Too Wet

Tuesday December 20
Hilo Hawaii

Last night on the east coast (read:dry side) it rained cats, dogs, and horses! Most of the night! High winds added the mix. Whew! What a night!

Today we drove the infamous Saddle Road over the saddle between the 2 volcanoes at nearly 7000 ft. Beautiful farm land for most of it. Also up on the clouds! Then, back in Hilo and guess what? It's raining. It rains 2 out of 3 days here. Locals say even this amount of rain they've been having is excessive. Not staying here long. Need the sun. That's why I'm here!

Tonight I'm staying in a garden hostel here on Hilo. Beautifully lush tropical gardens with paths and nestled campsites snuggled between the foliage. Really delightful place:). (except for all the rain today).

So I'll get some supplies and drive to the dry(er) side tomorrow. Looking forward to being on my own a bit but will miss my "back seat driver" :). It's gonna get lonely fast, I'm sure. Deal with it, Bag Lady!

Here's a little touch of Hawaiian Christmas. Notice the Hawaiian print tablecloth and mermaid picture in background:)



Aloha!

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Pics

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Eco-people

Sunday December 18th

The people on this Puna Coast are my kind of people. Eco-people. Heike's word. I like it. They are eating organic. They use rainwater to wash everything. They have composting toilets. They wear recycled clothes - probably tie-dyed. The kids run around naked. Ah yes!

Thermal pools
Waves crashing the cliffs
Lush jungle foliage
Rain, rain, rain. (that's the part that would be hard). You have to always carry am umbrella even if the sun is out because showers can come at any time, and they do...often. But just wait cause they pass. But nothing ever dries out. The only place we found to dry our towels was in the car with the windows rolled up!

So I made a decision today to stay another 3 weeks. It's a bit scary because i'll be alone but I'll be able to do some of the things I couldn't do with Heike. Next big question is how long to keep the car. Hitching and bus are options for getting around. Would have to store my extra gear without the car. Might even go visit another island. Bit scared about all this but also excited. Where will I be on Christmas and New Year's Eve? Only time will tell!




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