Big Island Goodbye

I was fortunate to have my friend Tom visit the Big Island coming all the way out from Chicago. He spent the first week touring the island and enjoying resort life with his girlfriend Dena. The three of us had a chance to spend a day and a half together. We swam, layed in the sun, and hiked to a petroglyph site. The visit gave me a chance to camp at nearby Spencer Beach Park as well.


After Dena left, Tom and I had about 5 days to relax and hang out together. We visited Volcano N.P., checked out some waterfalls and historical sites, took several yoga classes, swam, and most definitely ate well. It was a great visit and lots of fun catching up with a good friend I hadn't seen in 8 months.

After the visit with Tom I was down to my last 6 days at Kipuka Temple. It was hard to believe two and a half months of community living was coming to an end. There were several highlights over my last few days at Kipuka. One of them was a trip to the summit of Mauna Kea with four of my community friends. Mauna Kea is an inactive volcano that is nearly 14,000 ft. above sea level. We drove up and over the clouds to reach the peak about an hour before sunset. The temperature was about 40 degrees so we bundled up and drank hot cocoa while enjoying the sites.


The top of Mauna Kea features 13 different telescopes which are huge and privately owned by various countries around the world.

Here's the Mauna Kea gang, Malia, Leif, myself, Mikal, and Maria in front. I enjoyed several opportunities to sing, dance, laugh, and bond with my friends the last few days. I really enjoyed my time spent living in community and will definitely seek opportunities to visit other communities in the future (www.ic.org). I'm grateful for all the friends I made during my 10 weeks who opened my mind to new areas of interest and possibility. I'm especially thankful for Robert Silber who welcomed me to the community back in early January. I learned a great deal from Robert from how to run a community with integrity to conscious communication. My final three weeks before returning to the mainland will be spent on the island of Kauai.

Waimanu Helicopter Evacuation

On friday afternoon I travled back to Waipio Valley with 3 friends, Nate, Leif, and Maya. We set out to hike 8 miles along the Muliwai Trail from Waipio Valley to Waimanu Valley. Waimanu is a beautiful uninhabited valley only accessible by hiking or kayak. The hike took us up and over several scenic valleys before one final steep descent into Waimanu Valley. We swam in the ocean and as the sun began to fade we set up our campsite. We planned to camp friday and saturday evening and then hike back on sunday.


On saturday morning around 6 am we were awaken by police who were there to notify us a tsunami warning was in effect as a result of the earthquake in Chile. They were also there to evacuate us by helicopter. We quickly packed up our belongings and headed over to the first campsite where the helicopter was waiting. My friends took the waiting chopper back to Waipio Valley and I waited a few minutes to take the last ride with the emergency personnel people.



The helicopter ride was quite a thrill as we rode out over the water along the coast. I could see the cliffs and valleys we had hiked the previous day and then enjoyed a birds eye view of Waipio Valley as we returned to high ground. We now had about 4 hours to wait before the arrival of the tsunami so we went into town to eat breakfast and relax. We then returned to the Waipio Valley lookout to see the tsunami. We waited until 11 am and then waited longer but the tsunami never came. It was an anti-climactic conclusion but a definite relief to know the lives of many Hawaiians would not be turned upside down.

On monday we had a Goodbye Sushi party for Nate, Moze, Natasha, and Tookah. These are 4 people who have been at Kipuka since November. They've grown into good friends and for me the community won't be the same without them. Here's Nate and Moze doing the sushi preperation. Below I'm doing a little pre-party Xigong with Leif.

Volcano National Park

The highlights from the last few weeks include several exciting excursions. Last week I went with four friends to Volcano National Park. At the National Park we hiked across Kilauea Iki, a crater with lava rock formations and steam vents. This crater was a lake of lava 50 years ago. We also walked through the Thurston Lava Tube. A lava tube is a natural conduit through which lava travels beneath the surface of a lava flow, expelled by a volcano during an eruption.

