Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Pictures, yeah!
As you can see, we finally got a chance to add some photos! There are some of us sleeping at Seatac airport, where they blast announcements over the PA every 5 minutes, all night, reminding us that there is no smoking except in designated areas. (The last flight leaves at 11:45... who is this message for at 3 AM?) There are some of Mauna Kea Tea Garden and our cabin and tent, and some of beaches and other beautiful spots we've visited.
Hitchhiking has paid off again! On the way to Hapuna beach we were picked up by Chase and Mohamed, a couple who just moved to Honoka'a and were just as happy to meet us as we were to meet them. We all had a great day at the beach and ate some wonderfully mediocre Mexican food at Tako Taco in Waimea. Apparently they don't have tako tacos (tako is Japanese for octopus) but we highly recommend the place for good service, good atmosphere, and good beer. Honoka'a is a small town so it's nice to meet cool people our age. Plus, they have a car. Bonus! Right now we are digesting the veggie burgers we just grilled on their deck under the waxing moon. Life is hard here...
Hitchhiking has paid off again! On the way to Hapuna beach we were picked up by Chase and Mohamed, a couple who just moved to Honoka'a and were just as happy to meet us as we were to meet them. We all had a great day at the beach and ate some wonderfully mediocre Mexican food at Tako Taco in Waimea. Apparently they don't have tako tacos (tako is Japanese for octopus) but we highly recommend the place for good service, good atmosphere, and good beer. Honoka'a is a small town so it's nice to meet cool people our age. Plus, they have a car. Bonus! Right now we are digesting the veggie burgers we just grilled on their deck under the waxing moon. Life is hard here...
Monday, January 25, 2010
We are still alive!
Aloha! Sorry it has taken us so long to update our blog! We have been to the local library numerous times since we have been here, but have had some technical difficulties on the few computers there are for us to use. We would love to upload some of the many pictures we have, but we will have to do that later when we can find a working USB port.
We are both doing well! Our first two weeks WWOOFing at Mauna Kea Tea Garden couldn't have gone better. Taka and Kimberly Ino, our gracious hosts, are kind and knowledgeable people from whom we're learning a lot about tea, and about day to day life on the farm. We are fully integrated into all the work done in planting, replanting, and harvesting the green tea they grow here. We just finished picking our winter harvest on Friday afternoon. (For those of you who are stuck in the frozen North, the temperature here is about 75 degrees every day. Jealous?)
We have gone to a few great beaches and hiked to a waterfall in Waipio Valley. We have been doing a lot of hitch hiking, which is the most reliable way for us to get around, and it's also a good way to meet people and make friends. Whether riding in the back of an aptly-named pickup truck or between the cushy pillows and hanging beads of a tripped out minivan, we're only a half hour's ride from Hapuna beach, a nice stretch of sand adjoining a fancy resort. That's another plus in Hawaii - all the beaches are public and free, even those connected to the golf courses where the fatcats play.
We are on the windward side of the island, so it rains here often, but the last four days we've had sun sun sun! The west side of the island is like an alien landscape compared to ours... in Honoka'a everything is green and lush, but passing through Waimea on the way to the beach is like stepping through a portal to the old west. Almost in the space of half a mile the terrain changes from verdant tropical splendor to a rocky rust-colored desert. The vista coming over the hill is one dominated by cattle ranches and cacti. Some of it is also sacred Hawai'ian land, which the fire goddess Pele claims as her own. Here and there the remnants of ancient heiaus(temples made of stone) can be seen on the arid dusty plains. We haven't been many other places yet but this island contains every possible climate and topography except Arctic tundra. We'll let you know if we encounter snow at the summit of Mauna Kea.
Also, we'll try to keep you all up to date but our posts on the blog will probably be pretty sporadic. Just know we're happy and healthy and stay tuned!
We are both doing well! Our first two weeks WWOOFing at Mauna Kea Tea Garden couldn't have gone better. Taka and Kimberly Ino, our gracious hosts, are kind and knowledgeable people from whom we're learning a lot about tea, and about day to day life on the farm. We are fully integrated into all the work done in planting, replanting, and harvesting the green tea they grow here. We just finished picking our winter harvest on Friday afternoon. (For those of you who are stuck in the frozen North, the temperature here is about 75 degrees every day. Jealous?)
We have gone to a few great beaches and hiked to a waterfall in Waipio Valley. We have been doing a lot of hitch hiking, which is the most reliable way for us to get around, and it's also a good way to meet people and make friends. Whether riding in the back of an aptly-named pickup truck or between the cushy pillows and hanging beads of a tripped out minivan, we're only a half hour's ride from Hapuna beach, a nice stretch of sand adjoining a fancy resort. That's another plus in Hawaii - all the beaches are public and free, even those connected to the golf courses where the fatcats play.
We are on the windward side of the island, so it rains here often, but the last four days we've had sun sun sun! The west side of the island is like an alien landscape compared to ours... in Honoka'a everything is green and lush, but passing through Waimea on the way to the beach is like stepping through a portal to the old west. Almost in the space of half a mile the terrain changes from verdant tropical splendor to a rocky rust-colored desert. The vista coming over the hill is one dominated by cattle ranches and cacti. Some of it is also sacred Hawai'ian land, which the fire goddess Pele claims as her own. Here and there the remnants of ancient heiaus(temples made of stone) can be seen on the arid dusty plains. We haven't been many other places yet but this island contains every possible climate and topography except Arctic tundra. We'll let you know if we encounter snow at the summit of Mauna Kea.
Also, we'll try to keep you all up to date but our posts on the blog will probably be pretty sporadic. Just know we're happy and healthy and stay tuned!
Monday, January 11, 2010
Welcome!
Welcome to our blog! We are very excited about our farming adventure in Hawaii and are happy to share out experience with you! We will try to keep everyone up-to-date with what we are doing as often as possible. We would also love to hear from you! Enjoy!
Susannah & Greg
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