Waiakea Villas Hilo

... fertig machen kann!<br><br>Wir fahren ungefaehr 30 min die Kueste entlang, vorbei an dunkelgruenen regenwaldbewachsenen Klippen, rauhen Felsen und sehen wir die Brandung meterhoch die Gischt in die Hoehe schiesst. Aus der Ferne sehen wir dann irgendwann die Rauchsaeule, die in den Himmel steigt. Alleine das sieht gegen den daemmrigen Abendhimmel schon wunderschoen aus. Nach und nach kommen wir naeher und sehen dann zuerst noch ganz weit weg die Lava leuchten. Alleine auf diese ...

Hilo has been a disaster. Why did we leave paradise behind? Crazy sick people on the flight coughing all over the place ( there are 30 cases of swine flu here ), crazy island hopper airlines named Go! with no numbers on their gates and total confusion at the airport, asking for chicken strips at the airport and getting thick gross fried chicken, getting to ride on a helicopter to see the volcanoes only to be turned around after ten miles into the flight (and not ...

... for a day and will drop off the field gear we won't need in Australia. We'll then go to Australia, followed by visiting the Malaysian side of Borneo to look for additional field sites and get a better feel for the island as a whole. In mid-May we will meet up with Boone and the CIFOR (Center for International Forestry Research) scientists for data collection on Borneo, Sulawesi and Sumatra...subject to change of course.

... we visited, just that we always covered quite a bit of the island. After the falls we watched some people surf and boogie board, then went swimming in a pool heated by a volcano. <br><br>We visited Mauna Loa which sells all the Macadamia nuts. Chocolate covered Macadamia nuts- yum. <br><br>For Thanksgiving dinner we ate at Ken's in Hilo. Ironically it's famous for its breakfast. It was a great meal ...

... the food is so much more valuable that the shell necklaces, the practice wasn't going to end regardless of the necklace trade, which was just finding a use for the leftovers. So, I bought one. The craftsman told us about an optical illusion with the falls that we could try out. You stare at the falls mid-way down and keep your eyes on one spot. It's tempting to keep following the water down, but you have to keep your eyes in one ...

... to the Thurston Lava Tube. This time we were prepared and had a flashlight. At the end of the lighted part of the tube is a dark part that requires flashlights. Sven took the lead and bravely led us through the long tunnel, which was essentially a long narrow cave. At the end you can turn off the light and experience total darkness. Sven was slightly scared by the darkness part, so we only kept the light off for about a minute. But it was a fun little adventure.

... our winding descent towards sea level, the eerie landscape was ted by two features - the blue sky and the black igneous rock. We were in an exhilarated state as we had always wanted to take a drive on the moon. As we approached the coast, the lunar landscape was replaced by glimpses of stunning black cliffs that plunged into the sea from the top of the lava benches. Created by the relentless push of former lava eruptions into the sea, these lava benches are notoriously ...

... down the mountain to the town of Hilo and an interview with Danish astronomer Bo Reipurth of the Institute for Astronomy. We pulled into the I'miloa Science Center around 11:00 and walked into the beautiful lobby, complete with mosaic flooring, and were greeted by Shawn Laatsch and his associate, Sharon. We were invited to see the MaunaKea: Between Earth and Sky planetarium show. We enjoyed the full ...

... on a broken-glass-like rock, and you'll have to. May 22 We were really tired so we decided to take it easy, had breakfast at our room (hummm papaya), and went to the south of Pahoa by Road 130. On the roadside we saw a market and decided to check it out, and suddenly we were teletransported to the 60's. Apparently there is a big hippy community in the area, and there they were selling their crafts, pigs, food, etc. I was wearing my "I love NY" t-shirt and they looked at me as ...

... and other newcomers, I got my photo taken with Groucho Marx (or rather his deputy!) who was delighted to be able to swap one-liners. Having admired the stars on the walk of fame, we then went on to the La Brea tar pits, set curiously in the middle of the expensive Wilshire area, and smelling strongly of asphalt..<br><br>Then it was on the plane for a bumpy ride to Honolulu. The Hawaiian islands have many similarities to the Canaries; Waikiki is like Playa de las ...