Detour

I can't believe it's been a week without us posting. Things here have been alot of the same for the past week or so; work in the morning (mural or groundwork) with occasional jaunts off to Kehena beach or the warm ponds. I suppose after 4 weeks in paradise, even the miraculously beautiful becomes somehow the norm.

The biggest news of the last week was our continued inability to get in touch with the farm on Molokai we were to be staying at. This morning their number came back as disconnected. We scrambled for fall-back options. Unlike the rest of the Hawaiian islands, Molokai lacks enough state parks with campgrounds, meaning that without a farm or other workstay program, we'd be doing the turtle analogy more literally then we'd intended.

After getting in touch with the other two wwoof farms on Molokai, only to be told they were only accepting long term apprentices, we decided to extend our stay on the Big Island until our flight to Kauai. Disaster averted, we're spending tonight lining up the next farm on the island.

The mural should be finished tomorrow. While Karissa handles that, I'll be going to Hilo to pick up our rental car. 7 days with a car. Having saved up a half week's supply of Free Days here, I don't think it'll take a week for our next post.

Life here part 2

Someone asked whether we have electricity in our hut. No we don't. Our hut is tiny, and we spend very little time there. There is room enough for a full sized bed, a bed side book case, and not much else. The walls are screened and there is no protection from the elements. Fortunately we are in Hawaii and the elements are relatively friendly...

We have spent the past month doing work trade at an ecohostel in scenic Pahoa, HI. The property here is long and narrow.As you come in you pass the owner's house (with all kinds of housy amenities-- this is also where you pass my mural), then you pass a big barn, then it opens up into 3 levels of space. In the barn, there is a kitchen with an outdoor sink area, a fridge, stove, outlets, internet, tv, and most of the other basic amenities you would expect to need. Down the hill to your right are a few of the sleeping sites and gardens. If you continue straight, you will pass Bamboo hut:

And the manager's hut:

And past this is the path to our hut. Our hut is secured on the top of a cliff:


While we have no electricity, this is the view that I open my eyes to every morning:

The big joke is that if lava were to come crawling through here, Ocean View (our spot) would be the only thing spared. It is a serious hike to get up and down from there. The lay out is nice, it gives everyone a sense of privacy without being too big. There are 10 bed spaces so it stays relatively communal and small. While no one is under any requirement to share food, everyone learns that its much more cost effective to share food so we usually go in on something with a few others who are looking for dinner at the same time. Things are very laid back and informal here and everyone runs on their own schedule-- its pretty comfortable.

The mural is nearing completion.

I have been working on this mural for about 2 and a half weeks now. Dj started helping me as of this past Tuesday, and we've really been making some headway. I love the opportunity to get to use rainbows and moons. There will be some stars in the background as well. Its great that this island appreciates such fun art. We've been hearing lotsa people ask when it'll be up so here is what we have so far.

Aloha!

Congratulations!

Briana and Heidi went away to Oahu for Valentine's day to get married! They came back Friday, and we threw them a party. Everyone contributed something. Dj and I went to the market, got some chocolate and milk chocolate chips and tons of different things to dip into them. By the end we made chocolate covered strawberries, almonds, sweet potato and beet chips, sprouted coconut, espresso beans, fresh papaya, fresh banana, and dried pineapple. It was really easy, a lot of fun, and everyone was jazzed.

One of the newer volunteers, Caroline, made flower arrangements from the flowers growing in the yard. (Yes birds of paradise grow wild here).

Mojo went out and got an Ahi and purple sweet potatoes, and Justin cooked them.

There were all kinds of great treats, decorations, and music. There was wine and champagne and lots of cheerful people; it was really a splendid night.

Visiting Hilo

On Tuesday we decided that we would get started with work early on Wednesday and then find a way into Hilo. Dj and I spent the whole week working together on the mural, so it's been easy to coordinate our schedules. We finished our work trade, emptied a back pack, and aimed for Hilo's farmers market. We walked down the road a little, stuck out our thumbs and nearly right away had a ride. While hitchhiking on the mainland is considered muy dangerous, on Hawaii its a standard form of travel. As most of the roads don't go very fast, it is totally common to get offered rides in the back of a pick up. I've decided this is a way better way to travel the island in a car. Its like your own private little tour bus.

On the way in we hit Cafe 100, home of the infamous Loco Moco. For those of you who are unfamiliar with this dish, its a local favorite- a burger, topped with an egg, on a bed of white rice, smothered in gravy. Horrifying right? We got a teriyaki version...

After that we walked a few miles into the downtown area, wandered the shops, people watched, and enjoyed our first "real" shave ice. Burried deep inside powdery ice was a little pile of sweet adzuki beans, I went for lilicoi, vanilla, and coconut. The lilicoi was great, the vanilla and coconut were way too sweet.

We wandered some more, then decided to catch the bus back to Pahoa.

By the end of the day we had walked more miles than we had expected to, but came home to a group of the kids here singing and playing guitar.

Reggae-fest Kona side

On Saturday we went to a Reggae Festival in Kona. We teamed up with the two managers here, Heidi and Briana:

Their car turtle made the trip admirably. On the way there we saw 11 waterfalls. Many were a result of the heavy rains. The water cascaded off the cliff right onto the road.









We got there early and headed to the beach. We chilled and explored the little tidal pools.





Kona is HOT and DRY. It was really nice to dry out after the wet and soggy weather. The concert was at the old Kona airport, and we were all out on the tarmac. The music was good, the vendors were all local mostly selling local crafts and foods. We tried pork teriyaki and pork lau lau the former rocked, the latter rocked less... Here are a bunch of the kids from our hostel on the tarmac.

