Tuesday: Winner, Winner, Rooster Dinner.
No, I did not catch the rooster and feed him to the guests, but I’d like to. He started crowing before 3am today. Instead, we all tried to ignore him and go back to sleep. The upside is that we all get to see the beautiful sky at sunrise and we are all on time for our morning swims.
I’ve been sleeping under an empty bird’s nest coming through the window screen the past few nights. This morning I woke up with a swollen eyelid which I assumed was a mosquito but Ryan didn’t like the set up. So he made quick work of dispatching it for me. Our guides and crews just do what needs doing and take care of one another. Thanks, McGooks!
Ala Kahakai is a 175-mile National Historic Monument encompassing a network of seaside trails on the Big Island of Hawaii, and it’s right outside our gate here at the Treadwell Hale. Hapuna Beach State Park is about a mile away from us, and can be accessed by the trail, so it’s natural that we’d have a hike/swim here. Seven of us made the trip overland through grassy thickets and under Kiawe trees. It's a bit of a wild place where you can test your 4-wheel drive truck, go camping with friends, or ditch a stolen bicycle. We don’t have many of these places left in New England, so I’m enamored.
Thanks to Hopper and Kyle who did excellent photographic duty while on this trek to Hapuna! I do not hike!! - HP
Once at Hapuna, we were greeted by the rest of our crew and we splashed right in. Ryan brought us to a cave where we hunted for seashells, then we swam the length of the beach, about ½ mile, to a cove on the opposite side. On the way back we stopped at the Turtle Rocks to watch their namesake eat an algae snack. The hike back was easy, with a cool breeze and rare unfettered views of Mauna Kea and the observatory way on top.
SwimVacation loves making friends in the water! We met Taylor on our swim! Aloha!
We have a pro yoga instructor here named Amanda, who has been working with us for many years. She has developed a program specifically tailored for swimmers, and we were very much in need of it today. Amanda is one of these people you occasionally meet who has really sunk her roots into the Hawaiian culture and vibe, much like Clare has. I’ve learned a lot from her in the moments we share before and after her class.
A big lunch salad with options for shrimp, chicken (grrrrr) and tofu with a peanutbutter dressing disappeared quickly, and many of us took a well earned nap.
The bay calmed down enough for us to have a short swim and rock running session, and some of us blasted across the bay for some extra swim time, followed by a walk back under the skeletal tree limbs and around the lava outcroppings.
I invented a drink here a long time ago called the Green Flash, referring to the phenomenon that sometimes happens during sunset where you briefly see the top of the sun turn a brilliant green as it slips beneath the horizon. The recipe:
2 oz good quality white rum
Juice of ½ lime
3 oz honeydew melon juice
2 oz or so of soda water
Serve over ice, garnish with lime or melon.
After we finished a round of these, we all headed to the beach and actually saw the green flash. Just before that, Debbie told us about her sister who has recently passed away. She has her ashes in a box, and will scatter them tomorrow where we’re out to sea. I’m humbled that she chose this trip to honor her.
We talked story over dinner, macadamia nut encrusted deepwater snapper with a mango beurre-blanc sauce. Chocolate Guinness cake for dessert. Time for bed as we have a big boat day tomorrow! I’m sure the rooster won’t let us oversleep.
Hopper
A little wrap up video from a jam packed Tuesday! Thank you to Kekau who has been contributing a lot of video footage!