The Big Island--Place of Refuge

Our plane to Honolulu, and thence home to SLC, left at 6 p.m. on October 30, 2016.  We thus had one last day on the Big Island to buy shave ice and visit another beach.

 We began our day with Sacrament Meeting at the Keaau Ward in South Kona.  “This is the best ward in the stake,” one ward member enthusiastically told me.  When I repeated that to another member, she stared at me as if that statement was mad!  Before Church began, a tiny Japanese woman draped hand-crocheted leis around our necks.  “We make these for all our visitors,” she said.  I was so touched that I carefully took the lei home with me.  The Keaau Ward building was damaged by an earthquake in 2007, and another ward building, down the road, is nearly complete.

Besides attending our own church, we visited one of the most beautiful churches on the Big Island--St. Benedict Catholic Church, built in 1842.  The inside was painted with Bible scenes by a Belgian monk. Since many Hawaiian converts could not read and write in the 1840s, the pictures taught them Bible stories.

Our next stop was the Place of Refuge, on the coast near the Captain Cook monument.  This was the area where Hawaiians who had broken “kapu” and were under threat of death could retreat to, be forgiven, and return to their homes.  There were many taboos, or “kapu”, which were punishable by death.  I wandered around the ancient artifacts—the spot where the high priest sat, the rock wall which the penitents had to reach, and the huge stone where King Kamehameha’s wife hid from her husband, when she had broken kapu. Across the rock wall was one of the best beaches on the island, with snorkelers bobbing around the reefs.  I wished I had brought my swimsuit, and that it was not Sunday!

 Below, the hut where the priests stayed, ready to rescue and forgive the sinners.

 An ancient Hawaiian game, like chess or checkers.

A Hawaiian statue which looks like the Maori statues of New Zealand.

Below, the wall which the penitents had to reach to be forgiven.  They often rushed towards it with attackers close behind.

 The sky was speckled with beautiful white clouds.

 The Place of Refuge had craftsmen showing ancient Hawaiian crafts.

We wandered about a farmer’s market in the town of Captain Cook.  It is an agricultural area where Kona coffee, macadamia nuts, and specialty honey are produced.  I bought a 5 lb. bag of shelled macadamia nuts for $40 from a grower in the area.  “That’s a great price,” he said, and I agreed.  Dave and I also bought a package of curried macadamia nuts which I couldn’t stop nibbling.  This was a typical farmer’s market, but with irresistible Hawaiian products—hand-carved fishhook necklaces, passion fruit jam, and endless varieties of macadamia nuts.

The producer of those luscious curried macadamia nuts.

The macadamia nut grower, selling five-pound bags.

We ate lunch at the Mamiloa Restaurant across the street.  A sign in the lobby advertised it as “the oldest surviving restaurant on the Big Island.”  Our guidebook advised us to look beyond the “bingo hall” atmosphere and appreciate the down home Hawaiian food.  We ordered black cod with miso sauce, served with the familiar scoop of white rice and scoop of macaroni/potato salad.  Around us, the tables were filled with families of the infinite combinations of ethnicities which Hawaii includes.

We stopped at “Dave’s Homemade Ice Cream,” down the road, for shave ice and another scoop of Hawaiian ice cream—mango for David and passion fruit sherbet for me.  We then explored one last antique shop across the street, Discovery Antiques.  In addition to antiques I could find on the mainland, there were out-of-print books about Hawaii, faded Aloha shirts, and monkeypod bowls.