Sunday: The Magic Road.
The road between Puako and Kona here on the Big Island of Hawaii is like none other. Old lava flows extend from the mountain to the sea, clouds hover over dormant volcanoes and blue skies extend over to Maui, a cousin in the distance. Palm tree lined white sand beaches dot the shoreline, wild goats chew on roadside grass as they watch cyclists training for the Ironman triathlon championship. The colors are intense and clashy, brown lava rock that looks like brownie crumbles, black lava rock smooth and shiny, golden tufts of grass sprouting in the cracks. Green fields turn to deep green forests turn to gray rocky slopes. The ocean is blue raspberry at the shore lined with palm trees, turning blue green turning navy and as your eyes look to the horizon you know for certain this ocean is big. Much bigger than you.
We take this road to collect our guests: Heather and I pick up Samantha and Brendan, guide Ryan picks up guests Amanda, Miriam, Myssie, and Tara. We are meeting only Brendan for the first time, freshly married to Samantha, the rest being alums of past trips. We put leis around their necks and as we embrace them the flowers get squeezed a little and everything smells wonderful.
Our home, or hale, for the week, is the Treadwell house. The architectural style is Polynesian and Scandinavian mashed together, with simple lines and a big communal space. Guests flop on the daybed, or punee in Hawaiian.
To begin our trip, I provided an acknowledgement that native people once occupied the land that we now enjoy. I’d heard this kind of opening at a conference I recently attended in Maine, and it just kind of feels right. We also talked about what to expect from our week and how to stay safe and healthy.
Wasting no time, we jumped in the ocean for a swim. Afternoons here can be windy, and the sea was bumpy with waves that occasionally broke into whitecaps. Not the conditions we hope for on a first swim, but some things you can’t help. This group is solid, and they swim pretty close to one another. Guide Kekau somehow paddled the SUP in the waves, a true waterman. Brendan will tell you he is not a swimmer, but he gutted out a swim to the other end of the bay and back.
What’s better than an outdoor shower? The guests rinsed off while I prepare Mai Tais, and chef/catering team Dan and Clare arrived to start dinner. Sashimi and edamame appeared. A trip back to the beach for sunset. Dinner was a deepwater fish that I’ve forgotten the name of, cooked in a paper sack with vegetables. Heavenly. It’s Brendan’s birthday and he likes chocolate and beer, so Clare baked him a chocolate Guinness cake.
The birds and frogs quiet down as we slip into our beds. This place lets you sleep very deep if you let it.
Hopper
