Day 2: Coconut rice and Conversations
Today (or actually yesterday because I forgot to keep my blog updated), my fellow guest Tille’s friends came over from Hilo to discover Kona together. We hopped in their tiny rented Renault and drove to Two Steps, a famous surfer and snorkelpoint near Pu’ukohola Historic Centre. This was a ‘’beach’’ with mostly rocks, so we sat our asses down on them and got to know each other better. One girl, Janina, was from Germany and hadn’t been travelling for that long yet, compared to the other two, Zayn and Meghan. Zayn was in the US Military and has basically seen the entire planet on his way to Hawaii, and Meghan is from New Zealand with Hawaii to be her first stop on her travels. We went in for a quick snorkel, however I’m not so tiny so I was very worried to ruin the coral with my long legs and snorkelflippers. The waves were getting stronger and stronger and though I saw many cute fish (even Gail from Finding Nemo!!) I decided to get out of the water. To top everything off, I saw a real-life turtle, wild and alive!
We got hungry so we went to Kona Farmers’ Market, where I tried the weirdest but tastiest thing ever: coconut rice, filled with toasted coconut and palm sugar, steamed in banana leaf! While going around the market, it was very apparent to me that so many people were open to start a conversation with you, not even to sell anything but to chat for fun and to teach you things. I think that’s a big difference with Holland, where we can be less spontaneous and generous at times. It was interesting to chat with Tille’s friends too, especially because they’re all from different countries and continents. I feel like talking to travellers teaches people more about perspectives and worldviews than any book may ever do: in Europe we have our own view on the US Military, while someone from the US or even the military itself feels very proud and willing to die for their country and firmly believes killing can be justified as one’s duty.
After the Farmers’ Market, we went to see downtown Kona, where there was market too. People sold the cutest things: from shirts and bracelets to pieces of traditional Hawaiian art and painted coconuts. There were many samples of food to try, and many vegan options too! After going through the market at a fast pace (the drive back to Hilo is 2 hours and we wanted to go to the beach too) we went back to Magic Sands Beach to relax for a couple hours. It felt very freeing to me, to be with these people who had been traveling so independently for so long and who had seen more than I ever have. Talking to them feels like reading a page of a novel yet to be read by me, and gets me excited about all these different cultures on earth.
Lastly, we went out to dinner and tried Kava, traditional Hawaiian juice supposed to make you ‘’happy and very relaxed’’. It tasted like drain water and I will not be having it again any time soon but it was fun to try. My dinner consisted of sweet potato covered in hot coconut oil, very simple and not too much but soooo delicious. It was time to say goodbye and to hike back to our residence, but we had an amazing time. Tille and I will probably visit Hilo this weekend, so maybe we’ll be seeing them again as well.
