A PARTY ON THE EDGE OF
THE WORLD  |
| entrance to Uncle Robert's |
For this poser who
calls himself a kamaʻāina, or child of the land, the “real” Hawaii is on the
east coast of the Big Island. Here in Kalapana, in the Puna district, nestled
below the capricious Kilauea the Aloha spirit twists and twirls, dances and
smiles. Pele might have cleaved the town in the late eighties and added Kaimu a
new black sand beach to her island, but in Kalapana where the road ends the
party begins.
Head south on Kalapana
Kapoho Road to reach Uncle Robert’s Awa (kava) Bar and Farmer’s Market. Open
every day except Friday, it is a typical market where vendors and artisans sell
food, produce and crafts. The bar sells Awa, smoothies and alcohol. Wednesday though
is the most popular day because at night local bands take the stage to play
reggae and Hawaiian music and people from the area and tourists come to dance
and celebrate another day of living.
Hippies are alive and
kicking (up their heels) at Uncle Robert’s and the eclectic crowd, in various
stages of disheveled dress, take seats at picnic tables gathered around the
dance floor to eat food or watch the dancers. There are young people and old
people all milling about the grounds and everyone is smiling broadly, even the
lady who was wearing a horse head mask as she cavorted on the dance floor in rhythm
to the music.
At one point the floor cleared so a man and woman could do a hula dance, but
the rest of the night the dance floor was packed. It’s fun and great for people
watching. At Uncle Robert's you never have to comb your hair, bathe, change your
clothes or even wear the same two shoes, but can dance the night away.
We had been to Uncle
Robert’s the last time we were on the Big Island in 2014, and it worked out
that we would be in the area for the Wednesday night revelry.
This time there was an
entry fee of $10.00 pp, although locals were probably not charged and there were
three bands instead of just one that we saw last time.
SMALL WORLD
The next night we went
to Kaelo’s restaurant in Orchidland for dinner and one of the bands from Uncle
Robert’s was there. At the bar we noticed several people from the previous
night, wearing the same clothes and enjoying a drink and the music.
This trip we went to both
Kaleo’s in the area. Kaleo’s in Orchidland is a block from Keaau-Pahoa Road.
The location in the sleepy town of Pahoa is on the main street. We got a
reservation for Orchidland and sat at the bar in Pahoa.
KALEO'S
In both places I made a
point of wearing a matching pair of shoes, although in either place shoes
were not necessary to be served.
Mahalo for reading.
Love Janet and greg
© 2025 by Gregory Dunaj
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