Þekkiði nokkuð einhvern sem vantar herbergi í íbúð hér í Íþöku næsta vetur?? Agalega edilonsfínt herbergi er laust fyrir agalega edilonsfínan framleigjanda. Hafa bara samband við undirritaða. Núna. Strax.
Þau undur og stórmerki hafa gerst að ég hef gert eitthvað af viti í dag. Í tilefni af því ætla ég að trítla heim hvað úr hverju og elda mexíkanska kjúklinga-tex mex súpu. Namminamm. Allir að koma í mat.
mánudagur, maí 30, 2005
*Alþjóðlegar tjaldbúðir við Kárahnjúka í sumar*
Glóðvolgt úr pósthólfinu mínu:
"Til stendur að slá upp alþjóðlegum búðum við Kárahnjúka síðari hluta júnímánaðar. Tjaldbúðirnar, sem munu standa fram í ágúst/september, eða svo lengi sem veður leyfir, munu verða vettvangur fyrir fólk að koma á framfæri mótmælum sínum við virkjunarframkvæmdirnar. Boðið verður upp á fjölbreytta menningardagskrá, fræðslufundi og gönguferðir með leiðsögumönnum. Að búðunum standa engin samtök, heldur fjöldi einstaklinga úr öllum áttum sem láta sig varða framtíð og örlög náttúrugersema okkar. Öllum er velkomið að taka þátt.
Frekari upplýsingar á www.savingiceland.org eða með tölvupósti á savingiceland@riseup.net"
"Til stendur að slá upp alþjóðlegum búðum við Kárahnjúka síðari hluta júnímánaðar. Tjaldbúðirnar, sem munu standa fram í ágúst/september, eða svo lengi sem veður leyfir, munu verða vettvangur fyrir fólk að koma á framfæri mótmælum sínum við virkjunarframkvæmdirnar. Boðið verður upp á fjölbreytta menningardagskrá, fræðslufundi og gönguferðir með leiðsögumönnum. Að búðunum standa engin samtök, heldur fjöldi einstaklinga úr öllum áttum sem láta sig varða framtíð og örlög náttúrugersema okkar. Öllum er velkomið að taka þátt.
Frekari upplýsingar á www.savingiceland.org eða með tölvupósti á savingiceland@riseup.net"
föstudagur, maí 27, 2005
Til hamingju með stórafmælið!
Hún mamma mín elskuleg á stórafmæli í dag. Hún lengi lifi! Húrra!! Húrra!! Húrra!!
fimmtudagur, maí 26, 2005
Boston og nýir tímar
Þá er nýtt tímatal hafið. Í dag er annar dagur e.t., þ.e. eftir tónleikana.
Þessir gæjar eru ekkert venjulega svalir. Þeir spiluðu alveg brjálað rokk í rúma tvo tíma meðan 17 þúsund manns sungu og öskruðu með. Uppi á þriðju svölum, beint fyrir ofan og framan við sviðið og í fremstu röð, stóð undirrituð og rétt náði að halda í líftóruna þegar goðin komu á sviðið. Vá!! Þeir eru ekkert smá flottir, alveg eðalsvalir og vita nákvæmlega hvað þeir eru að gera. Ég held að hver einasta manneskja í höllinni hefði étið úr lófanum á þeim hefði slíkt staðið til boða... þeir gjörsamlega áttu alla viðstadda.
Það sem ég saknaði var náttla uppáhaldslagið mitt, Bad (lagalistinn er neðst á síðunni sem ég linkaði á að ofan) og svo að sjá Bono fiska e-a dömu úr krádinu upp á svið til sín eins og hann gerði stundum í gamla daga. Núna var hann mjög passasamur með að koma ekki of nálægt sviðsbrúninni (einu sinni handjárnaði e-r dama sig víst við ökklann á honum og hann þurfti að standa á sviðsbrúninni og syngja þar til hægt var að saga handjárnin í sundur - hahahaha!!) en var að öðru leyti æðandi út um allt svið. Sviðið var alveg ótrúlega flott, mínímalisminn á fullu og ljós og form látin búa til effektana. Þetta hér var líka ótrúlega flott atriði - klikkið á myndina með greininni til að sjá betur. Mannréttindayfirlýsing SÞ á skjánum var áhrifamikil, Love and Peace kom ótrúlega á óvart og Where The Streets var rokkaðra og kraftmeira en ég hef nokkurn tímann heyrt það áður.
