We arrived at the trailhead shortly after it got light. It is ambiguous whether this is an "official" trail, but they appear to be building some kind of parking area; it is sorely needed. At the early hour, there were no other cars there so we happily started our way down the trail. The top of the trail was mostly dusty dirt, and almost immediately I recognized pig tracks as well as places where wild hogs were running through the grassy bush.
We even got to see a pig briefly, but once it saw us, it high tailed it out of view and into the safety of the brush.
We did, however, get to see many goats along the trail. One herd was probably approaching 20 animals.
With the silhouetted babies watching down from above. Being early in the morning, the animals were moving. Later in the day, due to people and heat, the goats and pigs are likely taking it easy in the shade.
The trail continues with grassy areas, lava, and some steep gravelly sections. At several points along the way, the view is nothing short of stunning.
Going down was relatively easy and we reached the bay and the Captain Cook Memorial. I was very interested in this since I recently reread Tony Horwitz's excellent book Blue Latitudes. The land where the memorial sits on is technically deeded to the British Government, so crossing the chain means stepping into the UK. Without my passport, I briefly crossed an international boundary.
The actual spot where Captain Cook was killed is a short ways away and is marked by a plaque in the water. Actually, it is supposed to be marked by a plaque, but there was just the concrete pedestal for the plaque. I figure it was either stolen for scrap by a very ambitious vagrant who wanted to hike up with it over 0.25 vertical miles. Or it was vandalized by some hoodlum who wants to blame some historic Haole for his problems. There was also evidence of past vandalism at the Captain Cook Memorial.
The hike up was still enjoyable, but probably not as much fun as down. It was getting sunnier (with Hawaiian haze). It was getting hotter and more humid. It was up.
I stopped briefly at the site of the Puhina o Lono Heiau - or temple - where Captain Cook was cut up (or whatever) after he was killed. I thought about this in terms of the vandalized memorial to Captain Cook. I think it is appropriate to have frustration over the loss of much of the Hawaiian culture after Western contact. It seems more appropriate to channel that into constructively learning and preserving that culture, or working toward a more interesting future, rather than pretending history is merely evil. It is lunacy to think that Hawaii was going to stay remote in perpetuity, and the Hawaiians did already have the final ho'omake on Captain Cook.
We saw many people coming down as we worked our way up - this made us very glad we started early and had the place to ourselves for a while.
Once back at the car and rested, we went to the Painted Church. The church was built in 1899 and Father John Velghe used pictures to teach the bible. The painting is exquisite.
I found it interesting that all the paintings are in very good condition except the painting of hell, which has deteriorated considerably.
The church has a large cemetery with what appear to be above-ground graves. I hadn't previously thought about it, but digging in lava is probably very challenging, and even more so without mechanized machinery.
After questioning the integrity of those who vandalized the Cook memorial, it was probably time to head to the City of Refuge. This was a historic Hawaiian place where those who had wronged the gods or the chief could find refuge and absolution for any crimes, if they could reach there before they were caught. I hope it also works for any driving transgressions I may have made in the last few days.
The City of Refuge is in Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Park. The park itself is quite small, but the area is very scenic, if a bit touristy. There are many small tidal pools teaming with aquatic life. Crabs, fish, sea urchins, hermit crabs, eels, and even a very large turtle.
There was an atypical strong southern breeze bringing waves crashing into the rocks at the shoreline of the park. While trying to take pictures of the waves, an unusually large one came in faster than I expected and drenched me. Thankfully, I stayed standing. SO also got dunked crossing a small tidal flow. We both went back to the car with soggy feet.
With sodden clothes, we went back a little early which gave us an opportunity to do some laundry. Having been gone a week now, we were running low on the necessaries.
Dinner that night was another impossibly huge plate of fresh tuna on the breezy lanai.
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