The Beautiful Rocks

Lately, with the change in weather, I've been thinking a great deal about Hawai'i. Our visit to the Big Island in April was much too short, and not just because of the warmer, sunnier weather, but because it's such a fascinating place. In Seattle we say "wait a few minutes and the weather will change". On the Big Island, wait a few minutes and you will find yourself in a completely different ecosystem.

We decided to begin our vacation on the rainy, and more volcanically active side of the island first, and drove south and then east from the Kona airport to Pahoa. Guidebooks describe Pahoa as a small hippie enclave with little tourism and nightlife, but tons of personality and natural beauty. This was exactly the sort of place we wanted to start our Hawai'ian vacation.

In one of the guidebooks I came across a rental guest house on the property of a home which has been featured in interior design magazines. Pohakunani, or "The Beautiful Rocks" is perched on top of a lava field and is about a 2 block walk from the ocean.

The Main House - "Pohakunani"

I'd never seen an outdoor living room perched on a moonscape before this.

I'm not particularly fond of the boxiness of modern architecture, and didn't find our little guest house terribly pretty from the outside.

The Guest House

But the surrounding foliage was definitely impressive.

And the inside was roomy, clean and comfortable.

I was quite fond of the purple walls.

At night the chirping of the Coqui frogs outside lulled us to sleep. Many people find their sound irritating, but I thought it was kinda cute. 

In case you're dying to know what a Coqui frog looks like:

Sadly I never saw these little guys. This pic was taken from www.frogworld.net.

Rich volcanic soil and plenty of rainfall bring lushness to what would be an otherwise barren landscape.

Me and the effusive local foliage

The only other time I had seen a black sand beach was years ago in Costa Rica, so I was pretty excited to experience one again. This one was about a 2 block walk, and a short scramble down, from Pohakunani.

The tiny beach boasted the most bizarre tree I have ever seen. I have no idea how it stays upright, especially since it is consistently pounded by the surf. It is terrifically symbolic of the island's resilient residents who regularly endure earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis.

Aloha.