Annað sem var alveg rjómaflott var að við Shan gátum verið saman á tónleikunum... miðarnir mínir tveir sem ég keypti í forsölu fyrir aðdáendur (ég veit, ég er paþetísk..) voru á sitthvorum enda tónleikahallarinnar. Enginn skipti sér af því hvar maður sat fyrr en sætiseigandinn birtist - sem betur fer birtist enginn til að gera tilkall til sætanna sem við eignuðum okkur. Sem reyndust svo vera bestu sætin í húsinu. Edilon var svo sannarlega á svæðinu.
Í gær skoðuðum við svo Boston í haugarigningu og roki sem hefði alveg getað látið reykvískan útnyrðing skammast sín. Fólk í Boston virðist mér almennt vera skynsamara en Íþökubúar, það klæðir sig eftir veðri og dró fram flíshúfurnar og dúnúlpurnar í tilefni veðursins meðan að hér í Íþöku fara allir í stuttbuxurnar í lok mars, sama hvernig viðrar. Held með Boston-liðinu.
Á heildina var þetta alveg agalega flott aukahelgi í miðri viku. Meira svona, takk.
Þessir gæjar eru ekkert venjulega svalir. Þeir spiluðu alveg brjálað rokk í rúma tvo tíma meðan 17 þúsund manns sungu og öskruðu með. Uppi á þriðju svölum, beint fyrir ofan og framan við sviðið og í fremstu röð, stóð undirrituð og rétt náði að halda í líftóruna þegar goðin komu á sviðið. Vá!! Þeir eru ekkert smá flottir, alveg eðalsvalir og vita nákvæmlega hvað þeir eru að gera. Ég held að hver einasta manneskja í höllinni hefði étið úr lófanum á þeim hefði slíkt staðið til boða... þeir gjörsamlega áttu alla viðstadda.
Það sem ég saknaði var náttla uppáhaldslagið mitt, Bad (lagalistinn er neðst á síðunni sem ég linkaði á að ofan) og svo að sjá Bono fiska e-a dömu úr krádinu upp á svið til sín eins og hann gerði stundum í gamla daga. Núna var hann mjög passasamur með að koma ekki of nálægt sviðsbrúninni (einu sinni handjárnaði e-r dama sig víst við ökklann á honum og hann þurfti að standa á sviðsbrúninni og syngja þar til hægt var að saga handjárnin í sundur - hahahaha!!) en var að öðru leyti æðandi út um allt svið. Sviðið var alveg ótrúlega flott, mínímalisminn á fullu og ljós og form látin búa til effektana. Þetta hér var líka ótrúlega flott atriði - klikkið á myndina með greininni til að sjá betur. Mannréttindayfirlýsing SÞ á skjánum var áhrifamikil, Love and Peace kom ótrúlega á óvart og Where The Streets var rokkaðra og kraftmeira en ég hef nokkurn tímann heyrt það áður.
Annað sem var alveg rjómaflott var að við Shan gátum verið saman á tónleikunum... miðarnir mínir tveir sem ég keypti í forsölu fyrir aðdáendur (ég veit, ég er paþetísk..) voru á sitthvorum enda tónleikahallarinnar. Enginn skipti sér af því hvar maður sat fyrr en sætiseigandinn birtist - sem betur fer birtist enginn til að gera tilkall til sætanna sem við eignuðum okkur. Sem reyndust svo vera bestu sætin í húsinu. Edilon var svo sannarlega á svæðinu.
