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Hilo Coast

HAWAII, Nov 25 - The east and the west coasts of the Big Island could not be more different.  The west (Kona) side is dry, desert like, with lots of lava fields.  The east (Hilo) coast is like a rain forest - a lush, green and tropical jungle, like the ones in Vietnam, Thailand or Singapore.  That's because of 150-300+ inches of annual rainfall that some areas around here get.  Check it out...

But first, a few shots of this new "Hawaiian" girl with her lei as we said goodbye to our Marriott's resort on the west side of the island.  Then along the way to Hilo, we stopped for this shot of a banana grove (right) in the Hamakua area (about half way between Waimea and Hilo - see above maps).

And now, you can see what I meant by the "lush, green and tropical jungle" in the Hilo area (above shots).  I highlighted a waterfall in the middle left shot that provided nature's music to this lovely setting where "anything' grows, including, of course, the coconuts (below right).

On the outskirts of Hilo, we passed through a quaint old town of Honomu that looked like a time warp left over from the 19th century.

Our hotel is an old 1960s-vintage place, but right on water, near the Hilo harbor, on a road appropriately named Banyan Drive.

Just how big these banyan trees are can be best seen from the left two pictures of Elizabeth frolicking under one of them.  We were also able to see the Pride of America cruise ship in the harbor just before she sailed into the blue yonder.

Then as we were getting some supplies at a local food store, I first smelled and then saw real honest to goodness Christmas trees, even here in Hawaii!  Interestingly, only a few hours earlier, Elizabeth had asked me if they had any Christmas trees here.  And now she has her answer - and the price to go with it (about $90 for a 6ft-tree).

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! (to all our American family and friends)

To be continued...

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