The Other Side of the Island

What a day! We drove to the other side of the Island. First we stopped in at Morning Fire Ranch to collect T and family. I love Morning Fire. The little ranch house is so Hawaiian. And the giant avocado tree in the yard is most impressive with avocados the size of giant grapefruits. The ranch lands up near Waimea are incredible! Rolling green hills, cacti, and lush forest. We drove onward through lush costal rainforests to Hilo where, we stopped at an amazing market for fruit (local papaya and bananas), tropical flowers [stunning tropical baskets (worth about $100+ in Canada) for only $5]and silk patchwork skirts! Hilo is a Hawaiian surf town, complete with slightly wind beaten wooden building and porches. We picnicked at the ocean on T's fab sandwiches.
Our destination: the Kapoho Tidepools on the very tip of the island. The air is the cleanest on earth, somehow because of the winds--all air quality on earth is measured by using the air on this shore as a base line. The air is wonderful. It is hard to describe what it is like to breath the cleanest air on earth. I will attempt by saying it is like breathing in pure, life affirming oxygen. The lagoon pools were beyond heavenly: coral in brilliant lavender, green, bright phosphorus yellow, and deep orange. I watched 2  of the needle nose, tube fish--hovering at the bottom of the ocean. They don't seem to swim like other fish. They stay still in one place, hovering and watching me with their intense eyes. The current between the pools is very strong and trying to swim against it proved difficult, it took all my leg and arm power to creep forward.
After we had all tuckered ourselves out snorkeling ( it is hard work). We stopped at Lava Tree State park. A park with trees enshrined in lava from a 1790 volcanic eruption. The hike was unbelievable: lush forest, eery black lava pillars, giant ferns and trees, deep cracks in the earth from a past earth quake. Walking through the lava forest I felt like I was in Willy Wonka's factory. Everything was bigger than life and too beautiful a feast for my eyes.
The two side of the island are ying and yang. Our side: flat, black lava fields, white sand beaches and calm surf. The Hilo side: lush rain forests, waterfalls and rolling hills with a pounding surf.  Driving home in the dark, listening to Hawaiian slow, melodic tunes on the radio--I felt thoroughly Hawaiian. To sum it up: wow...