Tour da big island…..

Yesterday we were picked up across the road at Magic Sands about 8 am to begin an 11 hour tour driving and visiting interesting spots along the way.  The bus held 12 people and driver, a Mercedes van.  Our first stop was a coffee farm.  The coffee beans were forming and quite green.  When they turn red and are ready for picking they call them cherries.  Pickers must be careful to not remove new emerging tiny beans but must be quick.  

After a quick sample coffee and exit through the proverbial gift shop….we headed south and a stop at a bakery called Punalu'u Bake Shop that served food and Malasada, those Portuguese donuts.  Having been there a few times previously it was with trepidation we entered.  Well, let's be fair, perhaps trepidation should be anticipation by the majority, being diabetic myself, the sugary malasadas, lilikoi infused, vanilla, chocolate, etc.etc. are not good for blood sugar.  My blood sugar must have been raised to the roof, but being on vacation I threw caution to the wind.  They were so good…🤙. In fact the only photo I took was the one of the sign!  😏

Black Sand Beach Park was next along our route and also our picnic lunch spot!  Barb and I walked down the beach to where a crowd was gathered around a fenced off area. There were several smaller green turtles resting along the shore.  Sleeping by the look of it.  Very cool to see and also nice they are protected there.  Our bus driver had set up our lunch on a table ready for us.  It was fairly warm, not sure how he did that.  There was a bbq pork over sticky rice, breaded chicken strips and a purple potato.  Bags of chips, soft drinks, oh oh, there goes the blood sugar again!  The Driver, Derrick is a man of many hats, he does the odd tour, has his own business and also teaches at various places, mainly musical instruments.  He had brought his Ukelele, the U is pronounced oo not you and he serenaded us as we ate!  

Lunch over, pictures taken, everything cleared up and we were on the road again.  It was at that point the rain gods decided to roll down the slopes of Mauna Loa and a little shower accompanied us as we made our way to Volcano National Park.  First up we all exited the bus to go in to look at the view, mostly steam and rain clouds.  

The gift shops called us, but we didn't buy anything, quite a difference in prices from Kona.  We were only given 15 minutes here as Barb and I and a few others were going to walk through the Thurston lava tube.  Still raining a bit and the temperature had dropped, glad we had sweaters to wear.  15 min went by very quickly and some of the older folks decided not to do the walk so off we went!  The tube is lit inside but it's still wet.  Barb stepped in a puddle, warned me so I side stepped it with camera flash light on and smacked my head on the upper part of the tube!  We made our way through and back aboard the bus with a quick stop to pick up the rest of our group from Volcano house!  Some views from inside the tube….walking up to the tube the fern fronds were just unfurling.  Massively huge!

Moving right along, our next stop was as you enter Hilo outskirts, Rainbow Falls, up past the University of Hawaii.  This stop was only 15 minutes, not much else to see there.  With recent rainfalls the falls were awesome!

A short drive further, another stop to view Akaka Falls.  This required a hike down through the terrain.  Thankfully Barb did the trek while I maintained contact with the bus!  Here is a photo she took of Akaka Falls.

The lush plant and tree growth on Hilo is outstanding as they are leeward side and get much more rain.  The trees with plants growing. Up their trunks is phenomenal.

No gift shops at these spots! 😉. Away we went, quick drive through parts of Hilo then back on the road.  Our next and last view stop was above Waipi'o Valley.   This place was so special to ancient Hawaiians.  Because of it's inspiring location, it was often chosen as a gathering place of the chiefs when important business was to be discussed such as choosing a new chief.  It is a lush valley with black sand beaches.  At this time it is closed due to falling rocks.  The sides of this valley are very steep on all sides.

From here, a bit of a drive over to Kona side, passing Waikaloa and a few other resorts. We were dropped off right where we were picked up and walked back up to our condo to put our feet up and relax before bed.  Such an interesting trip and the driver was quite knowledgeable about Hawaii lore and ran off the Hawaiian words as if he spoke them all his life!