It was a nice sunny morning in Hilo, Hawaii.
Now, that itself would make a story, wouldn’t it? For Hilo in Big Island is famous for its 140 inches of rain every year. Fortunately, such rain has its rewards too. The area surrounding Hilo is in part what we associate with Hamakua Coast of Hawaii: lush rainforests, abundant greenery, fabulous waterfalls, and a great ocean view.
But I digress. This happens to me often when I talk of Hawaii! : )
We were on our way through the beautifully green four-mile scenic drive near the town of Hilo, Hawaii, when we had a serendipitous moment. Out of nowhere, we came upon a quaint little store by the wayside. It was quaint as quaint goes. Small, shabby, and age written all over it, it was the kind of little shop that one just loves to discover.
We were in that completely relaxed mood where you go around looking at things, and stopping at all kinds of interesting wayside places, because there is no hurry to get anywhere soon. And in Big Island, Hawaii, we were on vacation. We were going nowhere fast.
Waipio! I read a lot about this place before we even started packing for travelling to Hawaii! Rainforests all over, three thousand feet high cliffs, immense waterfalls, just a few people living and growing taro in the verdant valley. It sounded too idyllic to be true.
Waipio valley is a place of legends. Located on the north of the Big Island, Hawaii, it was the home to many Hawaii kings over years. It was devastated by tsunami in recent times, in 1946. Before that time, Waipio valley was rather populous for its size. It had held some 5000 or more people. At this time, however, only a handful remain in its rather primitive surroundings, without electricity or running water, growing taro and doing subsistence farming.
Let me take a deep breath first. Let me soak in all the fabulous high mountain air.
Now let me hang to something. Fast! Let me hope that the wind does not carry me away!
: )
Hawi is a quaint little town in the north end of Big Island. Its that kind of town that you want to “discover”, and, when you do, you find that you are perfectly happy to share your discovery with others. You just hope that it will forever remain quaint, in its old Hawaiian way.
I possibly would never have discovered Hawi, since we were debating whether to go to Polulu valley (via Hawi) or to Waipio valley (not via Hawi). At the end, we decided to go to both the places, and thats how we came to Hawi. Glad we did. Because Hawi to me remains that idyllic little town that modern America forgot. Its best that way.