Monday, April 28, 2014

E ho omau ka holomoana

After a downpour last night of seemingly biblical proportions, it is bright and sunny today, very little wind and it feels very humid out there. It must be better some of the year, Beth from Dog the bounty hunter is a big woman and you don’t see her eyeliner running and her face red from the heat.   For an island only 30 by 60 miles there is a surprising number of tours you can take and this was another nature tour with a hike to a waterfall thrown in .Oh and something very dear to my heart…. Chocolate

 Chocolate grows on trees , 


   when the pods are yellow and ripe, the fruit inside is taken out, the fruit itself is delicious, sharp and tangy and mmmm 



 The pips are dried in the air and fermented with leaves on top, then roasted 

  Then the Hawaiians send it to the US for processing, whats going on there, if you had the climate to grown your own chocolate, wouldn’t you keep the produce to yourself??


 Whats this one?

Canon ball tree 



This?

Black pepper, tasting the buds they were spicy and well, peppery 

The hike through the rainforest was like a visit to Jurassic park , actually we drove past the valley the dinosaurs run through near the start of the film.
 Only 3 mosquito bites to report 




 At one of the beach stops I met a chicken , yes I know its Hawaii and I am talking to chickens but what did you expect. 
 A few final shots from the rest of the tour to complete the trip  All in all, it has been an interesting few days, I am glad I chose a nature tours company as the other tour was a bit too commercial and I learned and saw much more than I thought I would.








 Photo of Waikiki beach  

only kidding I didn’t go there, sometimes the peace and beauty is best not spoiled by visiting the tourist hotspots.Speaking of peace, Last night there was a party of men up the street chanting Toga Toga Toga and in the wee small hours I actually heard someone call oggi oggi oggi. The music from a club continued on for hours with the same bass beat, in my younger days I would have found it more hypnotic I dare say.

Sitting on the balcony reminds me of holidays in days gone by when the two of us would sit out, perhaps tingling a bit from too much sun or too much alcohol, feeling sunny and happy and relaxed, I do feel relaxed but the reminder of past holidays is almost painful.

Off to the airport at midday  for the flight back to Los Angeles and more airline hospitality.

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