After a long day of volcanoes yesterday, we went on a jungle drive today around the North side of the Island and to Hilo. We visited Waipi’o valley lookout, caves made by lava, Akaka falls (pictured), and before visiting Hilo for a perfect Japanese dinner, we swam in a refreshing little swimming hole in a river under a bridge. After Hilo, the sun had set, and we rushed to Mauna Kea to stargaze. The temperature dropped drastically from nearly 30 C to below 10 C. Mauna Kea is the highest mountain in the world IF you count from the Earth’s crust and not above sea level. Mauna Kea means the white mountain because it has a snow-covered summit (snow in Hawaii??). We did not go further than about 2700 meters above sea level because there was already a low oxygen level here and a need for acclimatizing. Plus, we couldn’t see anything besides the stars in the dark anyway. But wow, they were a sight to see! Without much light pollution and clear atmosphere we could see the Milky Way strewn across the sky, Andromeda galaxy, and more stars than I have ever seen. The pictures looked manipulated! (I’m sure Terry will have some on his post). We saw both the arctic, volcanic and jungle landscapes and climates of Hawaii today. What a diverse place.

Oh, I nearly forgot… on a short hike called the donkey trail to a secluded beach by the botanical garden Terry attempted – and succeeded – to open a coconut. Found in the wild on the beach. The process wasn’t quite identical to how the Hawaiians would do it and the coconut water was lost in the process but the coconut meat was salvaged and partially eaten.