The shave ice was refreshing tho...

We got back very late and exhausted. On Sunday we slept in, chilled out, and recuperated.

The Mural Begins!

After a long and sleep deprived weekend I began my mural. Tuesday morning I began preparing the wall for my mural and then sketching on the wall. It was graciously not raining, Heidi and Briana (the managers here) offered us a ride to Kona for a music festival, and we finally got in a good nap. When we woke up the barn was teaming with new guests- all with a great story and something interesting to share. Some will stay a while and become work traders like Dj and myself, and some will move on at the end of their vacations. Snowy made a green Thai curry to thank me for cooking the night before and it was delicious!

Today was equally low key. Finally recovered from the storms and refreshed by a few brief visions of sun, I began painting the outlines and background for my mural. It felt good to get a lot of work done. This afternoon I spent some time chatting with some of the new work traders, catching up on some artwork, and discussing Heidi and Briana's up and coming wedding next week. Tonight we are having a dueling curry pot luck- one chicken and one veg. I'm sitting in the barn smelling the roasting sweet potatoes and listening to people jamming out on drums and guitars outside the door. We got sun, a gentler perspective for a day, and are looking forward to a great night.

Sleepy Mondays

Monday was sleepy after the previous nights interruptions, but we weathered through the day. Snowy and Ollie came back for a few days to end their trip on a high note. By morning, the rain had slowed to a stop but still no sunshine. We quickly did our 3 hours service (it was my cleaning day) and then ran with Snowy and Ollie to the warm ponds to swim and celebrate the brief pause in the rain.

When we got there, the water level was high and the water was FULL of little fish. I borrowed Ollie's snorkel to look at them for a little while. There were super cold and hot spots and the water looked nearly oily the way they light shined through the temperature changes. After this we went to another local beach to watch the surfers and the waves. The water looked like an aquamarine- where the waves crested nearly glowed a bright aqua, and the rest of the ocean a deeper grayed blue green. We stayed for a while and wandered through a local park that had been labeled "keep out Kapu", but was actually a state park that locals wanted to keep the visitors down...

We hit the market on the way back, and I made a big tofu stir fry and then fell asleep early.

Second Sunday

On Sunday morning we got up and got ready to go to church. The weather didn't seem too keen on cooperating...

We hitched a ride north of Pahoa with the Managers here. From there Dj and I hitched with a surfer guy in a light blue jeep about a block away from the Eagles Arie where they hold the local Unitarian Universalist meetings. This would have been great any other day but between the monsoon-like conditions, and the surfer guy's rag top being open-- we were soaked. Deep down to the core WET. The church meeting was pleasant, fun even. We discussed transcendentalism and the transcendentalists. They had a small turn out with a hand full of kids. After we were offered a ride to their regular Sunday potluck. Lunch was tasty, and was followed by lilicoi pie that was made by an elderly gentleman who as of yet refuses to share the recipe. Dj was asked to lead a discussion in a few weeks, he seems really into it.

After lunch we came back to the hostel. Apparently the Giants won the Super Bowl - Dj kept track online. We had a visit from a local Boston transplant that looked pretty bummed.

The rain here has been a constant for days. Saturday night the storming was pretty rough, and Sunday's was way worse. The massive rain (30 in in 24 hours) created landslides on one side of the island, flooding on another, and downed power lines interspersed through out. We were fortunately just incessantly rained on. Sunday night there was lightning super close, serious wind blowing the rain on us, and we began to hit our breaking point with being wet and cold. After the lightning struck a little too close for comfort we ran to the barn to escape the ensuing deluge. We didn't get a whole lot of sleep and it really just wasn't a whole lot of fun. Eventually the storm passed, we went up to bed- damp, but safe, and crashed out for a few hours before the next storm. The next morning we found out that the managers cabin had been hit by lightning, no one was hurt, nothing burned-- but it was a little scary.

Food always brings people together...

3 cans of black beans
4 cans of red kidney beans
1 can of sweet corn
1 can of tomato sauce
1 whole apple chopped
1 onion chopped
2 carrots shredded
4 cloves garlic chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped
1/2 can chipotle peppers in adobo less seeds to taste
salt
black pepper
chili powder
cumin
1 bottle dark brown beer

-Saute onion, garlic, apple,carrots, pepper until onions are translucent
- Add chipotles and sauce and beans bring to simmer
- Add beer and all other ingredients, stir and reduce for at least 1 hour (better if more)

Last night we made vegetarian chili for the hostel. Some people contributed a can of beans, spices, or their own dishes. There was fresh guacamole, fresh cornbread, and lots of other treats. It was a whole lot of fun to get everyone together for such a feast. Everyone seemed to get a homeyness for the evening. At the end of the night Kenny, a volunteer here, Gary, a local, and Bone, a guest here all started playing music on their guitars and drums. It was super awesome. They even played a few Paul Simon tunes.

Today I talked out the mural, got the final go ahead, and tomorrow I begin by drawing my sketch on the wall. I'm really excited about it. It's still raining, but my hours today were spent painting graphic signs explaining parts of the recycling system here. Mojo seemed happy with my work, so I think this is all going quite well. It looks like Dj and I will be staying here on this side of the island for at least a few more weeks.

Tonight, we made popcorn- one with spirulina and honey, the other with butter and salt. Hunkered down and are watching Finding Nemo. There is something really funny about watching the turtle scene with a bunch of surfers...

Hope everyone had a great week!