava
flows
and is a total moonscape devoid of life. Barren lava had
formed
in many bizarre shapes. Sometimes it was smooth, other times
it
was in jagged shapes, other times there was a type of lava known as
Pele’s hair (Pele is the traditional volcano god) that resembled
strands of hair that would crumble when touched. I walked for
several hours across the lava flow. Sometimes the lava would
be
fascinating in its shape, other times it became monotonous, but I liked
it, as it was something very new to me. The trail markers
were
tall piles of loose lava that went off into the distance.
Sometimes these stacks reminded me of the Forbidden Lands in the
“Planet of the Apes.” The only thing that was missing was me
on a
horse with a beautiful bimbo. Guess you can’t have
everything,
can you? I walked to the edge of a large crater named,
Makaopuhi,
which was on a mountain named Pu’u’o’o. Just try and
pronounce
that one! I sat at the edge of the crater for a long time and
looked and looked. Once again, it was very quiet and there
wasn’t
another person around. I was walking on the trail and
suddenly it
got quite smooth for a short section. I didn’t figure it out
until I ran across another smooth section, though this one had a yellow
stripe painted across the middle. It was a road.
Ahhh…once
again, an inhabited area that was covered over by lava.
Nature
eventually claims back its own I guess. There are sections of
the
trail where the forests had started to regrow and start a new
ecosystem. I would sit in the shade and listen to the birds
sing
and look at the flowers in bloom. I guess there are more ways
than one for Nature to reclaim its own.
Earlier in the day I talked to a ranger about how I would get back to
the beginning of the one-way trail. “You can hitchhike
back. I’m sure that it will be a foreigner that will pick you
up.” he told me. It took me only a few cars and sure enough,
it
was a guy from England. I wonder why that is? It’s
something that I would learn quite a bit about in the coming years.
In
the late afternoon, I went back to the Chain of Craters road.
What a beautiful road. I didn’t realize how much I couldn’t
see
last night in the dark. When I got to the end of the road, I
started the seven-km. walk to the lava flows. It was across
another bizarre landscape. Nothing grew there and the lava
undulated in weird shapes, forming a cliff here, a sunken area there,
and a random blob somewhere in the middle. There was no rhyme
or
reason to it, but endlessly varied it was. About ten people
were
walking up that evening. Once we arrived at the lava flows I
immediately knew it was worth coming! I arrived just as it
was
approaching dark, so I got to see the lava both in daylight and the
darkness that would come. I won’t forget my first view or the
heat of the lava. Two people walked up to the lava flows,
looked
at each and gave each other high-fives.
To
stand next to a river
of molten rock at 1000C is nothing short of very cool. There
was
a molten waterfall, or should I say, lavafall in one place and in
another place, a small dam formed in the lava flow. The lava
would pile up behind it and the dam would form a big bubble.
Eventually the bubble would burst and lava would flow through the break
covering a large area in a glowing, orange liquid. It really
was
like being in a science show on TV. You could stand right
next to
the flow, but periodically a gentle breeze would blow across it and the
heat would become absolutely unbearable. We would have to pull back
about 20 meters from the flowing magma. It was so fascinating
watching the patterns that formed in the lava stream.
Differing
shades of brilliant orange would form as it piled up or broke
out. I could see how the undulating shapes of the lava I had
seen
in the last days was formed and I didn't tire of watching it's endless
variations. In some ways, it's too much to believe that I
could
actually watch this happening in front of me. I had a feeling
that it would be one of the highlights of my trip and it turned out to
be that way. I never imagined that I would stand right there
next
to a river of molten rock and watch it slowly wend its way to the
waters of the Pacific Ocean.
I had the top down as I drove off and stopped to look at the
stars. Even though I did the same thing last night, it’s not
something that I get tired of doing. I’m not a big car fan,
but
after driving in a place like this, I think I like these convertible
things. That night I found a quiet spot and slept on the
ground
under the brilliant Milky Way. I can’t imagine a better
bedroom
than that.
October 30-31, 1999
I went to a black sand beach early the next morning. These
beaches, made from eroded lava, are very striking, but not exactly
pleasant once the sun is shining. The most common sounds
heard on
these beaches are “OW..OH…OUCH!” as the black sand gets quite hot in
the sun. I sat on the beach, went for a swim, and watched sea
turtles swimming in the bay. I guess I have a thing for
turtles,
I like ‘em. I wandered around for the day. I drove
up the
western shore
and stopped here and there to check out the local villages and walk a
few
trails. The people of Hawaii are very laid back about
things. Today I met a woman who was complaining about the
dress
code in the local schools. The administration was trying to
require the kids to wear shoes and that didn’t sit too well with
everyone. I found another beach and went for a swim, sat
among
the coconut trees, and…you know I don’t remember exactly what I did,
but I sure had a good time.
In the evening, I was going up the coast past Mauna Kea. This
is
a 4300-meter volcanic mountain that rises straight from sea level to
its
summit. It was a beautiful sunset. I looked to the
east and
saw Mauna Kea glowing pink in the setting sun. I looked to
the
west across the vastness of the Pacific and saw the yellow and
orange sunset and there I was cruising along with the top
down. I
was the Master of All of Creation, if only for a little
while.
Unfortunately,
the
next day I had to leave, so I bummed around the coast a bit and did a
little of this and that and I cut across the middle of the island at
night. I hid behind some trees and slept in the
car. In the
morning I headed back towards the east side of the island, went to some
lava tubes and later to 129-meter tall Akaka Falls. It was a
quiet Sunday morning and I had the impressive falls and rainforest to
myself. I sat among the trees and…sat. Seemed
pretty
simple. Actually, the highlight of this little side trip was
a
restaurant with a sign that said, “Locals eat here, you should
too!” I went to the coast, which overlooked the ocean on some
tall cliffs and decided to get some exercise. There were many
people coming up from the beach who were huffing and puffing on the
climb. I, who had just come off the mountain bike racing
season
and was in top shape, was repeatedly running up and down the
climb. They looked at me like I was an
extraterrestrial.
Later I sat on some rocks and listened to the ocean, went for a swim in
the waves, and contemplated eternity.
I had to leave as I had a flight back to Oahu this evening.
My
stay in Hawaii was really just a short stopover. I originally
came to see my brother, who lives near Volcanoes National Park, but the
day before I arrived he went to another island and I couldn’t get to
see him. Good to know that you fly thousands of miles to see
your
brother and he decides to go somewhere else. Yep, you can
always
count on your family! Whatever happened, I’m really pleased
to
have come to Hawaii. It’s got a nice feel to it.
I flew to the main airport on Oahu and had a few hours until my plane
left in the middle of the night. I met a homeless woman who
was
quite pleasant, but a bit of a nutter (she told me about the “movie
project” that she was working on with Kevin Costner). She
said
that she picked me out because I looked “interesting.” I
think
that’s a good
thing. I had a bag of fruit
left that I couldn’t take with me on the plane and gave that to
her. She seemed to like that. It turned out that
Cornelia
and Gale were on the same plane as I.
They asked what I had been doing for the last days. I told
them
about the Waimano Trail. They said, “Oh,
you’re the one the tourist office was talking about. They
said
there was ‘this one crazy guy who was going to walk the
trail. We
tried to talk him out of it but he insisted he was going saying he
wasn’t going to allow a little mud stop him.’” Now I was
famous. The three of us got on our plane and off we went,
flying
southwest over the Pacific Ocean.