[ SUNDAY TRAVEL ]
Professor talks The cruise ship Vision disgorges 2,500 passengers and crew in a twinkling of two-plus hours. Passengers taking shore excursions are first off. Most of them take the catamaran snorkeling cruise to Kealakekua Bay, site of Capt. Cook's infamous January 1779 landing.
of Capt. Cook,
Hawaii history
Passengers from the
By Sweet William
cruise ship take excursions
and go snorkeling on Big Isle
Special to the Star-BulletinShoppers eagerly reconnoiter downtown Kailua-Kona, searching for sale signs. Time is short; our ship leaves port at 8 p.m.
To prolong my brief stay at sea I take the last launch in. Being greeted with flower leis is always an euphoric experience. The fragrance and beauty of Hawaii is right under your nose. Ah, plumeria, pikake, how easily the mind becomes infused with idyllic thoughts.
The professor asks my photographer, Babz, where she would like to go. Snorkeling and Kona coffee are her two requests. Since we brought our own snorkeling equipment The Prof. stops at Kahalu'u Beach Park, south of Kailua, a little past Magic Sands Beach where I spent the Blue Moon of '78 with a band of Hawaiian musicians.
Kahalu'u Beach Park is packed with locals. I spot some ship passengers, some are already in the water snorkeling. At the water's edge, a large Hawaiian green sea turtle lays motionless, basking in the sun, unconcerned with the throngs of swimmers charging in and out of the water.
Swimming among tropical fish, being exposed to their vibrant iridescent colors, is worth any trip to Hawaii. While snorkeling, another green sea turtle hurriedly swims by; a unicornfish (kala) follows; while a yellow trumpet fish (nunu) shoots underneath. It's like being trapped in a cartoon animator's mind.
Exhilarated, we dry off and soak up the sunshine. On the south side of the park we find a small artisan co-op. Babz purchases a variety of handmade products made from natural materials: opihi necklace, tapa hand bag, turtle-shaped wooden box and lauhala bracelets. Victorious, she laughs, "Shopping rules!"
Kona, Ironman capital of the triathlon world, is normally hot and arid. Lava rock intensifies the heat; and the leeward side has little rain. When our host takes Highway 11 up the side of the 13,677 foot Mauna Loa, the world's most massive mountain, the lushness of the tropics appears. At 1,000 feet, the temperature cools.
We stop in Kainaliu, an old plantation town with wooden sidewalks and ramshackle buildings 100 years old. At Bad Ass Coffee Company we have our first cappuccinos since leaving Venice Beach. We buy 2 pounds of Kona beans for $25 before continuing southward. Kona coffee, pride of local agriculturists, sells on the mainland for $25 a pound.
The Prof. has counseled at-risk school-age youth for six years. Driving along the narrow road, every five minutes or so a local sends a shaka greeting to the former anthropology professor. He summarizes a difficult situation, "Dysfunctional families and too few job opportunities plague today's youth. What are they to do? They're frustrated; and like young people everywhere, they make mistakes."
The verdant countryside belies an awful truth -- living in paradise is not as easy as it looks.
He points out the window at some old homesteads, "Some of this land has been occupied since before Cook. Down below, that's Kealakekua Bay. The north side is where they first sighted Cook. Hawaiians were astonished to see a re-incarnation of Lono, their fertility god, coming up the coast during the all important Makahiki Festival. The timing of Cook's arrival was auspicious; he and his crew enjoyed a lavish reception for weeks; top-of-the-line luau."
At a highway juncture The Prof. asks, "Do you want to see Pu'uhonua o Hona'unau, City of Refuge?"
We respond affirmatively and his car lurches downhill toward the bay. The Prof. continues his story, "After receiving many gifts and taking on substantial ship stores, Cook's expedition set sail for the island of Kauai, his first contact, made the year before, January of 1778."
The Prof. has our interest, "Followers of Lono, God of Agriculture, were ecstatic with Cook; followers of Ku, God of War, were perplexed. They had questions about Cook/Lono's divinity but were stymied, until Cook's two ships returned. They had encountered a ferocious storm in the Maui channel and the Resolution snapped a mast. It had to be repaired so they returned to Kealakekua Bay, a friendly port."
The Prof. brought his car to a stop at the edge of the bay, "Just as Ku followers suspected, Cook was a pretender. He was coming counter-clockwise around the island, the same direction Ku would come if he were to re-appear.
They reasoned Cook couldn't be both Gods at once; thus he must be an impostor."
A red sun dips low in the sky. The Prof. points across the bay, "When Cook attempted to take Chief Kalanioupuu by force and hold him for ransom (in return for Resolution's stolen cutter), the chief's warriors rose up and killed him."
"Hawaiians," The Prof. adds, "were fierce warriors. They had awesome weapons: lava stone axes, swordfish spikes, shark-teeth encrusted clubs."
The City of Refuge -- and its humanitarian concept of a sanctuary no matter what the reason for seeking refugee -- is an immense 20-acre complex located on the southern tip of Kealakekua Bay. A 300-foot-long wall of finely honed black volcanic blocks, standing 10 feet high, 15 feet thick, supposedly separated nobility from commoner. Unquestionably the biggest heiau I've seen in the Hawaiian Islands.
Before Honolulu became a port, Kealakekua Bay is where visitors paid their royal respects. Here is where King Kamehameha held court till he died. Here is where Capt. Cook died for unwittingly impersonating a god and for wittingly attacking, when he should have been retreating.
The sun has set. It's time to leave these sacred grounds. At the dock we give The Prof. a small wooden turtle box.
The talk at our dinner table begins with, "Where did you get the leis?" I felt so good to be back in paradise I ate three desserts. Babz was beaming, proudly displaying her purchases like they were wild game trophies.
Tomorrow, the Vision heads to Hilo where it docks at the wharf. Shore excursions include Kilauea Crater Visitor Center and Keck Observatory, atop 13,796 foot Mauna Kea's snow-capped volcano.
Our Hilo hosts, burnt out of their homes by the 1983 to '85 volcanic eruptions, have resettled in Pahoa, still happy they live on the volcano.
NEXT WEEK: Hilo: Life on the Volcano
Sweet William is a paradise writer and Eden experimenter. This series is excerpted from Sweet William's next book, "Roughing It -- Hawaii 1974-2001."