On Sunday, the Ironman race site was being turned back into a sleepy Kona resort town and I was ready to see something new. My flight didn't leave until 8pm, so I had all day to poke around the island and play tourist.
I rented a car for the day and headed to the southern end of the island to see the Volcanoes National Park. The Big Island is actually STILL forming, with new lava floes expanding the edge of the island every year. The park felt like you had stepped off a spaceshuttle onto some other planet. Barren black lava fields with steam vents, looking like nothing more than holes into the center of the earth. You could smell the sulfur from the volcanic clouds and there were signs everywhere warning not to breathe the fumes. There were also signs warning of "fault zones," basically warning drivers to watch for cracks opening up in the roads. Eek!
After I left the park, I headed back around the southern tip of the island, which is actually the southern-most point in the U.S. I stopped along to the way to check out the black sand beaches that I had heard about. Amazing...the sand was soft and fine, like any other sand, but it was midnight black. This beach is also a nesting ground for green turtles, which were really cool to see up close and in person.
On my way back north, I stopped back into Kona and had lunch at this amazing little seaside cafe. I ran into some people I had met while volunteering and chatted a bit, but mostly just sat and relaxed, watching the ocean while I ate a late lunch.
As late afternoon turned into early evening, there was one last thing I wanted to see. Every triathlete has heard of the barrenness of the lava fields along the Queen K highway and I just had to see it for myself. I drove north along the coast for a bit and was amazed at the totally foreign landscape. Bushes won't even grow on the lava fields....just these sparse grasses with shallow roots. All along the highway are new and old signs made with white coral rocks that show up well against the black lava. Names, hearts, and inspirational sayings are all laid out along both sides of the road to cheer on the Ironman athletes during their long day on the course. An acceptable form of Hawaiin graffiti....very cool!
I rented a car for the day and headed to the southern end of the island to see the Volcanoes National Park. The Big Island is actually STILL forming, with new lava floes expanding the edge of the island every year. The park felt like you had stepped off a spaceshuttle onto some other planet. Barren black lava fields with steam vents, looking like nothing more than holes into the center of the earth. You could smell the sulfur from the volcanic clouds and there were signs everywhere warning not to breathe the fumes. There were also signs warning of "fault zones," basically warning drivers to watch for cracks opening up in the roads. Eek!
After I left the park, I headed back around the southern tip of the island, which is actually the southern-most point in the U.S. I stopped along to the way to check out the black sand beaches that I had heard about. Amazing...the sand was soft and fine, like any other sand, but it was midnight black. This beach is also a nesting ground for green turtles, which were really cool to see up close and in person.
On my way back north, I stopped back into Kona and had lunch at this amazing little seaside cafe. I ran into some people I had met while volunteering and chatted a bit, but mostly just sat and relaxed, watching the ocean while I ate a late lunch.
As late afternoon turned into early evening, there was one last thing I wanted to see. Every triathlete has heard of the barrenness of the lava fields along the Queen K highway and I just had to see it for myself. I drove north along the coast for a bit and was amazed at the totally foreign landscape. Bushes won't even grow on the lava fields....just these sparse grasses with shallow roots. All along the highway are new and old signs made with white coral rocks that show up well against the black lava. Names, hearts, and inspirational sayings are all laid out along both sides of the road to cheer on the Ironman athletes during their long day on the course. An acceptable form of Hawaiin graffiti....very cool!
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