Day 2

Hawaii Day 2

simple hut

walls, mostly of stone

Sure glad that Jesus lived.  He taught forgiveness.  If you study some of the ancient cultures that held pagan beliefs (not just Hawaii, but the Americas, Europe, Asia, and others) the civilizations had some pretty brutal rituals and punishments.  Today we visited a “place of refuge”, a community built to accept those who have committed a “kapu” or sin which may have been as minor as looking at the king or crossing the king’s path well after he had traveled through.  The punishment was death but if the transgressor could get to the place of refuge, his kapu would be forgiven and he/she could again go back to his village.  The display was simple, indicative of their simple life.  The ancients in the tropics didn’t need much; some shade, a place to lie down, and perhaps some sea walls to protect from high waves during storms.  The walls are impressive here, some along the shore but many jutting far inland.  There are plenty of stones here to make the walls.

barb out in the bay

could be a large white male

We drove down to Honounau Bay for some snorkeling.  I was proud of Barb as she jumped right in.  As a young adult she was fearful of the water but those many snorkel trips in Thailand had captured her zeal to explore the beautiful reefs.  The diving here was not great, but nice.  Entries into the water can be difficult as you are leaving from lava.  Getting out is harder as the waves can crash you against the rock.  In between time, however, you hover weightless, in serene-like state, watching the colorful fish frolic through the coral.

We did stop by to view the Captain Cook memorial marking the spot of his death in 1779.  It can only be accessed by boat, horseback, or a long 4 mile hike.  We had no time to approach the site today but if we do it will be via kayak.  The cliff above the bay where the memorial sits holds many secrets.  Kings and royalty had their bones stored within the crevices in the sheer face.  Since the family wanted to keep the location of the bones secret, after the bones were deposited, the rope lowering the man down the rock face, was cut, dropping him to his death.  A secret kept.