You can always depend on the kindness of strangers

I finally made my way down Waipio valley. I hitched down the hill -- a grade so steep there are rusted cars in the trees all the way down -- and waded the river without getting my bag into the water.

And.. it began. A shirtless Hawaiian comes out of the forest carrying a machete and a kayak paddle. His friend invites me to the "Round room," a taro farm in the back of the valley. I board their kayak and we're up the river.


Great hosts. Noah, pictured, is holding kulolo, which is Hawaiian candy. Taro, coconut shavings, coconut milk, and honey all baked into this wet, sweet goober. Pictured it is wrapped in leaves. He gave me a ton of it, and I was also gifted a jar of the softest, runniest, and generally skin-tinglingly good honey I've ever had. I almost had a chance to go pig hunting with them but it was not meant to be. The moon was too late that night.

I share all of this matter-of-factly, but to run into strangers who offer you a bed, a meal, and a bowl... it's good. Feels real good. And damn if I didn't have a pound of smoked ahi and a double bottle of wine to share.

Noah: "There's a question I keep asking myself. And I do not seem to have an answer to that question. And that question is: 'Why?' But then, there is a second question. And it seems just as important. And that question is 'How?' That que--"

Norm: "DUDE dude dude. I know the que-- dude -- I know the question you need to be asking. The question, man, is 'What?' If you can get What then you can get the Why and the How. That's all you need man.. is the what."

I have to head out early the next morning. Horses are wandering around under the ferns. I have to walk through a quarter mile of "shit river road" which is a road, covered by a river, that has shit in it. Go figure. On that walk I snapped a shot of my ride in:

I met up with my buddy Travis that morning and we set off for Makelevena beach. We made it. Did at least 8 miles of hiking that day.


Hiking to this beach included a lot of desolate, black lava crossing. Feels like this:
I made a mistake. If it were coral, or a sea urchin, and not a "forgiving" boulder that I hugged under water I wouldn't be smiling.
Here I am at Kealakekua bay, my favorite place on the big island. I've been back to camp twice since my dad and I first went there.
What's great about this place isn't just the swimming. It's a 6 mile road from the highway down to the bay, so there isn't a whole lot of casual traffic. The people there keep an eye on you, for better or worse, and everyone who passes by gives a wave or hangten (whatever it's called here). The local camping spot is these lava bluffs with swimming holes. They are not park land; people just take care. When Travis and I were camping a local came by in his pickup and yelled to each camper "Clean your mess, bra." I was at once terrified and inspired. This guy takes his saturday night to make sure the land stays clean, and damn if you aren't gonna listen to that airy Hawaiian voice coming out the darkness.
No cockroaches tonight, and even the mosquitoes were forgiving. But something bit hard my shoulder, so much that I woke up with it bleeding ("Did you get her name?" asks Dave.) It was spider I think. I was awake and anxious for the next hour, with a throbbing shoulder. But as with all troubles here in Hawaii... you're still in Hawaii. It was opportunity to see the milky way, listen to the waves *thuck* in the lava tubes, and watch glowing lures launch from shore into the water over and over. Also, we had a cube of wine.

I jumped off a 15 foot bluff into the water. Nothing to blog about but its a start.

Below is my hitching spot to get out of the bay. Those kayak folks across the way recognize me now, and give a cheer when I finally catch a ride. They coached me my first time out of the bay.
Sunday was all hitching. I went maybe 100 miles in 5 hours. My ride ranged from 3 Brazilians in a surf van to being haranged by the mission kids here for god in the back of a pickup. Seriously, I was one of 7 people in the back of that truck and the only nonbeliever. What a trip. Oh! And Travis and I made tuna salad by getting packets of tuna and going to a gas station and taking packets of mayo, mustard, and relish. Now that is survival.

Travis is on the right, in the hostel we met at. He's a special ed teacher. I've spent maybe... 5 days with him and I've yet to make any retard jokes. Weird.
Here's a travel mate from the hostel the first weekend I went:
This girl drove us in her convertible rental to the beach that weekend. Is this a I've-known-you-less than-24-hours kind of photo to take? At least I didn't lie and tell you she's my girlfriend.
Here's me in my room with my little Hawaiiana setup. The mirror has my lei behind it. Some practitioners of Hawaiian massage came and stayed on the land and we got a lei making class. I also got worked on for free, and amidst other wisdom (as read in hebrew from the tao teh ching, for instance) was told just which of a girl's orgasm is the celestial one. In all seriousness, it was a rich experience. I'll see them again when I go to Oahu.
This is an 'io, the endemic Hawaiian hawk. He let us sit under him for longer than we could rationalize wasting work time, surprisingly.

A hui hou
(PS: COME VISIT)