march 27th
day 6
we left thomas in kona for a night of peace and quiet (or so he thought) today, and headed for the other side of the island. hawaii is a relatively small place, but the diversity of climatic zones in astonishing- in fact, of 13 climatic zones that exist on the planet, only 2 can't be found here. kona is on the western side of the island, and as a result of the prevailing winds and nearly 14,000 ft volcanic peaks that separate the 2 sides of the island, it is by far the dryer side. hilo, on the eastern side, is a rainforest.
we set out early knowing that as we drove, there was lots to see. our first stop was south point- the southernmost trip of te island, and furthest southern part of the united states (more or less the same latitude as mexico city and cuba). we got out here only momentarily, as the winds were ferocious (apparently they always are) but the seas were beautiful.
heading further along the coast, we arrived at the black sand beaches. not only was the sand itself strikingly beautiful, we learned quickly that this is a common resting place for sea turtles- there were several of them scattered among the beach catching some zzzzzz's. it was astounding to see them sleeping comfortably within 10-15 feet of children playing loudly, buildlng sand castles, etc.
after spending a bit of time on the beach and introducing molly to the turtles, we continued on toward hawaii volcanoes national park. the kiluea volcano is an active right now as it has been in decades, and as much as we were enjoying time spent relaxing in the sun, we felt like we'd be disappointed if we didn't get over to see its' lava flowing into the ocean.
unfortunately, due to the erratic nature of the lava (see the second picture of a road that had been overtaken 2 days prior), we weren't able to get as close to the flowing lava as we'd have liked to, but it was an impressive sight none the less- literally watching earth form and transform before our eyes.
heading further along the coast, we arrived at the black sand beaches. not only was the sand itself strikingly beautiful, we learned quickly that this is a common resting place for sea turtles- there were several of them scattered among the beach catching some zzzzzz's. it was astounding to see them sleeping comfortably within 10-15 feet of children playing loudly, buildlng sand castles, etc.
after spending a bit of time on the beach and introducing molly to the turtles, we continued on toward hawaii volcanoes national park. the kiluea volcano is an active right now as it has been in decades, and as much as we were enjoying time spent relaxing in the sun, we felt like we'd be disappointed if we didn't get over to see its' lava flowing into the ocean.
unfortunately, due to the erratic nature of the lava (see the second picture of a road that had been overtaken 2 days prior), we weren't able to get as close to the flowing lava as we'd have liked to, but it was an impressive sight none the less- literally watching earth form and transform before our eyes.
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