Í gær skoðuðum við svo Boston í haugarigningu og roki sem hefði alveg getað látið reykvískan útnyrðing skammast sín. Fólk í Boston virðist mér almennt vera skynsamara en Íþökubúar, það klæðir sig eftir veðri og dró fram flíshúfurnar og dúnúlpurnar í tilefni veðursins meðan að hér í Íþöku fara allir í stuttbuxurnar í lok mars, sama hvernig viðrar. Held með Boston-liðinu.
Á heildina var þetta alveg agalega flott aukahelgi í miðri viku. Meira svona, takk.
mánudagur, maí 23, 2005
Tónleikavikan
Við fengum stórskemmtilega heimsókn á fimmtudaginn þegar Ed bróðir hennar Stínu kom í heimsókn til Íþöku. Hann og vinur hans Tom voru á fyrsta degi ökuferðar til vesturstrandarinnar. Eftir kvöldmat og spjall dró Ed fram fiðluna sína og spilaði fyrir viðstadda. Mér leið bara eins og drottningu í höll sinni!
Svo leið helgin og áður en ég gat sagt "edilonsfínt, alveg hreint" á innsoginu er kominn mánudagur. Alveg magnað hvað tíminn getur liðið hratt. Á morgun verður svo brunað til Boston til að sjá goðin mín í U2 spila. Mikið gasalega hlakka ég til. Því miður kemst Erna vinkona ekki með sakir anna svo hann Shan ætlar að halda mér kompaníi. Vel upp alinn herramaður, jájá.
Svo leið helgin og áður en ég gat sagt "edilonsfínt, alveg hreint" á innsoginu er kominn mánudagur. Alveg magnað hvað tíminn getur liðið hratt. Á morgun verður svo brunað til Boston til að sjá goðin mín í U2 spila. Mikið gasalega hlakka ég til. Því miður kemst Erna vinkona ekki með sakir anna svo hann Shan ætlar að halda mér kompaníi. Vel upp alinn herramaður, jájá.
fimmtudagur, maí 19, 2005
This Ithaca Life
Busy. Very busy.
Or did I mean to say lazy? Very lazy?
Running standards. Hanging out. Running samples. Trying to figure out what exactly to do with all these samples. Looking for the cable. Changing my address. Taking the sweater off, putting it on again. Cold, warm, then cold again. Too little sleep, too much coffee. Am in spite of all this (or because of it) having a great time.
Anybody have a pink bathrobe?
Or did I mean to say lazy? Very lazy?
Running standards. Hanging out. Running samples. Trying to figure out what exactly to do with all these samples. Looking for the cable. Changing my address. Taking the sweater off, putting it on again. Cold, warm, then cold again. Too little sleep, too much coffee. Am in spite of all this (or because of it) having a great time.
Anybody have a pink bathrobe?
sunnudagur, maí 15, 2005
Vegna fjölda áskorana...
... eða var það áskoranna?
Sú gamla komin heim í heiðardalinn. Agalega notalegt. Meira síðar.
Sú gamla komin heim í heiðardalinn. Agalega notalegt. Meira síðar.
þriðjudagur, maí 10, 2005
Ertu þá farin?
Yes, I think so. I'm gone. Or just about to.
It's still morning here in the Pacific, I've packed up my stuff and all I need to do now is throw my samples into a cooler, take the cooler to the post office, clean my room and brace myself for the overweight charges that will be brought against me at the airport. One last shopping visit to Kona and then I'm off.
It's still morning here in the Pacific, I've packed up my stuff and all I need to do now is throw my samples into a cooler, take the cooler to the post office, clean my room and brace myself for the overweight charges that will be brought against me at the airport. One last shopping visit to Kona and then I'm off.
sunnudagur, maí 08, 2005
Da babes and some serious stuff
Nona and I (in that order, strictly) are without a shadow of doubt the hottest chicks in the Cornell mansion today.
