Things I Love About the Big Island

• Hitchhiking! It's easy, fast and safer than at home. Free as well!
  
• Coconuts and many wonderful fruits grow in abundance everywhere. Lilikoi! Avocado! Also free!
  
• Rainbows and moonbows make my day or night!
• Domestic animals gone wild! Hawaii features feral pigs, goats, horses, turkeys, and even donkeys! (Sadly, also cats and dogs who are less able to fend for themselves.)
• The Hawaiian language is beautiful and fun to get the hang of as it is written phonetically. Humuhumunukunukuapua'a! Also, the locals speak Pidgin which is a lot of fun to listen to and incorporate into your speaking. Shoots Brah! Mo Bettah!
  
• Big dudes playing ukulele. It is just the tiniest guitar being played by a giant man and I love it! I also enjoy when anyone plays uke on the bus or in public.
• Honu (turtles), dolphins, manta rays, sharks and whales and all the beautiful creatures of the sea.
• Mauna Kea Observatory and the clear nights for star viewing.
• Black sand, white sand, and green sand!? Kick ass beaches!
  
• Fresh seafood! Poke, mahi mahi, ahi, it's all tasty.
• Pakalolo! The green grows here like back at home except outdoor, year-round. Comparable prices too.
  
• The bus is free even if it is infrequent.
• Shaka it to me! The shaka or "hang loose" hand signal is good fun to give and receive.
  
• Aloha Spirit. The people here are giving, friendly and generally helpful. Aloha is in the air.

Star Mountain

Mauna Kea kuahiwi ku ha'o ika malie

(Mauna Kea is the astonishing mountain that stands in the calm)

Wow.

We just had a three day party at Uncle Bob's house with some wonderful couchsurfers from France and England as well as our friend Graham (he is one of the Canadians who picked us up hitchhiking last week).

When Graham picked us up we told him about Mauna Kea and the awesome volunteer program (link here). We are encouraging everyone we meet here to do this because it is such a unique opportunity to learn about astronomy in this special place. I didn't know if he would but he showed up at Mauna Kea on Saturday night and got a ride with us back to Hilo Town that night and partying ensued.

Mauna Kea means "white mountain" because it is often topped with snow and ice. At the peak (approximately 14000 ft) you are above 40% of the Earth's atmosphere. There is a tropical lake fed by permafrost near the summit called lake Waiau. The ancient Hawaiians would bring the umbilical cords (piko) of their children here for good luck. The lake itself was considered the "umbilical connection" to the earth.

The ancient Hawaiians revered this place as the domain of the gods. It was known as Mauna O Wakea or Mountain of the deity Wakea (the sky father). It is the tallest mountain in the world (not the highest peak) and it seems absurd that you can just drive your 4x4 all the way up.

I could go on! This is a place rich in spiritual history and scientific discovery. The telescopes on Mauna Kea are of the highest quality and plans are moving forward to build the largest mirror yet. At 30m across it will be three times that of the largest mirror currently. The larger the mirror, the more light can be collected and therefore we will be able to see farther back in "time". We are seeing things billions of light years away now, so this means we will be even closer to seeing back to the "big bang".

I think this is the most exciting and rewarding thing we have done on Hawaii and we plan on volunteering as much as we can before we leave. The people we have met up there, rangers, employees and other volunteers have all been so wonderful.

A Date with the Stars

Next week Jay and I are starting the volunteer program at Mauna Kea Observatories. Mauna Kea is one of the highest peaks in the world at approximately 13, 800 ft and is the tallest mountain in the world when measured from the ocean bottom. There is snow on the peak right now!

I've been interested in stars ever since my mum showed me how to find the constellation Orion when I was a kid. Now we will get a chance to see them up close through state of the art telescopes. Nebulae!

Chestnut Roasting

I'd never done it before but yesterday I helped Tom roast and peel about four pounds of chestnuts for the Anderson Valley Grange Annual Holiday Potluck. I felt ignorant for being here, on a chestnut farm, and having never tasted the things even though the trees stand on nearly every block of Vancouver proper. They are so delicious! Especially when seasoned with olive oil and sea salt. I know next year at chestnut time in Vancouver I'll be running around collecting them and I'll know just what to do.

When we told Tom that there are chestnut trees all over Vancouver he asked if there was an early Italian settlement, which there was especially in our neighbourhood Commecial Drive. That would explain the chestnuts and that they are most likely European Chestnuts as opposed to American or some other variety. Tom however grows Colossal Chestnuts for their size and flavour.

So, we roasted the chestnuts and took them on down to the potluck which was a lovely celebration including all sorts, young and old and really showcased the vibrant community of Anderson Valley. Nearly all the food was locally grown including wild pork(!), organic turkey, delicious chevre, a multitude of tasty winter veggies and even bread made with locally grown wheat!

We met another wwoofer from down the road and many other interesting locals. We sang carols! We mingled! It was a lot of fun and made me long for the day that we'll be a part of such a group of likeminded people.

When we got back to the ridge, we were greeted by the bright, clear night sky and the stars so thick. Lucky for us the rain clouds from the day before had cleared in time to watch the Gemenid meteor shower. It was awesome in the true sense of the word and made up for missing the Leonids in November.

My lucky stars...