We could only view Kilauea Caldera from a distance. This is the most active area of the volcano currently oozing lava towards the ocean.


On a seperate hike I was able to see lava flow and burning trees from about 300 yards away. There was one section of land that still stands as an island among the fields of lava rock.


Last weekend I rented a pickup truck/camper from one of my friends and took off on a 24-hour excurion to the north side of the island. A scenic drive along the ocean and then up through the Kohola Mountains brought me to my destination, Pololu Valley Lookout. I hiked down to the ocean from the lookout and then continued on a hiking trail to the next valley over. I felt invigorated walking this trail as I enjoyed the pristine beauty and the quiet solitude. I didn't see any other hikers for the 3 hours on the out and back trip. One section of the trail was so steep that ropes had been put into place to help people scale down and then back up again. I also came across a really thick section of bamboo with a very thin trail through the middle of it.


After the hike which brought periods of rain showers on the return trip I drove over to the west coast for some sunnier and warmer weather. Another scenic drive took me from the tropical area where I hiked to a warm and dry region just down the road. I stopped at Hapuna Beach for a swim and to watch the sunset. Later I found a place about 50 ft. from the ocean to park and spend the night. In Hawaii there aren't a lot of regulations or fees with camping. You just find a spot that doesn't bother other people and you're all set. In the morning I had time to squeeze in a short hike to a waterfall at Akaka Falls State Park.

Back at Kipuka Temple friendships continued being built and plenty of activities were made available. Afternoon Qi Gong, frisbee on the lawn, a dream circle, men's discussion group, an erotic art show, and the conscious sensuality workshop have all been rewarding activities. I was also pleased that my first batch of sunflower spouts, pictured in the last entry, turned out great and were used in several meals.


Even the youngest member of our community, 16-month old Tookah has been enjoying my sprouts.

Waipio Valley

Day to day life in Hawaii continues to be excellent. I'm very fortunate to be spending my winter in a tropical paradise. Aside from my regular activities I've gotten the chance to try a few new activities including Watsu, Qi Gong, Contact Improvisation, and Acro Yoga. There are classes offered at nearby Kalani Retreat as well as in our house with community members. In the picture below I am being flown in acro yoga.


Fruits like the ones pictured below are abundant to the point they can be found or harvested for free. One day while bicycling I picked up a beautiful ripe papaya and put it in my backpack. I also went on an avocado foraging trip and helped collect about 40 softball size avocados. We picked up some off the ground and plucked more using an avocado picker. The picture below includes a lilikoi top left, noni fruit bottom left, strawberry papaya, and a large avocado. They're all delicious except the noni fruit which smells like blue cheese gone bad.


I've started a sprout growing program for our community. I will grow some sprouts in jars and others in trays. Hopefully this will be something occupants of the house will continue once I return to the mainland. Here's a new tray of sunflower sprouts I recently started.


The highlight since the last blog entry was a daytrip I took with my friend, Kevin. We drove about an hour and 45 minutes, mostly along the Hamakua Coast to reach Waipio Valley. Kevin went to meet one of the locals he had met previously to disucss the possibility of a work/trade arrangement. I ventured to the ocean front to eat a picnic lunch on the beach, hike, and swim in the ocean.

Waipio Valley is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. The valley itself is lush and green with several farms scattered about. Add the 1,000 ft. valley walls with waterfalls and a beautiful beach and I was in awe. I also surprised to see a group of wild horses. After lunch, I hiked through a waist high stream and then along the beach to reach the hiking trail on the other side of the valley. I then headed up for a couple of miles stopping several times to enjoy the scenery. A return trip to Waipio Valley for a 3-day weekend of camping and backpacking to Waimanu Valley with people from the house is in the works.

Aloha!