See, we went surfing this morning. A friend of Nona's, a lady who's surfed for over 20 years, took us to Pine Trees beach in Kona, bringing a board along for each of us. The beach is kind of rocky and the bottom is really rocky, so the first thing I did after paddling out a few dozen meters on the board was to fall off of it and cut my heel (ever the babe, you see). Nona did pretty well on her board (read: stayed on it), whereas I kept falling off (such a babe, you know). Falling off, per se, would not have been a problem (you just get back on the board, which isn't too hard at all) but with that bottom, rocky and strewn with sea urchins whose spikes make you ache for days, it wasn't so great. After a while, I figured I'd have more fun bodyboarding, so I traded my super-cool surfboard for a boogieboard and fins. Had tons of fun!! The waves were nice, not too big at all, and being in the water watching all these people surf was just amazing. Especially seeing ladies in their sixties and kids who can barely walk gracefully riding the waves. Did I say amazing? Totally. Amazing.
Which does not mean that I'm not still a telemark girl at heart :)
Not taking anything away from Nona and I, I still think it's fair to say that the hottest babe on the beach was our host, Karen. She is such an interesting person. Thanks to her and some of her friends' efforts, Pine Trees beach is a public beach about to be turned into a county park, instead of a pricy resort for the select few. They fought a long and hard battle, stretching over 15 years, to get the developers away and secure the beach for the public. It was so inspiring to hear her tale. Made me believe that the Icelandic highlands, Þjórsárver and tons of other threatened places back home in Iceland still stand a chance of survival.
What secured their success? People hearing of the beach being threatened and going there to see it and enjoy it before it was too late. Everyone came to love it and a huge momentum was generated in the society for the preservation of the beach. So, all you Paris-London-Rome-going Icelanders, go to Kárahnjúkar instead. Go to Þjórsárver. See what you will be losing. Then decide for yourself whether losing it is worth what you get back (verðbólga, þensla, nýtt sjónvarp í eldhúsið). Please don't let Landsvirkjun's PR gang decide the future of our land for us.
Karen told me that if the battle for the beach had only been fought by environmentalists, it would probably have been lost. The only reason they were so successful is that indigenous peoples' rights and human rights were made an issue. Now, technically speaking we Icelanders cannot really think of ourselves as indigenous. We are, however, fighting against the same trespassing on our lands as the native Hawaiians (and native peoples everywhere): multinational companies (backed by our government and its institutions) taking our land for their own benefit, giving very little back to the community and not giving a rat's ass about how their arrival on the scene influences traditional land uses and values. A scene most understandable in the so-called third world, of which Iceland doesn't usually consider itself part.
See, we went surfing this morning. A friend of Nona's, a lady who's surfed for over 20 years, took us to Pine Trees beach in Kona, bringing a board along for each of us. The beach is kind of rocky and the bottom is really rocky, so the first thing I did after paddling out a few dozen meters on the board was to fall off of it and cut my heel (ever the babe, you see). Nona did pretty well on her board (read: stayed on it), whereas I kept falling off (such a babe, you know). Falling off, per se, would not have been a problem (you just get back on the board, which isn't too hard at all) but with that bottom, rocky and strewn with sea urchins whose spikes make you ache for days, it wasn't so great. After a while, I figured I'd have more fun bodyboarding, so I traded my super-cool surfboard for a boogieboard and fins. Had tons of fun!! The waves were nice, not too big at all, and being in the water watching all these people surf was just amazing. Especially seeing ladies in their sixties and kids who can barely walk gracefully riding the waves. Did I say amazing? Totally. Amazing.
Which does not mean that I'm not still a telemark girl at heart :)
Not taking anything away from Nona and I, I still think it's fair to say that the hottest babe on the beach was our host, Karen. She is such an interesting person. Thanks to her and some of her friends' efforts, Pine Trees beach is a public beach about to be turned into a county park, instead of a pricy resort for the select few. They fought a long and hard battle, stretching over 15 years, to get the developers away and secure the beach for the public. It was so inspiring to hear her tale. Made me believe that the Icelandic highlands, Þjórsárver and tons of other threatened places back home in Iceland still stand a chance of survival.
