Saving the Honu

Today we went to Volcano National Park. One of my most vivid childhood memories is watching LeVar Burton on Reading Rainbow, standing on a lava field, explaining the difference between Pahoehoe and A'a lava. I became obsessed with volcanoes. I wanted more than anything to see all those things for myself. (Well, okay, maybe I wanted a pony more than anything. Pahoehoe and A'a were next.) And today, twenty years later, I got to do just that!!!!! We arrived late on purpose, because the lava flows are most spectacular at night. We set out across a huge expanse of hardened lava, trying to reach a flow in the distance. The hardened lava is iridescent and it sounds like breaking glass as you walk. Steam rose from the ground. We stepped over deep crevices in the ground and as it got darker, I looked down in a crevice and was terrified to see a thin line of glowing red lava. Well that explains the hot ground. At that point I realized that I was basically playing a live action plat...

The past few days have been very slow. The swell has been huge. This means the sea level is really high and there are a lot of big waves. Beaches have been closed because it's dangerous to get in the water. The storm and the swell brought in a lot of debris and driftwood and now the water is brown and gross near the shore. When the swell is so big, the turtles stay in the water. There's no point in coming on the beach to bask because they'd just get washed right back out to sea. We don't really know where they go. Maybe around to the other side of the island, or maybe they hide out in underwater nooks and crannies and lava structures and small caves. So no swimming, no turtle-watching, and no turtles. I've been filling my time by updating my travel journal (which I have neglected for far too long) and working on an essay. The essay is a summary of what I've learned during my time here. It's something that interns do so they can put their experience on thei...

I learned a very painful lesson this week: Never bring sea creatures into your home. Yesterday I came home from the beach to find a horrible smell in my bedroom. I recognized it as the smell of dried ocean, but with something rotten added. I checked the shells that I had gathered the day before, and found to my dismay that the most beautiful one was the source of the smell. Can you believe that? One little shell was smelling up the entire room. I always try to make sure there are no sea creatures living in the shells that I pick up, but I guess this one was tucked away so far back that I couldn't see it. I couldn't pull the dead animal out with my tweezers so I ended up just putting the shell in the flower bed in the front yard. This is very sad because I was so excited when I found this shell. This morning I woke up to the same smell, except this time it was worse. I don't know what I did wrong but somehow the barnacles died in their jar of seawater. Seriously? Six litt...

There's not a lot to report turtle-wise. I go to Ho'okipa every day, keep away the rude tourists, and talk to the respectful ones about turtles. It's been raining a lot recently and the ocean has been pretty violent. The lifeguards sometimes put up a no swimming sign, and this is very helpful because it means that the tourists don't complain about the swimmers. "Those people are swimming and there's turtles in the water. Why can't I go take a picture right next to one of these turtles?" Well, it's a public beach and there's only so much we can do. People are allowed to use the water. But that doesn't mean you can go stand next to one of these turtles who are all trying to get some beauty sleep. Of course this explanation only gets groans, grumbles, and from time to time no response whatsoever. So I really like the no swimming sign. A couple of nights ago there was a huge storm and the entire island lost power. Apparently this happens ev...

Luke sent an email a summary of the nesting season results. With his permission, I'm quoting some of it here. "For the entire season we had around​​ 650 hatchlings from 900 eggs, or 72% success! Many of those hatchlings wouldn't have survived without our help, including the 120 hatchlings from the relocated nest #2, over 80 that were released from the other three excavations, and many more that wouldn't have made it due to crabs, heat, or disorientation on the beach. Our work is crucial for this critically endangered species, ensuring they continue to nest on Maui and survive in Hawai‘i." YAY!

A few days ago I was awakened by a loud crash on the roof. I looked out the window to see an entire frond of our coconut tree lying on the ground, with several large coconuts still attached. Neil was on the roof, learning how to harvest coconuts. He had also harvested one of the branches on accident. (Picture below.) (The title of this post has nothing to do with Neil. This was just a funny experience.) (Lauren, Neil, and Gigi are my roommates.)  There is a pumpkin patch on Maui! Lauren and I went to see it. It was nice to have a little bit of fall.  The pumpkin patch is upcountry, which is much cooler than the beach. After the pumpkin patch, we drove through a tiny little town whose name I can't remember, and Lauren showed me the coffee shop where she sees Owen Wilson sometimes.  Have I mentioned that Owen Wilson lives on Maui? I haven't seen him. Supposedly he's off island shooting a movie right now. Gigi said that he is kind of rude. One day she was walking to the groc...