Hilo Tour in the AM

After two days on Maui, we sailed to the Big Island with our first stop at Hilo. Even though we had previously spent a week on the BI (Island of Hawaii) and saw the Volcanoes National Park, we decided to take a tour of the Puna district of the island. This turned out to be one of our favorite days because we spent it with a guide who was born and raised right there. Eli was eight when his hometown was engulfed by the lava flow and says his biggest trauma was not watching his own home burn, but seeing his dog house go up in flames (the sparks from the lava burn everything before the lava flow reaches it). The Kilauea volcano started its eruptions in 1983, Eli’s town of Kaimu was destroyed in 1990 and it is still active today, 27 years later. Eli drove across the cooled lava flow (the original Kaimu Bay, two entire towns and State Route 130 are underneath 50 feet of lava here) and we walked to New Kaimu Bay to the spectacularly beautiful black sand beach. The locals are replanting the lava beach with palm trees by just dropping sprouting coconuts on the lava. One of the only buildings saved was the Star of the Sea Painted Church which was built in 1927 and local volunteers moved the church to safety just ahead of the advancing lava flow in 1990. Evidently homeowners insurance is based on which Lava Flow Hazard Zone your home is in and how your rainwater catchment system works (that’s how they get their water). Can you imagine filing for insurance there??? Probably the strangest thing was to see new houses popping up on the lava expanse; all these dwellings are illegal but no one stops them from using the new “free” land. I would be very afraid; the volcano is still active, after all. Next we went to Mackenzie State Park (really) which was the site of amazing blue water with awesome waves where the cliffs meet the sea. We were the only tourists at this lovely site. This afternoon will be lunch at Puna Girl Farm. MA