Naue aku naue la naue i ke hoa!

Not only did we practice taro farming and ginger extermination this weekend, we also learned a new chant in Hawaiian and saw up (pretty) close the state's tallest waterfall. Nicht schlecht, as the German in me would remark.

Now, in order to get into the valley one first has to drive to the famous Waipi'o Valley lookout, where the ground all of a sudden drops in front of you and this incredible vista opens up. The road down is every bit as precipitous as one would fear looking at the opposite side of the valley, in fact one Internet reference gives the grade as 25%!! Whether that is true or not I shan't say, but I do know that I've never seen a paved road as steep. In places it feels like you could put your arm out to the road in front of you and still be vertical. Some of us did an improvised triangulation of the grade, but since we haven't figured out how long Katie's sandals are the results are still pending.

On the way down we practiced a chant we were taught for the occasion, a chant where we ask our hosts a permission to enter their land. Hawaiian is a pretty language but a pretty tough one to learn for Indo-European ears, so it took a while before we were able to memorize the six lines required. Arriving at our accomodations we chanted until the locals were convinced that we really wanted to come see them (or until they'd had enough of our bad Hawaiian), and after the traditional greetings we immediately got ready for the loi, or taro fields. A short walk took us there and before long we were freeing taro plants of all sizes from the company of weeds, algal mats and snail eggs. Taro is grown in water in the valley and a real mudfight was a natural consequence of this fact. Not even the old-fart TA was exempt from the mudthrowing and now everyone in the course is getting a C- or worse. Or maybe not.

After a hard mudfight we hiked a little farther up along the stream to a great little swimming hole. Everyone donned their bathing suits and washed the mud off, but I'm a grad student and thus naturally never able to relax and stop working. Instead I pulled out my water-sampling equipment and secured a sample for my venerable Ph.D. thesis research.

It seems I was pretty tired going down into the valley, because after we came back from the loi/swimming hole I didn't do much besides sleep. First I took a nap under a large tree on the lawn, then I passed out on the couch while waiting for dinner. After dinner I managed to play cards for a little while but by 8:45 I was in my tent, watching the stars through the skylight and enjoying the soundscape of the valley, with insects all around, birds chirping in the trees and the surf roaring in the distance.

This all happened yesterday, Saturday. Today we hiked further into Waipi'o Valley and got invited, quite unexpectedly, to a Hawaiian lunch at the taro farm where we were volunteering. Very nice. The valley looks to mine eyes even more spectacular from inside than it does from the lookout at the top of the valley; the walls are over 700 m tall and so steep as to be almost vertical, yet completely covered with vegetation and with no landslide scars visible. In addition the walls are very close together, and the overall effect on the Nordic mind is the one of a glacial valley. Except that this one isn't. I have to admit that before coming to Hawaii, I spectacularly underestimated the natural beauty and cultural richness of the islands. They're bloody amazing!!!