WHERE AM I GONNA GO?

PELE WANTS HER LAND BACK

Pele, the Fire Goddess of Hawaii

I have heard that real estate is a great investment, because they ain’t making any more land. Well, in Hawaii they have been making more every day for over these past 30 years. The Kilauea volcano on the southeastern slope of the Big Island has been having one of the longest eruptions ever known in recorded history. Since 1983 Pu’u O’o, a cinder/splatter cone along the eastern rift zone of Kilauea has been spewing lava and consequently the Big Island is approximately 100 square kilometers bigger and the coastline has been altered permanently.

But, it’s not like you can build on the new property anytime soon and people may still lay claim to properties covered by the lava. The flow destroyed the towns of Kapa’ahu, Kalapani and Kaimu and the coastal highway by suffocating all beneath 50 feet of Pahoehoe lava. Some native Hawaiians say no one can ever actually “claim” the land anyway. They feel it is owned by the goddess of volcanoes, Pele, and every once in a while she is compelled to clean house. The belief states that we should be grateful that Pele allows one to live on the land at all.

Whether there are Hawaiian gods involved or a geological hotspot, Kilauea has been the most active volcano in the world and its activity impacts a heck of a lot of people.

 

LAVA GETTING CLOSE

GO WITH THE FLOW

Lava from a vent off the Pu’u O’o cone has been slowly approaching the town of Pahoa in the Puna district of the Big Island since June 2014. Dubbed the June 27th Lava Flow by the County of Hawaii, which offers daily updates of the lava’s progress, recently stated the lava has stalled, but is within a mile of Route 130, the main highway that connects the 10,000 residents of this district to the rest of the island. Some businesses at the Pahoa Marketplace that had evacuated in December are recently reopening, but the threat of lava including unhealthy air conditions of Vog, or volcanic smog, are closely monitored. WHERE IS THE LAVA?

The attached map is an example of the daily monitoring of the lava flow by the county and shows how far the lava has advanced and its proximity to the area's communities. The dotted lines also show ways of escaping the area if lava blocks off route 130. 

PUNA DISTRICT LAVA FLOW

This is serious business, but despite a pissed off Pele, this area of the Big Island proved to be a great place to visit. There is less tourism here in the Puna district, south of Hilo, as people usually gravitate to the Kailua-Kona side for the resorts there. Team VFH chose the Puna district as our third and final stop in the Hawaiian islands last summer, but we were never threatened by this most recent lava eruption.

We rented a house in Hawaiian Paradise Park, a little community just a short ride up Route 130 from Pahoa. The house belonged to a couple of older hippies on an acre of property, complete with chickens. We paid just $75 a night for the house and found it through Air BNB. AIR BNB

KAMA'AINA, KALEO'S AND KOMBUCHA  

Of the three islands we had visited, The Big Island and specifically this Puna district, was the most appealing to me. It was very laid back and not many tourists will travel this far, instead they would usually head up to the Volcano National Park along Route 11. At the park there are access points where one can ogle the Kilauea Caldera and trails like the Devastation Trail and the Iki Crater Trail, where one descends into a still warm crater, to further explore this majestic display.

Halema‘uma‘u at Volcano NP

Our first night on the Big Island was not so adventurous. We went out to dinner at Kaleo's, a very nice restaurant on Pahoa's main street. We like to sit at the bar for meals and we must have just fit in. The bartender asked us where we lived in the area and he was surprised we were vacationing from the mainland. I like being mistaken for a Kama'aina, a local. That was a huge compliment for us. Oh, the food was great too. I had sesame crusted Ono.

KALEO'S PAHOA TOWN

Now, to describe Pahoa as a little hippie town is dead on, complete with a Kava bar populated by barefooted kids. We had poked our heads in and decided that the LaHiki Kava Bar was not serving our beverage of choice. As we walked out though the owner, a young guy, asked us to stay and tried to ply us with a free sample of something that wasn't beer or rum. We politely refused.

Luquin's is a seedy Mexican restaurant offering surprisingly good food was another stop for us in Pahoa on another night. 

WHERE AM I GONNA GO when the volcano blows?

Our adventures on the Big Island will be further documented in future blog entries. Hopefully the recent lava flow will finally stop for good and lift the spirits of the locals again, or at least until Pele is compelled to clean out her house once more. 

Mahalo for reading. love Janet and greg

Although this video may be about Montserrat it does involve a volcano, so enjoy! And, you know, in Hawaii that is good enough. Why sweat small details that really don't matter.