Host Sites

Traveling within Hawaii as a WWOOF exchange worker has been a good experience.

My first host:

Jennifer

and Angelo, live in Mountain View, the windward side of the Island. They make their life growing Anthuriums using organic methods, and selling them to the mainland.  They have three daughters and a toddler age son. I enjoyed observing Jennifer’s interactions with her children. She gave them the freedom to get dirty and to have what ever feelings they had without judgment. She told me that she used “positive parenting” and allowed her children to learn primarily from natural consequences of their choices. The children’s interactions with each other and their parents were respectful and loving as far as I saw and heard.

My accommodations were simple. I felt cool, damp and lonely at times.

My current site, with Greg Petersen, is much more comfortable.

Greg, Luis and I live cooperatively. We frequently cook and eat together as well as clean and work on the property. We have had great synergy together and helped the beauty of the land be revealed.

I have had the opportunity to learn a lot about the way the organic gardening is done here, the other organic gardens in the area, co-ops, and other spiritual movements on this side of the island.

The above women were part of an Avocado celebration. It was a large gathering of organic growers and spiritual folks who are working together to create harmony on the island. There are barriers, individually, politically, and culturally, but this was a beautiful gathering that combine the strengths of all those present.  These women danced and chanted an opening prayer to welcome the goddess and invite blessings and protection upon our gathering. They then sang a praise to the Avocado, which they had created.

We shared various avocado based dishes, enjoyed fairy tales, and good company.

I have had great and magical experiences, met wonderful and kind people and have been invited back in various roles. Who knows what the future may bring. But what I have had thus far has been a gift.

Place of Refuge

JoAnn took me to a cultural site called the Place of Refuge. This was a sacred area where anyone who had committed a spiritual crime, a crime against the king or his spiritual laws, could come and seek refuge and pardon. The punishment for such a crime was death. A pardon was quite the break!!!

The bay in this area is protected. No one is allowed to swim, snorkel or enter the bay in this area. Below are the guardians of the bay.

And here are their tight nalgas with mine.

The tall thick walls were used to create a sacred space for  the King within the Place of Refuge.

This area was also used by citizens who were not able to or not willing to fight in battles during times of war. Conscientious objection was a choice as far back as the original Hawaiian cultures.

Tide Pools in Kona Kialua

Tide pools are such amazing micro ecosystems.  I found myself frequently asking “Is that animal, vegetable, or mineral?” and “Is that a parasitic, symbiotic or predator/prey relationship?” In the above picture, how would you answer these questions? As I sat and watched long enough, I saw that the purple ones actually walked. They are animal. They have a sticky, suction surface on their spines that catches objects moved across their surface by the waves. There were a few times that I found hermit crabs in their clutches. These crabs would have had to leave their shells or die there. As far as I can tell, the sea urchin is able to absorb it’s nutrients through it’s spines.

Above is how the purple sea urchins appear once they have been consumed and dried by the sun.

Above is a beautiful shell that is occupied by a clam type creature. Some of these could be seen moving about due to the predatory/prey relationship between them and the hermit crabs.

Turtles were my favorite creatures of the tide pools.

The above turtle was sunning itself all day and even enjoyed a beautiful sunset.

This particular turtle and I had a magical moment together. I tracked her using my “fox walk” in the tide pool to follow her for a while. Once she stopped I approached her from the back and to the side so that she could see me but not be to bothered by my presence. She allowed me to join her in her little pool. I closed my eyes to send out the intention of asking her permission to touch her. I saw rays of brilliant sea blue coming toward me and felt this was her response to my question. As I reached to touch her, I saw the same color being emitted from my finger tips. As soon as I touched her, she slowly swam away. The color emitting from my fingers was gone. It was a beautiful and magical moment. When I shared the story with some folks who were enjoying a nearby tide pool, they told me what they thought might have happened.

As it turns out, the particular tide area, JoAnn and Don’s “back yard”, is a sacred site.

The story is that the king used to go on a yearly trek around the island. This took 27 days since the island is 270 miles in circumference. He was carried by his royal and loyal helpers along what was considered a sacred path built just for the trek. If others walked on the same path, they were considered to have committed a major offense.   The tide pools happen to be near this track, as well as near the ruins of a temple of the royalty. 

The walls of such temples were built using the volcanic stone from the area and were often very tall, 10 feet and quite thick, 17 feet.

Just in front of the sacred temple site near Don and JoAnn’s is also a series of petroglyphs.

They depict a story about a Maui king who was killed by King Kamehameha. His head was posted on the stones and guarded by a white and black dog.  There are frequently sightings of the white dog. My fellow tide pool walkers thought that the spirit of the white dog takes on various different forms at different times and may have taken on the form of a turtle which led to my magical moment of blue light.

There are so many stories of the first Hawaiians. Many stories have been passed on by word of mouth alone due to the lack of a written language for many years.

I spent every morning I could at the tide pools learning what I could from the flora, the fauna and the stories.

