Wednesday, 31 July 2019
We now know that periodic short sprinkles or perhaps “real” rain is typical. Multiple times a day.
This was our second rainbow of the morning. At 7:45am. There’s another sprinkle right now, maybe the third? so far…. Cycle of weather-life.
Tuesday, 30 July 2019
We snorkeled here in Shark’s Cove. Which lacks sharks. Thankfully. We poked around for about 1hr 15 mins, which for me was quite a while; I wasn’t exhausted when we quit, but I was ready. Much of that time was floating and looking down. By the time we headed in, the waves were kicking up just a tad, and I was glad to paddle assisted by the incoming tide.
We watched this dog placidly riding a surfboard for quite a while. “Quite a while” is the time it takes to do all the cleaning required when doing water sports in the ocean, or anything in/on the ocean. Thankfully, all the public parks on the ocean with parking that I have seen have flush toilets and fresh-water showers, so it’s not a struggle, but it does take time. Time to spot and watch a dog on a surfboard enjoying the same places we’d been snorkeling. Since I don’t have corrective lenses I can see shapes and colors, to some degree, so I get a sense of critters. Easiest are the green Hawaiian sea turtles. One even checked me out! I couldn’t keep 30 feet away (I think that’s the stat) like you’re supposed to, but I didn’t touch him/her (G forbid), and didn’t hang around at all, just slowly moved on. With a smile around my snorkel-mouthpiece. Yes, it can be done.
Continuing with the surfboard theme, here’s how you get home with one when you live near, but not on the beach.
Tuesday, 30 July 2019
Adventure clue number one. Salient points: 1) water view, no beach in sight; 2) not a drone shot.
Adventure clue number two.
Adventure clue number three. Salient point: the Guru and I did not do this.
Instead, the Guru and I snorkeled. Twice. Once at each dive spot. We saw sea urchins thirty feet below us, clear water (ahem, SALT water). Fish came far closer. We saw several Hawaiian green sea turtles, only from the boat. The boat is named Hapa, which means half; the lovely captain did not know why it is named that. He’s the fellow cleaning up after our trip. Note clouds on the jagged eroding crater rim; it’s raining there, ¿no?
Monday, 29 July 2019
“Chasing Coral” is the best documentary you will see in years. On Netflix now. Do it. I’ll wait.
Coral is a living animal creature. The whole thing is one creature. The small polyps and mouths are body parts of a living creature, not separate creatures.
This is Hanauma Bay. We went snorkeling there and saw lots of dead coral. When it’s only bleached, it is still alive—barely; it is white because the flesh that covers the white skeleton has died and broken away from the skeleton, but the inside portion is hanging on. If the coral becomes florescent, it is making one last chemical stand at staying alive. If it is covered in wispy algal strands it is dead dead. We saw plenty of the latter, one magnificent (in a bad way) bright purple coral, and many damaged corals, broken by careless tourists. I am trying to be upbeat….
Coral reefs are dying because the oceans are warming past their capacity to cope with the temperature change. Most of the warming of our atmosphere from burning fossil fuels…that heat “goes into” the ocean, and so elsewhere is being buffered by the temperature rises in the ocean waters.
Stab at upbeat. The shapes look like stone spear points to me, as well as surfboard outlines.
Pleasure to have the sun drop behind the ridge and the temperatures begin to drop.
Think about temperature change now. And check your calendar for a time window to watch “Chasing Coral.” Then watch it.
End of preaching. Thank you for your patience.
Sunday, 28 July 2019
Elevated commuter train construction underway. The current discussion is about what amount the fare should be.
Crossed the old wall of an ancient volcanic crater, pierced by a pair of tunnels. This is the view out the other side from the second one.
We stopped at a small, out-of-the-way, neighborhood park. The young man in the red shirt is shooting hoops while wearing shower shoes. Tough!
It is customary for large groups relocate to the park for the day on this island. Many have large, elaborate tent and chair and table and more set-ups. Note the kiddie pool under the tent-roof included in these peoples’ Saturday temporary village.
