Day 2: Waipi'o Valley

Trip Start Oct 28, 2007

Trip End Nov 08, 2007

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Flag of United States Pahoa, Hawaii, United States
Monday, October 29, 2007

I left Waimea early this morning so I could try and sign-up for the horseback riding tour of Waipi'o Valley. I didn't make a reservation in advance, but I thought if they didn't have the required minimum of 2 people or already filled the maximum of 12 people for the ride, then I'd just hike or take the shuttle into the valley and walk from there. Well I lucked out as a couple was signed up for the 5 hour tour and so I was able to join them. I haven't been on a horse since I was a kid, so I was SO excited about today! I totally fell in love with my horse "Trigger" and if I ever come back I hope to be reunited with him. This was such a perfect group to spend the day with. Dwayne was our tourguide and Dale and Petra were the other two guests. Originally I thought, great, of course in my state of romantic jadedness I'd end up with a couple on my first day of vacation. But those feelings quickly disappeared as they were a mature, fun, interesting couple who didn't overdo it with schmoopy talk and actions. On a coincidental note, Dale and Petra are actually from the Toronto area and live not too far from my family who live in Mississaugua. Dwayne does these tours part-time and is actually a musician, so we enjoyed talking music. Another funny coincidence, that after talking for some time, we came to realize that his group was the SAME group that was playing at the restaurant where I ate last night!!! The place was so crowded while I was there that I didn't get to see all the musicians.

Anyway, about the tour: we learned some interesting history about the land as we rode to the valley. We stopped at a beautiful scenic point where the 1,200 ft.

Dwayne, our tourguide

waterfall was to our left (but unfortunately due to lack of rain didn't have the mist impressive flow), the ocean was to our right and we could look down into the valley. At another stop we ate fresh guava off the trees and fresh macadamia nuts (he even showed us how to husk and de-shell the nuts as they come from the tree). We came to another waterfall where we had lunch, and had it been warmer and sunnier, we would have gone swimming in the little pond at the base of the falls.

After returning from our little excursion, Dale, Petra and I stopped for a snack and exchanged contact info, originally to share photos from the ride. Then we started talking about our plans for the coming days, and we may actually try to meet up for some hikes around Volcano or a possible helicopter ride. Then we went our separate ways, they back to Kona and I down south a couple hours to Puna/Pahoa. I arrived at Yoga Oasis after dark, so I haven't been able to check out the grounds yet. It's a yoga bed & breakfast, and there are some separate cabins and then 4 rooms off the mainhouse (I'm in one of these rooms). We share common bathrooms, and as you leave your shoes at the door and also share the kitchen and living space, it sort of feels like a cross between being a guest in a friend's big house and living in a dorm again. There are no locks on the doors (in fact, mine isn't even closed, I just have the screen door closed) and all the sheets and towels are mismatched...which is fine, but if you know how type-A I can be, it was a little unsettling for about 5 seconds. But it's totally fine - I feel so relaxed right now just listening to all these new jungle sounds outside my door and I have a 2 hr.

Waipi'o Valley

yoga class in the morning to look forward to, followed by what I heard is a huge and delicious all-natural breakfast with all the other folks staying here!

And how appropriate, before I go to bed, I'm now going to read the 2nd Chapter of the book Yvette recommended that I read while I'm on vacation: Eat, Pray, Love.