What secured their success? People hearing of the beach being threatened and going there to see it and enjoy it before it was too late. Everyone came to love it and a huge momentum was generated in the society for the preservation of the beach. So, all you Paris-London-Rome-going Icelanders, go to Kárahnjúkar instead. Go to Þjórsárver. See what you will be losing. Then decide for yourself whether losing it is worth what you get back (verðbólga, þensla, nýtt sjónvarp í eldhúsið). Please don't let Landsvirkjun's PR gang decide the future of our land for us.
Karen told me that if the battle for the beach had only been fought by environmentalists, it would probably have been lost. The only reason they were so successful is that indigenous peoples' rights and human rights were made an issue. Now, technically speaking we Icelanders cannot really think of ourselves as indigenous. We are, however, fighting against the same trespassing on our lands as the native Hawaiians (and native peoples everywhere): multinational companies (backed by our government and its institutions) taking our land for their own benefit, giving very little back to the community and not giving a rat's ass about how their arrival on the scene influences traditional land uses and values. A scene most understandable in the so-called third world, of which Iceland doesn't usually consider itself part.
föstudagur, maí 06, 2005
Le jour d'aujourd hui
Returned to the Cornell abroad mansion on the HPA campus at 8:30 pm after a long and successful day out sampling. Brought 4.5 liters of East Hawaiian water (that's 36 bottles!!) with me. The island is currently experiencing draught, so I consider myself pretty good. I think I may also have diminished the local mosquito population somewhat. Fortunately however, I did not have to defend myself from the wild pig that was grunting in the forest across from Hil'iwil'iwonk'im'ili river. Dear jesus, what sounds!
Down in Hilo I sampled some brackish springs in a beach park. When I was done sampling a guy came over to my car, where I was labeling my bottles and putting them in the cooler, with his hands full of gardenias. "These are for you," he said and asked what I was doing. Turns out he lives across the street and just felt like being nice. Drove home with the car full of the scent of gardenias and split them up evenly among the members of the Cornell household when I got back. All the girls got their gardenia, and even Chris got his fair share.
Then, when I got to the mansion, a fabulous gift for the flight home was waiting. Why is everyone so nice to me these days?!?! I haven't even mentioned yet the lady - a technician with an environmental consultant company in Kona - who took me sampling down in Kiholo Bay yesterday, showing me different sampling sites after she had visited hers, just because she felt like being nice. Have I done something recently to deserve this??
The next Thursday of my life will be spent entirely in Ithaca, NY. Sehr gut, Herr Fritz.
Down in Hilo I sampled some brackish springs in a beach park. When I was done sampling a guy came over to my car, where I was labeling my bottles and putting them in the cooler, with his hands full of gardenias. "These are for you," he said and asked what I was doing. Turns out he lives across the street and just felt like being nice. Drove home with the car full of the scent of gardenias and split them up evenly among the members of the Cornell household when I got back. All the girls got their gardenia, and even Chris got his fair share.
Then, when I got to the mansion, a fabulous gift for the flight home was waiting. Why is everyone so nice to me these days?!?! I haven't even mentioned yet the lady - a technician with an environmental consultant company in Kona - who took me sampling down in Kiholo Bay yesterday, showing me different sampling sites after she had visited hers, just because she felt like being nice. Have I done something recently to deserve this??
The next Thursday of my life will be spent entirely in Ithaca, NY. Sehr gut, Herr Fritz.
fimmtudagur, maí 05, 2005
Bookworm's gym
miðvikudagur, maí 04, 2005
Drive, drive, drive your car gently down the street...
Today and the next few will be remembered as days of driving.
Took Carla to Kohala Ranch today. Carla is an aged maiden, of the Izusu Trooper variety. She's of a very volatile temper and by the time I reached the ranch, by the upper mountain road, she was fuming. She cooled down a bit going down the steep hill to the meeting place with my well-guy, but as soon as the well testing was over and we hit the coastal road, she started fuming again. The road up to Waimea almost did the old lady in and twice I had to stop to let her calm down. I know someone's going to comment and ask if she had enough coolant; well, turns out this sweetheart burns it! What can you do?!?!
