A Timeless Hawaiian Moment
Blues, some blues so blue they shine on the very edge of the possible. These are the blues of Hawaii’s Big Island, these impossibly beautiful blues, created by water, wave, light and rock. I house-sat there with my girlfriend Alice a couple of years ago, and we did all we could to see — and get into — those waters. There are many, many beguiling coves, beaches and long stretches of coastline on the Big Island, where the hardened lava has shaped the waves and the waves have shaped it, and all combinations are sweet on the eyes.
One of the places we returned to over and over was Lapakahi State Historical Park, just twenty minutes or so from our stay on the island’s North Kohala coast. Lapakahi is a large area of partially restored ruins from an ancient Hawaiian coastal settlement. There are some thatched buildings, some tight, stacked lava-rock enclosures, some areas that had been set aside for planting or cooking. You can take easy self-guided tours through the artifacts, and wonder about times long past.
The settlement is intriguing, but it’s the setting itself that is the jewel. The village was built on the edge of the waters, near several small coves and rocky inlets. There are dramatic trees growing out of its reddened soil that remind me of seeing something from a documentary on the African savanna. But those cove…
