Day 4 - Kahanu Gardens, Lava Tubes, and More!

Dave and I woke up incredibly sore this morning.  Thankfully though the events of today were no where near as grueling as yesterday.  The day's tone and sentiment was spiritual though that was not the intent.  By midday, I was inspired enough to try my hand at writing a poem.  Sadly it did not turn out well enough for me to post here for all to see but it has some promise.  I'll have to pick it up later on and play with it.

Because I'm feeling extra sleepy tonight, I'm not particularly in the mood to write; this post may be shorter normal.  We started out the morning by breaking the law!  For the first time in my life, I trespassed over private property!  (I was such a hooligan in my youth!  I'll be the first to admit that I was certainly obnoxious as a teen but I stayed very clear of trouble.)  The path to this beautiful red-sand beach is blocked by private property.  However, the beach is very well known and the path is well documented - the only way to it is via private property.  Let me pause here a bit and state this: there is in fact a Hawaii state law that considers all beaches in Hawaii open to the public: "they belong to no one and everyone."  To get to this beach, we had to trespass.

  

Still, I felt nervous and criminal walking though to the trail.  We'd been forewarned that this trail wasn't the easiest but we did okay right until the beach was in view.  The climb down to the beach was steep to say the least.  The cliff-face climb was dirt-based rather than rock but still potentially dangerous and had no trail to guide us down.  An experienced hiker would have been able to handle it without an issue but I was still thankful I didn't break myself yesterday - I did not think it wise to tempt the Gods again.  Regretfully we did not get to enjoy the red-sand beach or the turquoise water.  Hopefully we were still able to capture a picture of it.  If not, I will enjoy the snapshot in my memory!

Following the botched attempted at breaking the law, we made our way over to the Lava Tubes.  Essentially this is a giant underground cave created by lava flow 960 years ago.  Though not really as deep or as terrifying as the catacombs in France, I wouldn't recommend this to anyone afraid of the dark.  We were given LED flashlights but with them it is very dark.  For kicks, we turned off both of our flashlights - I don't think I've ever been in a place so dark before.  We indeed could not even see our own hands in front of our faces.  As a little side note, the lava tubes were once a U.S. Gov't sanctioned nuclear fallout shelter!

Leaving the lava tubes, we drove down the road to the Kahanu Gardens.  It was similar to the other botanical gardens only massive, vast, and right next to the oceans.  Additionally it is home to Pi'ilanihale Heiau, a sacred site for Hawaiians.  To show respect for this ancient site, it is requested that we maintain silence and attention.  This is often referred to as Hana Kupono.  Instead of walking through this garden "ooh'ing and aah'ing", Dave and I slowly walked through without speaking.  That kind of thoughtful silence isn't done enough today and it can be so personally enlightening.  Both Dave and I were moved despite our lack of understanding of the sacred significance.

Between the geological exploration, the sacred site, the history and spirituality, I felt compelled to write a poem about it.  I mentioned this to Dave but started to drive off anyways thinking I'd write it later.  Dave insisted that we not go any further until it was written.  After finishing the first draft, I let Dave read it.  We discussed it briefly and then made our way to Wa'anapanapa State Park where we were able to swim in caves.

Legend has it that a Hawaiian Princess ran away to these caves to escape her abusive and domineering husband.  He hunted her down, found her in the caves, and killed her.  They say this is why every year the waters turn red.  Of course we now know the reason is due to shrimp migration of something.  Still a very cool story.

Swimmers in the water of the cave made many comments about the 'freezing' cold temperature of the water. It was definitely cold but my personal opinion is that compared to the waters at Hampton Beach, the cave's water temperature was fine.  When water is so cold that it hurts and you go numb - that's cold and what I am used to.  I got over my initial fear which turned out to be claustrophobia.  The waters were very contained and included this little waterway underneath very low hanging cave ceiling.  Dave and I swam under this with our heads just above the water level.  Inside was very dark and we had no flashlight.

 

By the end of the day, we were tired and hungry so we made a final stop at Pailoa Bay which is a black sand beach.  I wanted to describe it better with beautifully descriptive language but my words are failing me. The ocean water here was warm and refreshing compared to the cave water.  We had fun taking pictures of the black sand before heading to the hotel to shower off.  We were quite tired so we decided to dress up and go out for dinner which was quite delicious.  I'd love to go into it with more detail but I'm about to pass out.  I need my sleep as we have a full day of driving tomorrow!  Good Night!