In the afternoon I played the private driver for two of our students, driving in the process to Kailua-Kona and back. Tomorrow I'll drive to Kailua-Kona and back, then to Hilo and back. Thursday, I'll drive to Hilo and back. Friday, I'll drive to Waikoloa and back, then maybe to Waipi'o and back, then to Kona. If there were a bridge to the mainland, I'd be halfway across it by the end of the week. Almost.
This reminds me of the tourists (I hate to say this, but they were girls) who I met at the campsite in Egilsstaðir many a long year ago. They asked me how long it would take to cross the bridge to Norway.
Bought Beck's Guero to listen to in the car, since listening to Hawaiian radio can make any woman suicidal. It's either ukulele (which will always put you to sleep), eighties soft-rock (which makes you lose all will to live) or country. And if it's none of those, it's NPR begging for money. Hand me the razorblade, honey.
Took Carla to Kohala Ranch today. Carla is an aged maiden, of the Izusu Trooper variety. She's of a very volatile temper and by the time I reached the ranch, by the upper mountain road, she was fuming. She cooled down a bit going down the steep hill to the meeting place with my well-guy, but as soon as the well testing was over and we hit the coastal road, she started fuming again. The road up to Waimea almost did the old lady in and twice I had to stop to let her calm down. I know someone's going to comment and ask if she had enough coolant; well, turns out this sweetheart burns it! What can you do?!?!
In the afternoon I played the private driver for two of our students, driving in the process to Kailua-Kona and back. Tomorrow I'll drive to Kailua-Kona and back, then to Hilo and back. Thursday, I'll drive to Hilo and back. Friday, I'll drive to Waikoloa and back, then maybe to Waipi'o and back, then to Kona. If there were a bridge to the mainland, I'd be halfway across it by the end of the week. Almost.
This reminds me of the tourists (I hate to say this, but they were girls) who I met at the campsite in Egilsstaðir many a long year ago. They asked me how long it would take to cross the bridge to Norway.
Bought Beck's Guero to listen to in the car, since listening to Hawaiian radio can make any woman suicidal. It's either ukulele (which will always put you to sleep), eighties soft-rock (which makes you lose all will to live) or country. And if it's none of those, it's NPR begging for money. Hand me the razorblade, honey.
mánudagur, maí 02, 2005
Beach bum
Today, which was supposed to be almost no fun (only a 1-hr-beach visit) and almost all work, quite unexpectedly turned into an all-day tons-of fun beach affair. The reason: I brought an old and broken bodyboard with me to the beach and gave it a go. Whoa! Should have done that a long time ago. I ended up spending something like 3 hours in the water, riding every wave that would carry me back in to shore, and had fun like a three-year old in the process. Chris and Kane joined me later in the afternoon, it was kind of nice to have company on the beach for a change. Not that the beach was empty, it seemed that every human being on the west coast of Hawai'i decided to go to Hapuna Beach today. Except for those who had taken all the parking spots at Mauna Kea, that is.
This means that it was pretty crowded in the water. About half of the people had bodyboards and some were using them as surfboards. That was cool to watch. Even the small waves we had today (these don't come anywhere close to the gigantic waves you see surfers ride on the telly) can really kick your butt, I for one wouldn't want to be caught up in a 10-foot wave without knowing exactly what I was doing. For example, the wave can smash your back to pieces if you get it wrong. For another, og aðeins nærtækara, example, I point to the advise given in this point nr. 4:
After riding my first "big" wave in I was marching out to deeper water again and noticed some people looking strangely at me - turned out half my breast was out after my hot new pink bikini bra had been yanked up by the water. After that I checked my outfit after every wave, which was just as well because one wave totally pulled one of my tits from the bra, and another one, the biggest ass-kicker of them all, didn't only send my bra up to my neck but also tried to pull my pants off!
This reminded me of our field trip to Cuba many years ago. Say no more.
So, anyway, had a tremendously good time at the beach today. My left buttcheek is also finally getting its fair share of a bikini line (don't ask me why but it just hasn't been receptice to tan). Obviously I'm relieved. I couldn't have gone back home without a perfect tan.