Meanwhile…on the other side of the park we spotted this colorful bird on the ?little-used? pitcher’s mound.
And behind the backstop on one side was the ocean, and the other a fence of spent surf boards. With a coconut palm overseeing all.
Later, we found mister surfer-biker. Livin’ the good life.
Saturday, 27 July 2019
There’s the ocean; there’s the infrastructure (foreground).
Banana orchard. Wind farm infrastructure, far distance.
I relent. Ocean, no infrastructure.
No ocean; repurposed sugar mill/factory, now a mini-mall.
Dive boat returning to dock; fisherfolk; distant wind farm.
Ocean, left; infrastructure mending, right.
Ocean! Offshore islands! Minimal infrastructure.
No ocean. Language lesson: cone as a verb. We documented multiple usages, and all to do with orange ones, not ice cream ones.
Friday, 26 July 2019
And your tomorrow is my today. The promised palm trees!
We’re on the leeward side of the island. We found these grazing horses under steep volcanic slopes that were greener than I expected.
Oh great omen, the rainbow. Stubby but still a bow!
And the leeward side is the sunset side. And the sun’s getting low. This is the end of the road on the west coast.
And full sunset! A stunner! Another wonderful omen?
Totally slipped my mind on the last post: when we left the airport, we rode in a rental car. So yesterday: trains, a plane, a car, and several walks.
Thursday, 25 July 2019
Travel day, yuh. We walked to a bus station, took a bus to a train station, and this is on the train. So: bus; train.
Got off the train, checked bags, went through security, and got on the airport train. So: another train.
Then, from the international concourse: a flight.
Land ho! This is the roughly rectangular Molokai island, properly: Molokaʻi (almost correct…).
The Guru and I now have stepped on all 50 states of the USofA. And this is the US’s 50th state. Whatta coincidence. I won’t go into how the US government and US businessmen, along with a few well-meaning (hrrrrumph) missionaries, started wheedling these islands away from the people who “owned”/had them, beginning in the late 1880s at least. Finally, the coup was cemented in the 1890s, although statehood wasn’t until 1959. Colonialism in northeast Polynesia.
BTW, the Hawaiian language uses a glottal stop. This is denoted properly by a written symbol called ‘okina in Hawaiian. It is correctly a different symbol than a single quote or an accent grave, although they are frequently substituted (the former substituted here). TMI?
I’m thinking palm trees tomorrow?
Wednesday, 24 July 2019
I zipped over to the PO this afternoon to mail one of the few bills we can’t pay online. That’s a route I don’t usually take. And on the way back, I found this laggard. Must be in a heavy metal band?
And at the corner gas station, are they replacing the tanks or removing them? Time will tell (since I don’t have the plans).
Oh, and the crape myrtles are blooming.
Tuesday, 23 July 2019
This is a sample of last night’s food porn. The restaurant around the corner has special menus seasonally. Right now they’re on a tomato one. This is pane pomodoro appetizer. That tomato mixture started with roasted tomatoes, then they were cooked down and I could not tell all the magic that went into the transformation into the final version. So complex. So excellent. I’m still swooning. We did have a whole lovely meal. Even dessert (against all odds). Mmmmmm.
Tonight’s menu was nowhere near so complex. Tasty, yes. But…hmm…my flavor-creation choreography. Toasted some pignolas. Pureed them with good olive oil, garlic, salt, some water to thin. Then basil. And more basil (after it was de-stemmed and cleaned). Over pasta, duh. Stirred with a generous pile of Parmigiano-Reggiano until homogenous.
Livin’ large.
So, now the hip-high bushes are only almost that high. Trimmed.
Apologies for the ellipsis. I understand they are quite negative in the land of texting etiquette. I come from something approximating the Queen’s English, and ellipses are a different critter there. Trying to translate/be flexible/learn.
Title may be an exaggeration. 😉