The sunny side of the island

 

 

I took a free bus accross the island to come to the Kona side. It is sunny and warmer on this side of the island. The bus was a cultural event. There are actually traffic problems that have developed on the big island due to population explosion and mainland coming aboard. Some school aged children ride the public bus to get to school and back. Some workers have to spend as much as three hours on the bus in order to get to work. Community planning is definitely needed and slow in developing.

Pictured here is Don and JoAnn Shrik. They were very kind hosts to have me at their home for three days. This is the view from their living-room. Their “back yard” was the ocean and acres of tide pools. It was a beautiful stay. JoAnn is very knowledgeable about the island, her development, and the native stories. I was very fortunate to be able to stay with them.

This is my current work site. I am helping to clear beds in terraced volcanic stone “soil” to plant vegetable gardens. The site is rustic with an outdoor shower and clothing wash machine.

I believe my host gave me the best room in the house. It is barren but very cheery and my bed is very comfortable.

The view from the land is beautiful. I can watch the sunset over the ocean. One of the residents is a surfer and can judge the waves and weather it is a work day for him or a surf day.

My host, Gregg Peterson, is from State College PA, of all places. He has started a juice business made from local fruits. He markets them to Hawaii and California. His business is “Big Island Organics”. Gregg has been interested in pursuing and developing organics for over 15 years. He is another good guide to the area and in particular about the sustainability scene.

More on this side of the island later.

Blessings of the Island

Valentines day is a prime time for these beauties. I have been enjoying working with these plants. They are very amenable to being transplanted, are easy to grow, add oxygen to the atmosphere, attract birds and add love to the lives of those who receive them. If we could all make the same claims, we would not only have a more sustainable place to live, but a more beautiful one as well.

I joined a hiking group for a walk from Whittington Beach Park to Kawa Bay on Saturday. These are sites near the southern most point of the island on the windward side. There were 25 of us, all but myself and Stacy were locals. It was a total of about 5 miles through lava fields next to the ocean.

We first visited an elder who is the 27th descendant of King Kamehameha. He gave us a blessing of safe passage. His family and his ancestors have lived on the land for all those generations. Reportedly the state of Hawaii is challenging his family’s ownership of the land. It is so sad when cultures continue to collide like this.

I for one, was very happy to have his blessing and felt it was a gift to send us on our way peacefully.

 My first close encounter with the wide open ocean. There are over 3000 miles of Pacific Ocean before this point where I stand. The air is as fresh as it gets here. I felt very fortunate as I looked down at this very spot and found a purple sea shell.

With a mountain on one side, ocean on the other, and tide pools to cross, I was overwhelemed with what came next.

My fist sea turtle sighting. I happened to be passing through a tide pool as other hikers passing on the other side startled her to swim right up to my feet. The native creation story of the island holds turtles in high regard for being the bearer of the earth.

The water is the most beautiful color of blue. Stacy looks pretty cool resting here with an awesome view of the wide open sea.

Many thanks to all the gifts of the day.

Hawai’i Volcanoes

Hawai’i National Park is home to the Kilauea Caldera. This is a large crater created by volcanic eruption. The lava flow seen here is so recent, that flora have not yet taken hold. Ferns are among the first to grow on the newly formed land from the lava flows.

This is my motley crew. Rock, Sherry, Barb and Ralph, friends I made on the flight to Hilo. We were led by a knowledgeable park service ranger who was very respectful and and attuned to the native Hawaiian culture and spiritual connection to the land.

Sherry and I hiked down to the base of the crater. We are sitting on a non active steam vent. Otherwise we would have roasted rumps.

The creative and destructive power of Madame Pele is strong here. I feel like I am at the site of destruction and rejuvenation. Like the earth is in the process of giving birth to new land. Here, the ability to envision and co-create life seems palpable.

This is where we could see lava flowing into the see, literally see new land being formed. At night we saw flames at each steaming sight. It was beautiful.

We walked across miles of less than year old lava. There was no marked trail. It was a great lesson in team work and adjusting the individual needs to that of the group.

There stars were more brilliant and abundant than I have ever seen them, and I have been in many rural areas in my life. You star gazers need to come to Hawaii!!

This is (close to) the highest point on the island, and if you count from the sea floor to the top, the highest point in all of the US, Mauna Loa. Her peak is at 13,250 feet (the peak was an 18 mile, suggested 4 day, hike which I have not yet taken).

I was told by a man who considered himself a spiritual teacher that the ego has a hard time taking hold above 6000 feet. Hence the silly look on my face as I kiss my ego goodbye.

Departure from SC and Arrival to HI

Going

 

going

Gone!!

It is truly hard to leave what is comfortable!!

   It took a combination of four flights and an 11:15 pm arrival (4:00 am EST)

   My host took me to see the ocean the next day. What a beautiful sight.

   The farm grows Anthuriums commercially. I get to tend to them using organic methods. There are parasitic nematodes in the soil and all of the plants have to be potted. The best “soil” is volcanic cinders. What a trip!!

   A salamander was my first in the garden fauna siting. How appropriate!!

   My host family is friendly and want to support  me in learning more about Hawaii and the sustainable movement.

I hope to make various field trips and keep you updated.