From Bula to Aloha

20.10.2010 | Day 82 | 39 414 km | Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

First of all, 12th of October was by far the most strangest day I have ever lived. For starters, it lasted for 34 hours. We were in Fiji and in Hawaii at the same time for more than 13 hours. That left us completely confused about what day it was and it was also really hard to get used to be living “the past” compared to Finland, rather than “the future” what we lived all the way before arriving to USA. This really was the mother of jet lags.

But Hawaii… It’s a place I’ve always wanted to go. And why not? Everybody has seen it in TV and it always has looked to be a perfect paradise to go to. But the circumstances were against Hawaii this time; We just left the absolute paradise in the middle of nowhere that left us breathless. So there we were, in Big Island, Hawaii in a city called Hilo and there was nothing interesting for us to see. I didn’t quite see myself laying in a hotel bed almost all the day in Hawaii, but that was what happened!

We also had to stay one extra day in Hilo since a car rental company refused to accept our money or our cards for a rental, since we “only” had a Visa and Mastercard Credit/Debit cards, which had been perfectly fine in 10+ countries before. So thanks for making everything so freakin’ hard for tourists! Next day we however got a car arranged from another company which required a return flight ticket for proof, although I didn‘t get it what difference that made regarding of using the card. First stop was to drive up to Mauna Kea Summit, the highest point of Hawaii, 4 200 meters above sea level. At half point up there was an information center that strongly advised us not to drive up in a rear-wheel drive because it was so dangerous, but we decided to do it anyway and surprisingly found it easier than the drive up to The Remarkables in NZ.

At the top of Mauna Kea I instantly felt like praising all the mountain climbers out there, since getting out of the car in 4 2000 meters, it was so damned hard even to breath, not to mention walk around! We took just a couple of photos and walked only about 5 minutes before starting our descend back to the visitor center. The high altitude felt like you’d been winded badly and I couldn’t imagine staying there for long… But it was a great experience to feel being higher than all the clouds. The rest of the day we just drove without anything else “interesting” to see and we ended our day for a less-than-comfy sleep in the car once again. At least this time it was not too cold outside…

The highest point of our trip: Mauna Kea Summit, over 4 200 meters

The hottest point of our trip: Lava flowing at the Volcano National Park

As usual after a night spent sleeping in a car, we woke up early and drove around Volcano National Park and saw how the land has been born from massive lava flows. The most amazing sight we saw was a now closed road, that ends because hot lava is constantly flowing from the earth since 80’s. I didn’t expect to have a chance to stand just few meters away from slowly flowing lava, but all I can say that it was a HOT experience! The parts where lava was pouring on the top of the road had set the asphalt on fire. Mother earth really has some cool tricks up on her sleeve.

Rest of our stay in Hawaii consisted staying couple of days near North Shore at Oahu Island, as well couple of days in the same island but south, in Waikiki. It was far less spectacular for us, since the small town up north, Waimea Bay was all about surfing and we aren’t exactly known to have those skills. But those who have bitten by the surfing fly, are serious about it. I chatted for a while with Bruno from Brazil, who told us that big waves were just a few days away and then gave us his card. I have to say that he has played his cards right, staying 4 months in Hawaii and doing a study for an university in Brazil: “Oriented Consciousness Mastering in the Practice of Surfing - A scientific study on the pedagogy of surfing“. I love it when people take something this seriously!

We have now been 82 days on the road and the end of the trip closes in faster than the speed of light, but there is still one segment left. In a couple of hours American Airlines takes us to Miami, where after 3 months we get to meet our girlfriends! Girls arrive day later than us, so we’ll spend our last manly day by going, where else than to a hockey game. Then, when the girls arrive it’s time to go Caribbean cruising for 5 days, so even though our trip is reaching it’s final days, there’s still a lot of trip to go…