Oh, and believe it or not, I actually got some work done today at the beach, in between the boarding sessions. Read some (stable isotope) geochemistry (which geeks like me find rather likable) and worked on my final project on diffusion modelling. Dugleg stelpa.
This means that it was pretty crowded in the water. About half of the people had bodyboards and some were using them as surfboards. That was cool to watch. Even the small waves we had today (these don't come anywhere close to the gigantic waves you see surfers ride on the telly) can really kick your butt, I for one wouldn't want to be caught up in a 10-foot wave without knowing exactly what I was doing. For example, the wave can smash your back to pieces if you get it wrong. For another, og aðeins nærtækara, example, I point to the advise given in this point nr. 4:
After riding my first "big" wave in I was marching out to deeper water again and noticed some people looking strangely at me - turned out half my breast was out after my hot new pink bikini bra had been yanked up by the water. After that I checked my outfit after every wave, which was just as well because one wave totally pulled one of my tits from the bra, and another one, the biggest ass-kicker of them all, didn't only send my bra up to my neck but also tried to pull my pants off!
This reminded me of our field trip to Cuba many years ago. Say no more.
So, anyway, had a tremendously good time at the beach today. My left buttcheek is also finally getting its fair share of a bikini line (don't ask me why but it just hasn't been receptice to tan). Obviously I'm relieved. I couldn't have gone back home without a perfect tan.
Oh, and believe it or not, I actually got some work done today at the beach, in between the boarding sessions. Read some (stable isotope) geochemistry (which geeks like me find rather likable) and worked on my final project on diffusion modelling. Dugleg stelpa.
sunnudagur, maí 01, 2005
Madness
Ok, so I went here. This place is totally insanely luxurious, I could hardly believe my eyes. But it's not like I was lying on the beach by the hotel, sipping a margarita and getting a back rub courtesy of the manager... no no. The resort by law is requiered to allow public access to its beaches, so in order to keep the public off the fancy tourist brochure beach they make the walking trail there about a mile long from the public parking lot. Most people simply couldn't be bothered and go to Hapuna or Mauna Kea instead.
The de facto public beach at Mauna Lani, in the Holoholokai Beach Park is actually not too bad either. It's not made of fine sand at all, but rather from coarse sand and gravel-sized bits of lava and coral. The coral grows on a submerged lava platform which is mostly pahoehoe-lava (flat, smooth lava with the occasional lava ropes on the surface, much like the lavas in Þingvellir). Swimming would be probably be rather painful at this beach, but it hosts a bunch of tidepools, and you can wade in the water and see all kinds of small critters such as sea urchins and whatnot. That's exactly what I did before giving in to lethargy on my beach towel, and I also walked a self-guided trail to see the petroglyphs I was talking about earlier. Those were interesting. I was the only fair-skinned person on the beach, the rest looked like locals on their weekend outing with the family (always nice to get away from the other tourists, innit??) At a picnic table next to me there was a bunch of rather stocky guys having a BBQ and practicing their a capella skills between the courses. An altogether nice afternoon.
The de facto public beach at Mauna Lani, in the Holoholokai Beach Park is actually not too bad either. It's not made of fine sand at all, but rather from coarse sand and gravel-sized bits of lava and coral. The coral grows on a submerged lava platform which is mostly pahoehoe-lava (flat, smooth lava with the occasional lava ropes on the surface, much like the lavas in Þingvellir). Swimming would be probably be rather painful at this beach, but it hosts a bunch of tidepools, and you can wade in the water and see all kinds of small critters such as sea urchins and whatnot. That's exactly what I did before giving in to lethargy on my beach towel, and I also walked a self-guided trail to see the petroglyphs I was talking about earlier. Those were interesting. I was the only fair-skinned person on the beach, the rest looked like locals on their weekend outing with the family (always nice to get away from the other tourists, innit??) At a picnic table next to me there was a bunch of rather stocky guys having a BBQ and practicing their a capella skills between the courses. An altogether nice afternoon.
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