I look like Albert Einstein. Fluffy grey wiry hair stands out in waves around my head. My 'do becomes more horizontally-oriented every day. It’s quite a change from the usual progression toward limp verticality. The humidity here doesn’t seem extreme. The weather is actually pretty close to perfect. But my hair is doing something I’ve never seen it do before. I’m traveling in disguise, and I hope my resemblance to the good doctor makes me look smarter, but to the casual observer, I probably just look deranged.
Steve and I arrived in Hilo Friday night accompanied by his sister Lee and her 31 year old son Tracy. We are staying at a cabin built by Lee’s boyfriend, also named Lee. Sadly for his many friends in Hawai'ian Acres and Santa Cruz, California, Lee’s home towns, he died suddenly in 2006. We are privileged to enjoy the presence of his spirit and the fruits of his labor of love here on the Big Island of Hawai’i.
Lee’s idea was to have a minimal impact on his three acres of rainforest on the lava field. The cistern collects rain water from the corrugated roof. The house is built with 12 inch wide redwood boards that were milled for Lee on the main land and sent here in a cargo container. Most everything else was salvaged. There’s no insulation, drywall or heat, and although it’s a little chilly at night, a heating system would be an unnecessary indulgence. A few bare light bulbs are attached to the ceiling.
The neighbors tell us it rained continuously for weeks prior to our arrival, but so far we have only heard quiet rain on the tin roof at night, with light breezes making music as they brush the palms.
A two burner cook top, apartment size refrigerator and a tiled counter top make the kitchen in one corner of the 20’ x 15’ main room. The kitchen sink is in the carport. The bathroom with its sink and toilet and the hot water shower on porch were proud additions after Lee had visited here for years.
Steve and I set up our tent on the wrap around porch and Lee and Tracy slept inside. Morning revealed the magnificent view across the forest to the ocean, 1,000 feet lower and about ten miles to the northeast. I hadn’t noticed the clerestory windows along the length of the roof ridge the night before, but they really brighten up the room. Lee and Lee have planted many native trees and bushes near the house. Most came from cuttings donated by the neighbors. Pineapple tops and avocado pits also get planted. The red and green ti bushes next to the porch are stunning. We have been enjoying the best oranges I’ve ever eaten from a tree they planted in the yard.
Mosquitoes are a new invader here, but fortunately for Lee and me, Steve and Tracy are mosquito magnets, so the girls haven’t suffered. Bright green chameleons called anoles hide under the towels we hang to dry on the porch, and can launch themselves off the porch or leap a foot or more between trees, sailing with their legs extended to their sides. Tracy said he used to sell these guys in a pet store where he worked.
Lee usually works on the garden or makes home repairs when she’s here, but it’s just a vacation this time, although cistern is leaking and water pump runs too much.
Saturday afternoon, we crowded into the funky little Puka Puka Kitchen in Hilo. This Japanese restaurant inexplicably features falafel as its lone non-fish dish. I had a delicious sautéed ahi ahi. Two-story, nineteenth-century shops are currently in a down cycle of many urban revitalization iterations. Palm trees are in the grassy park across Kamehameha Avenue. Beyond the park, the ocean reaches to the horizon and plus 1,900 miles more.
At the farmer’s market in Hilo I bought appliquéd pillow cases from the Philippines for $20 each and two sarongs for $5 each. Five strawberry papayas were $2.
Birds for my life list are spotted dove (Chinese dove or mountain dove) introduced from Asia in mid-nineteenth century; zebra dove (barred dove) from Asia in 1922, and saffron finch from South America in 1960s. The saffron finch is especially beautiful. Olive green back, yellow chest and orange face. Even with the birds I’ve seen before, I’m interested in knowing each species' genealogy. The common myna came from India in 1865 to control pests, and the house sparrow arrived from New Zealand in 1871. They are ubiquitous.
At Richardson Park, I got my first look at ocean-side lava. The black sand beach is speckled with white coral grains.
Just as in Tucson, black vesicular basalt boulders can be seen in walls all over Hilo. We also see lots of bougainvillea here, but unlike in Tucson, where people seem to be content with monochromatic flowers, Hawai'ians plant salmon, fuscia, purple, fire engine red, orange, rust and dusty rose colored plants all together. They don't exactly look like colors that Ma Nature would put together, but it's certainly festive.
