We set up camp in the dark and went to bed and in the morning woke up on the ocean at Wild Blue Waters. We were in a section of Puna; Hawaiian Estates that we had not stayed in before on the East shore of the Big Island.

I woke up first and walked down to the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean as the sun rose. To the North I could see Mauna Kea; the largest mountain on Earth!

The sunrise

My Hawaiian breakfast with fresh papaya and bananas

Colleen was the next up and she joined me by the sea!

Wild Blue Waters had four spacious campsites and a guest house. We spoke with the guy who managed the place. He grew up here in Puna and this was his family’s venture. It was really beautiful!

Kehena Beach

We packed up and left by 10am as Colleen and Ambiana wanted to go to Ecstatic Dance at Kalani while Jakobi and I went to Kehena to hang on the beach and get in the ocean.

This used to be such a magical place for me the 3 Winters i spent at Kalani but the last few times we’ve been here the magic is gone and all I see is a dirty beach full of ‘punatics’ and the occasional tourist. It does not feel familiar or like ‘home’ and all that time I spent there belongs to another time like in a dream.

I used to come to this beach in the 90s it seems to have changed a lot since then. The surf has reconfigured it and it’s a lot smaller and littered with downed trees. Path down is kind of treacherous and lots of Punatics and nudity. Fun if you like things edgy. Surf is often hazardous but if you catch it on the right day the beach and vibe can be magical with a drum circle soundtrack and dolphins swimming just off shore.

Jakobi and I hung out for a few hours and went in the ocean a couple of times and then we walked back up the cliff path and met Colleen and Ambiana and went into Pahoa.

There has been so much development not just in the 30 years since I first came to Pahoa but in the last 6 years as well. It all seems so crowded now.

At Island Naturals I found Vt Creamery cheese that i may have rolled!

After snacking at Island naturals we drove into Hilo and checked out Rainbow Falls and the Giant Banyan Tree the girls like to climb

Here is a Hawaiian mo/olelo (story) that tells of events and places along the Wailuku River and how these places got their names. Hina mother of Maii lived in a cabe behind Rainbow Falls along the Wailuku River. She and her women made kapa, a cloth created by beating the bark from the mulberry bush. A mo’o or giant lizard named Kuna lived along the Wailuku River and frequently tormented Hina by sending torrents of water, logs, and other debris over the falls. But Hina did not worry because she was well protected in her cave and by her son, Maui. One night there was a huge storm and rain filled the gorge. “Kuna decided that he would take advantage of this storm and placed a huge boulder to block the river just below Hina’s cave where she was asleep. As the water rose, the cave started to flood. Now awake, Hina became alarmed and called to her son: O Maui, fisher of islands, O Maui, slower of sun, Listen! It is Hina who calls. Come quickly, O Maui my son. Come in your swift canoe. Come with your mightly war club. Save us from Kuna Moo. Maui heard his mother’s call faintly as in a dream. He looked about the night sky and saw his mother’s small,» bright cloud above Hawaii. From the slopes of Haleakalä on the island of Maui, he sprang into his canoe and paddled to Hilo. He saw no water flowing in the Wailuku River and knew that it had been dammed. With his mighty club, Maui rushed up the river and struck the riverbank to make a water-way around the rock. Again, the water was able to flow toward the ocean. Kuna fled to a hiding place in the gorge above Rainbow Falls with Maui in pursuit. When Maui found the moo, he struck the rocks until the earth trembled and the moo rushed out looking for another place to hide. After a long chase, Kuna dove into the pools just below the Boiling Pots overlook in hopes of escaping Maui’s rage. Frustrated that he could not get a good shot at the moo in these potholes, Maui called upon Pele, the Hawaiian goddess of volcanoes, to provide him with some hot stones to throw into the river. She quickly provided them and Maui was able to make the river boiling hot. Kuna was forced to leave the water and fled downstream. Kuna and Maui fought above Rainbow Falls. After being struck by Maui’s club, the moo fell over the falls. The giant mo’o still lies where he fell, a great rock in the Wailuku River. Today, Kuna is beaten by stones and logs and flooded by water just as he tried to beat and drown Hina. \ As for the deep pool above the falls, the waters of Boiling Pots still bubble and boil as if remembering the mighty battle of Maui and Kuna.

The Banyan Tree in Hilo