This has been another great day so far because we really didn't do a whole lot! Well, we did quite a few things, but I think it was because we weren't on a strict time schedule. We took it easy in the morning and really took our time getting up and about. We headed down to Pu'uhonau Park (City of Refuge) and did the self guided tour. It was our last day to use the receipt we'd purchased a week ago.
The park was pretty neat and the way they had it set up gave you a sense for what it was like. A little about the park, there were "Royal" Grounds and then there was Pu'uhonau. Rules of the royal ground: no commoners could set foot or even let their shadow touch the area. Pu'uhonau was meant for defeated warriors of the enemy or people who had broken kapu. Kapu pretty much means forbidden. There were laws such as women eating different things from men or customs between royalty and commoners that if broken, would result in death. The belief was that if the person who committed kapu wasn't killed, it could anger the gods and bring destruction to other people. Volcano, tsunami, famine, etc. If the person who committed kapu could reach Pu'uhonau and be blessed by a priest, they could return home safely and forgiven.
Here are some pictures from the park:
After the park, we headed to lunch at the Rebel Kitchen. I had the jerk chicken and Craig had the Ono (fish) sandwich. Their potato salad was awesome. It had curry and a bunch of veggies in it. We also split the passionfruit cheesecake. Then we walked around some of the shops close by, and I got some earrings in an antique store. Craig has been all about checking out the thrift stores here. No luck at the one yesterday, though.
We came back to the condo, rested a bit, and headed for the beach. We chose Magic Sands since it was just down the street. When we went last week, we didn't actually get it. This time was quite the experience. We weren't really expecting the waves to be so powerful! They would hit hard and suck you back in even if you were just ankle deep! I decided to give it a try with the boogie board and wiped out too easily twice. That was enough adventure for my day. So I came back and sat on the shore and let the water crash into me while seated. This was nice until I stood up with pounds of sand in my pants. It started dripping out and looked funny so I got back in the water and endured the crashing waves to get as much sand out as I could.
We hung out and ate grapes at our towels. We saw a guy in the water had found a sea turtle. He pointed to it and yelled for his girlfriend. All the sudden, another guy from the beach storms up and starts yelling at the guy in the water to leave the turtle alone. They gave each other a sarcastic "thumbs up" and dropped it. Sea turtles are endangered and people are obviously and rightly protective of them.
We, again, went back to the condo and did two loads of laundry and just hung out until dinner. Dinner was at Kona Inn Restaurant. It's the oldest restaurant on the island. I had the scampi and calamari, and Craig just had the calamari. It came with mashed potatoes and veggies. The server was nice, but got a bit borderline with some of the conversation. Telling us about how the native were prejudice while he was growing up. I don't doubt that they were, but I feel like some of it is understandable of the natives. I think he had an interesting perspective though. He came to Hawaii at age 2 and didn't know or have a choice in what he was getting into. As a kid, he just knew he was treated differently because he was white. Anyways, like I said... heavy conversation coming from our server at dinner. There were some lizards running around on the walls which was cute. We ordered the mud pie, but felt like Big Island Grill's was better. Overall, we didn't really feel our food was worth the money. But that happens sometimes. We headed back with full bellies, and slept well.
The park was pretty neat and the way they had it set up gave you a sense for what it was like. A little about the park, there were "Royal" Grounds and then there was Pu'uhonau. Rules of the royal ground: no commoners could set foot or even let their shadow touch the area. Pu'uhonau was meant for defeated warriors of the enemy or people who had broken kapu. Kapu pretty much means forbidden. There were laws such as women eating different things from men or customs between royalty and commoners that if broken, would result in death. The belief was that if the person who committed kapu wasn't killed, it could anger the gods and bring destruction to other people. Volcano, tsunami, famine, etc. If the person who committed kapu could reach Pu'uhonau and be blessed by a priest, they could return home safely and forgiven.
Here are some pictures from the park:
Popular snorkel spot by the park.
Carved Statues
Temple on Royal Grounds
Statues around Temple
The wall separating Royal Grounds and City of Refuge
was 10 feet tall and 17 feet thick.
The wall
Close up of the Wall
This shows about how thick the wall is.
Canoes under the shelter.
After the park, we headed to lunch at the Rebel Kitchen. I had the jerk chicken and Craig had the Ono (fish) sandwich. Their potato salad was awesome. It had curry and a bunch of veggies in it. We also split the passionfruit cheesecake. Then we walked around some of the shops close by, and I got some earrings in an antique store. Craig has been all about checking out the thrift stores here. No luck at the one yesterday, though.
We came back to the condo, rested a bit, and headed for the beach. We chose Magic Sands since it was just down the street. When we went last week, we didn't actually get it. This time was quite the experience. We weren't really expecting the waves to be so powerful! They would hit hard and suck you back in even if you were just ankle deep! I decided to give it a try with the boogie board and wiped out too easily twice. That was enough adventure for my day. So I came back and sat on the shore and let the water crash into me while seated. This was nice until I stood up with pounds of sand in my pants. It started dripping out and looked funny so I got back in the water and endured the crashing waves to get as much sand out as I could.
We hung out and ate grapes at our towels. We saw a guy in the water had found a sea turtle. He pointed to it and yelled for his girlfriend. All the sudden, another guy from the beach storms up and starts yelling at the guy in the water to leave the turtle alone. They gave each other a sarcastic "thumbs up" and dropped it. Sea turtles are endangered and people are obviously and rightly protective of them.
We, again, went back to the condo and did two loads of laundry and just hung out until dinner. Dinner was at Kona Inn Restaurant. It's the oldest restaurant on the island. I had the scampi and calamari, and Craig just had the calamari. It came with mashed potatoes and veggies. The server was nice, but got a bit borderline with some of the conversation. Telling us about how the native were prejudice while he was growing up. I don't doubt that they were, but I feel like some of it is understandable of the natives. I think he had an interesting perspective though. He came to Hawaii at age 2 and didn't know or have a choice in what he was getting into. As a kid, he just knew he was treated differently because he was white. Anyways, like I said... heavy conversation coming from our server at dinner. There were some lizards running around on the walls which was cute. We ordered the mud pie, but felt like Big Island Grill's was better. Overall, we didn't really feel our food was worth the money. But that happens sometimes. We headed back with full bellies, and slept well.
Craig and I at the Kona Inn Restaurant.
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