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!!!!

                                           

Hawaii Living

It's hard to believe I've been living here for close to two weeks, time seems to go by a bit slower here. I'm not sure if that is just Hawaii time or just slowing down a bit but it's been nice. Drean, who is the owner of the farm that I volunteer at, is a great conversationalist and whom I feel I have learned so much from already. Drean has had many different jobs throughout his life and it's been fun getting to know him more and talk about everything from politics to reincarnation to meditation to the universe to the history of Hawaii to organic gardening. This past Tuesday we went to Food Share, which is kinda like a small CSA/farmer's market in a small town nearby. I got to sample some local deliciousness and had the most amazing mango of my life. It was nice to meet other fellow farmers/gardeners in the community and to support what Drean started. None of these people contribute to Food Share for a profit, Drean certainly doesn't, but it's more the act of doing something as a community that betters ourselves as a whole and this beautiful spot many people get to call home which is quite inspiring.

I'm quite the foodie and have been thoroughly enjoying trying some Hawaiin foods and fruits. While I was in Kona,  I tried Poke which is completely raw yellow fin tuna that is often marinated with sea salt to make it safe to eat. It's then mixed with different sauces, being the spice lover I tried some with habanero pepper and it was incredible. I've also had shaved ice which is what it sounds like, shaved ice with fruit sugary flavoring poured over the ice. I tried passion fruit and guava which was quite refreshing but I think I would have rather just eaten the fruit. I've been eating my weight in apple bananas which are these super small bananas that are a lot sweeter than regular bananas. If you're able to find them at your local grocery, I highly recommend them! I've really enjoyed acai bowls which are pretty popular here, it starts out with acai (berries that are sherbet consistency) and they add granola and all types of fresh fruit, cacao nibs, honey and mint. It is as delicious as it sounds and my favorite food I've tried yet! A dessert that is quite different but super yummy is a Japanese favorite here, mochi which are fruit or different sweets (brownies, cookies, etc) that are covered in this gummy rice flour consistency. I'm not explaining it well at all but it is really good and probably one of the more different desserts I've ever had. I'm loving all these new Hawaiin foods and I'm trying to eat as much as I can while I'm here. Hope you enjoy some photos!

Nicole Food Share 

Our microgreens for sale! 

Acai Bowl

Shaved Ice 

Working on the farm

Downtown Hilo

These cute lizards are everywhere!

My cabin! 

Mochi

Brownie Mochi

Apple banana

Beautiful rainforest trees in Hilo!

                                                   

Poke with seaweed salad and mixed rice

Kailua Kona

Sorry I've been a little MIA this past week, it's hard work on the farm! This past weekend I went to Kailua Kona with my fellow wwoofer, which is about 1hr 45 minutes away from Ninole. Kona in Hawaiian means leeward, or the dry side of the island. While I was there it was fairly hot and humid, not much different then the weather here near Hilo.  Hualalali and Muana Loa are both active volcanoes which sit between Kailua Kona which we only got to see a taste of due to some cloudy conditions. One interesting note about this part of the island are the white sand beaches with large lava rock everywhere. The sand beaches on the Hilo side, where I am, are black sand.  I mean, how does that happen? The Big Island is the youngest of all the Hawaiian Islands, making the beaches quite unique because they are still developing. We hiked through gorgeous trees and over a very hot lava field for 15 minutes, which is harder than it sounds, and was absolutely blown away when we reached Makalawena Beach. The water was turquoise blue and the clearest I have ever seen, so clear you can see the light rays from the sun shining down to the sandy bottom. The colors are so staggering with the turquoise water, white sand, bright greenery and charcoal black lava rock. And the water was so warm it felt like cooled bathwater.