from the ma uka-most reaches of Keaʻau, Sunday, September 16, 2018

Hūi!  Yes...Iʻve been away, resorting at Lāhuipuaʻa with HK, enjoying winds, rains, pacific bobbing, eating ʻono foods...all those fun things.  In retrospect, The Three Months, as Iʻve taken to calling them, were taxing.  And though allʻs been quiet on the eastern front for six weeks now, doubts lurk.  At some point sooner rather than later Iʻll write one of my stream-of -consciousness prose things in an attempt to portray what those times were like up here.

Iʻve come to understand that The Blog is actually a pretty cool diary.  It was all so in-the-moment, uncalculated, and driven by lack of sleep, Iʻm curious to go back and read what I experienced.  Because life goes on, and we seem to adjust to new paradigms/para-dimes faster than perhaps is healthy and healing.

If all goes as planned, The Park will be open next Saturday.  No potable water, most trails will remain closed, including the most popular Kīlauea Iki loop.  All those ʻōlaʻi shook loose many many boulders from the faces of pali, and so trails are blocked in places, and/or cracked and fissured in others.  But views from Volcano House and from Crater Rim Trail between there and Wahinekapu (the main steam vents area) should prove to be stunning, at least to those of us who know Kaluapele "then".  Malihini (first-time visitors) may volunteer something like... "Oh.  Nice hole...But whereʻs the lava?"  Of course there isnʻt any.  For now.  No evening glow, no choking fume during kona winds, no golden Peleʻs hair being wind-wafted.  

But the aerial footage gives us an idea of the scope of change.  The colors on the faces of newly revealed pali, a multiplicity of kaulu (ledges) spacious and small alike, the many layers, colors, and textures of pele formed since the last major collapse of Kaluapele in 1790, all exposed in new walls.  

Kaluapele from a USGS HVO drone, September 6, 2018

One of the coolest things, I think, is that we wonʻt be able to see the bottom of the abyss from any overlook.  No matter how much we tiptoe, crane our necks, or climb up on walls, the bottom will remain hidden.  We donʻt need to see everything.  Especially when Pelehonuamea decides to be discreet. 

A couple words that may be apropos from the Pukui and Elbert Hawaiian Dictionary:

Nīele:  

nvs. To keep asking questions; inquisitive, curious, plying with frivolous questions (often used in pejorative sense, as of a busybody asking things that do not concern him); to quiz, pump; question. As an exclamation of annoyance: you are too inquisitive! Who cares to answer your questions! hoʻo.nī.ele Questioning, especially by leading up indirectly rather than directly; quizzing; curious; curiosity.

Mahaʻoi:

vs. Bold, impertinent, impudent, insolent, nervy, cheeky, rude, forward, presumptuous, saucy, brazen. 

To some the difference may not matter, but itʻs most polite NOT to be mahaʻoi...and itʻs not only about asking too many questions or being rude, itʻs about not going where you arenʻt invited.  No one has a "right" to go where ever they desire.  Especially now in The Park.

Some of us believe that now is a time for reflection, for being quiet and reverent, to contemplate stupefying changes we didnʻt even think about in April.  The challenge is that those who are visiting, who donʻt understand our cultures, and the majority who didnʻt experience what we did in The Three Months, much less during our lifetimes here, THOSE are the people we wish would also be quiet and attempt to learn about our ʻāina aloha.

Itʻs difficult to express and explain how we feel sometimes.  And Iʻm thinking Iʻm not doing a particularly good job right now.  Emotions are still raw, I guess.  And too, the ways in which Hawaiʻi is marketed to the world leaves a lot to be desired.  It shouldnʻt be about more More MORE!!! We just set another record!  But of course, now, itʻs just that.  Lip service is paid to the Aloha Spirit, to Sense of Place, to Authentic Culture, to Mālama ʻĀina, to Pono, but what does all of that really mean?  Really?  Use an ʻōʻō (digging stick) rather than a golden shovel to break ground for the latest highrise and itʻll make it all right?

I feel a rant coming on, but itʻs too beautiful an afternoon to get worked up.

So...

All remains quiet here at the summit.  ʻŌlaʻi are rare.  Friends and I were talking and agreed that MAYBE weʻve felt a couple in the last several weeks.  

And here you go:  for the last Month, 166 ʻōlaʻi at the summit.  One could almost count them on the image!  Imagine that!

And shaking my head, a similar view on August 7, for the previous Month, 15,527 of them:  

Just in case some of you forgot or something...

And then down at Keahialaka, HVO installed a webcam at Fissure 8, maybe a week ago...

Fissure 8 cam

The view this morning:

The colors are of course highlighted differently depending on where the sun is, cloud cover, etc.  Looks like a cozy little bay...

And then the Tilting...or absence of Tilting.  All appears quiet for the time being.  For now.

near Puʻuʻōʻō:

 and near the summit:

Some of us prefer flattish lines...

OK then...These posts will obviously be more erratic than they were.  And I need to mull and muse topics.  If you have some to suggest, shoot me an email and Iʻll oblige if I can.

In a few days, then...

As always, with aloha,

BobbyC
maniniowali@gmail.com