After a very busy week in O'ahu, we realized we needed to slow down or we would burn out. We left the busy city of Honolulu for the small town of Kona on the Big Island feeling ready for a slower pace. It's less than an hour flight from Honolulu to Kona and we arrived with plenty of time to explore. We enjoyed a bite to eat and some Kona coffee at a restaurant overlooking the water. Than we were off to do a free coffee farm tour and drive around a bit before checking into the first AirBNB of our trip. After dinner we explored little Kona and grabbed a drink to watch the sunset.
Day 2 was our water day. We snorkeled in Honaunau Bay where we saw plenty of fish and swam around with a school of dolphins. We jumped on land to check out Pu'uhonua Honaunau National Park. This historic site was a "Place of Refuge" for Hawaiians who broke laws and needed to ask a priest for forgiveness. You can see old structures and wooden figures that guard the sacred place. After the Park we headed to another bay where we hung out with a sea turtle. But the highlight of the day was nighttime snorkeling with the Manta Rays!!! They come right up to where you are trying to catch the plankton under our flashlights. Check out our video at https://youtu.be/YOgRT25TRe8
Day 3 took us away from Kona to Volcanoes National Park. On the way we stopped at South Point, the southern most point in the US and a black sand beach. We finally reached the National Park. We ate lunch while watching the smoke escape from the crater. Then we hiked into a crater and drove the chain of crater roads. It's such a strange landscape that includes jungle greens and black lava rocks. We ended the long day with an 8 mile nighttime bike ride to see the lava flow into the ocean. The red lava glowed against the dark starry night. The moon was full over the ocean creating an amazing view of its own. As the lava hits the cold water it creates giant puffs of smoke. What a cool site to see and something we will probably never see again. It was a good end to the day!
Our final day in the Big Island and the US is starting out as a lazy one. We don't want to get travel fatigue as we have a long way to go. Tomorrow we are off to Japan! We've loved relaxing on the beach and exploring the natural beauty of these two Hawaiian Islands but we're itching for the big city of Tokyo. Stay tuned for more. Until then, enjoy these videos.
Swimming with the dolphins - https://youtu.be/8mLel_r3dXM
Our friend the sea turtle - https://youtu.be/OLbD2bBBFUE