I arrived on the Big Island in Hawaii on January 9th. I flew into Kona, spent the night, and then took a free bus to Hilo on the other side of the island. The bus dropped me off at a huge public park right across the street from Hilo Bay. I had 4 hours to enjoy the sunshine, light ocean breeze, temps in the upper 70's, and a great farmers markets with tons of fresh fruit across the street. In order to reach my final destination, Kipuka Temple, I needed to take a bus ride to Puna District and then a 20-minute car ride. This mapquest link shows exactly where I am on the Big Island. I had reasearched Kipuka Temple shortly after leaving Costa Rica and was attracted to the location, near perfect weather, and idea of community living. Here's a shot of the main house which consists of a main floor with kitchen, living area, 3 bedrooms, and bathroom with shower. The upper level has another kitchen, large bedroom, sun deck, and community space used for yoga/eating/socializing.

The community consists of 14 adults and 3 kids between the ages of 2 and 5. Ages range from low 20's to upper 40's. In addition to the bedrooms in the house their are 10 huts scattered around the property. My hut is approximatley 16 X 16 and has a comfortable bed, shelves, and night table. My favorite aspect of the hut is the fact that it's open air. Screens go all the way around the hut providing wonderful fresh air and the serene sounds of the coqui frogs.


The people in the community are predominantly vegetarian or vegan as well as health conscious in other areas. Most of the people belong to the "food sharing group". Each person contributes $50 per week and then shares in the preparation and cleanup of meals. Much of the produce is grown on the property including citrus fruits, tomatoes, collards, argula, kale, basil, cilantro, beans, coconuts, and avocados. Additional food items are purchased from farmers markets and health food stores. My most inventive recipe so far is a simple breakfast dish of fresh papaya, avocado, and cilantro picked from the garden. My typical schedule during the week is to wake up around 5, work until lunchtime with a short break for a walk or watch the sunrise, and then go to the local black sand beach, hike, bike, run, or take a yoga class in the afternoon. The weekends present free time for mini roadtrips. On sunday I ventured with 4 of my housemates to the Green Sand Beach. A 2 hour card ride through lava fields followed by an hour hike along the ocean and we were body surfing at Green Sand Beach. Am I really in Hawaii?


Community living has been interesting and rewarding to say the least. I've been here about 10 days and feel I've made many connections with the other people here. For the most part the group is harmonious and easy to get along with. There's a weekly meeting to discuss all aspects of the community, strengthen communication, and build bonds between housemates. There's also the occasional birthday shindig as seen below.

Happy New Year 2010

Happy New Year and best wishes to everyone for a healthy and prosperous 2010. The past few weeks have been spent selling lots of boardgames on amazon, enjoying Christmas and New Year's with family & friends, and planning the next travel destination. After carefully considering several options I've decided to go to the Big Island in Hawaii. Aside from the average daily temperature of 78 degrees during the winter the Big Island attracted me because of the wide range of climates found on the island. There are 15 different climate zones found on our planet and 11 of them appear somewhere on the Big Island. I'm leaving this friday and if I can keep close tabs on my duffle bag I'll stay until April 10th. I'll set up my home base in the Puna District which is located in the southeast corner of the island. A new camera was recently purchased so pictures and updates will be coming soon.

Shelton, CT

The morning of friday, November 27th I visited the U.S. Embassy in Costa Rica in order to get a temporary passport. By friday night I was in Shelton, CT visiting my brother Tom, his wife Sue, my niece Ivy, and nephew Aidan. Saturday I picked out a new laptop and cellphone and by monday morning I was hard at work trying to get caught up on everything. An unexpected chance to visit with family despite the cold weather made the transition from life in a tropical jungle to late autumn on the east coast a little bit easier. We got lucky with a few warm days in the 50's so did some hiking and one scenic bike ride along the Housatonic River. There was lots of time for games, mad libs, reading books, picking out a tree at a Christmas tree farm, decorating the tree, enjoying a snow day, a holiday party with the Cubs Scouts, and a 6-hour boardgame marathon with a local boardgame meetup. I'll head back to California for Christmas and New Year's with an eye on traveling somewhere warm in early January.


This is Shelton, CT... not Costa Rica!