Volcanoes National Park

A week ago I went to a fierce place, Volcanoes National Park and it was so cool! I kinda have a thing for volcanoes especially active ones and this is the first time I've been so up close and personal with a very much alive volcano and it was everything I had hoped for. The Hawaiian Islands were made from volcanoes and are still growing because of them. On the Big Island they have two of the most active volcanoes in the world, Mauna Loa and Kilauea. Volcanoes National Park is quite grand (over 332,400 acres!) and you can drive for miles and miles and miles and MILES over lava fields that have taken place from current and past eruptions. Kilauea has been quite the erupting wahine (Hawaiian for lady) since 1955! If you want to feel your tiny place in this world, go stand in the presence of Kilauea and you'll feel her immense power and sacred ground. I loved learning about the spiritual mythology behind this awe-that will knock you to your knees-inspiring place, which revolves around Pele (Hawaiian for "molten lava") who is the volcano goddess and is believed to live under the Kilauea crater but has power over all the volcanoes on the island. Pele is seen as a protector and guardian of the island(s) and is very much respected. Many Hawaiians in the past and present leave Pele offerings like flowers, food, coins and shots of whiskey. When you're in the park, be watchful for Pele taking form as a beautiful unearthly figure or strikingly old woman with a cane!

I was thrilled to have some much needed alone time driving around the park, walking over lava fields and on the wild and beautiful coast, and ventured through a lava tube which was damn incredible. I hiked to Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs which is a very sacred part of the island, where the first Hawaiian's etched images into the lava field. The petroglyphs are seen to be a record of the native Hawaiian's travels around the island, their beliefs about how to live a long life and what happened in their lives. Pu'u Loa is believed to have been around since AD 1200 - 1450, which just floors me. My last stop of the day, after the sun went down was to the overlook of Kilauea's crater, where the Lava Lake has this incredible golden, reddish orange, pink glow from the lava that is bubbling and churning below. It's hard to put into words the immensity that I felt when I was there, witnessing the power and energy of our planet by being in Kilauea's presence. It stopped me in my tracks and made me feel humble. Volcanoes National Park is a very special place and one where the energy is palpable. Thanks Pele for your beauty and a day I won't ever forget.   (Click on photos for bigger images!)

Steam coming up from Kilauea! 

Kilauea Crater 

Loving the steam!

Super hot steam vent I got to stand near!

Goddess Pele

Pele means business, she doesn't mess around. 

Volcano Crater

Lava fields and lava fields!

Pu'u Loa Petroglyphs

Sea Arch 

Lave tube 

Kilauea Lava Lake 

The Jungle

The Big Island of Hawaii is called the Healing Island which I think is very fitting, with all the natural beauty around it's hard not to be healed here. I've been very interested in the Hawaiian culture and way of life on the island. You are greeted here with "Aloha" which has a much deeper meaning than just a warm welcome. Aloha means "being a part of all, and all being a part of me" and "joyfully sharing life" with whom you are greeting, which is pretty powerful.  The Big Island is considered to be a very spiritual, life changing, energy forcefield of a place. In large part due to having the tallest mountain in the world when measured from the ocean floor,  Mauna Kea (you could fit two Everest's on top of each other!) and the largest volcano in the world, Mauna Loa. There are beliefs regarding the energy that moves all around the earth and there are some spots that have a vortex or crossing points over these high energy lines. Kilauea Volcano, on The Big Island, the most active volcano in the world is considered by many to harness the most energy and to be a very sacred place along with the pyramids in Egypt and Machu Picchu. I was at Volcano National Park, which is home to Kilaeua, this past weekend and definitely felt part of this magnificently awe inspiring, healing and special place in the world. But I'll talk more about that later!

This past week I went to Waa Waa which is where Drean's other property is and we worked hard in the jungle ripping up invasive species that wrap around his numerous avocado, citrus and passion fruit trees. It was very satisfying and enjoyable work being able to help these beauties continue to grow without being chocked out by these viscous vines. It was a stunning place to work for the day and to witness the building of his other property was really cool to see. After a sweat filled day we stopped at a local park that had a man made "warm" springs that bordered the ocean. It wasn't as warm as it normally is but still a really refreshing and incredible spot to stop and swim. The pond was surrounded by coconut trees and gets heated by water flowing through the volcano and was made by one old man in town, how cool is that!? Early last week we went into Hilo to see the documentary film Occupy The Farm, which if it is playing in a small indie movie theater near you I'd highly recommend seeing it! Occupy The Farm is about a group of urban farmers who started a farm on UCal of Berkeley campus to help grow fresh produce for their community and to save this piece of land from being taken over by major supermarket chains. To learn more about the inspiring and important film check out their site: http://occupythefarmfilm.com/about
Oh and I also saw a double rainbow and it was AMAZING!!!!