HULA

Last Sunday night we got together with two other wwoofers who work nearby and went to Café Attitude. It was this fun hippie café in Kipahulu about 45 minutes away. Everything there was made at the farm or at the farm across the street. It wasn't a typical café which was nice. There was a simple kitchen where all the food was made with a window where they served you your meal. The seating area was a bunch of mis-matched chairs and tables under a bamboo roof. There was a small stage where anyone could jump up and sing a song or play an instrument. There was one man who made up a rap about a funky mongoose that went on for about 10 minutes and had everyone laughing. We're going back next weekend and Andrew, Derek and Eric are going to perform a few songs!

Andrew making pizza

Tuesday was probably one of the best days I've had so far. We spent the morning washing flowers and working in the vegetable garden. After having a delicious veggie burger for lunch, we all piled into the H.T. jeep and drove to Hamoa to have our beach meeting. We spent some time watching surfers enjoy the big swell and also attempted to build a sand castle (too close to the ocean.) Around 4pm we headed home and changed for Hula Movement!! The Hana Art Barn is a building that offers free classes of all types to everyone in the area. The 2 women who were leading it aren't qualified enough to "teach" hula so they just say that it hula movement even though they're actually teaching us the steps. It was 45 minutes of absolutely fabulous body movement. I feel so complete now that I'm living here and dancing hula.

On Wednesday night we had a wwoofer dinner. Every time a wwoofer leaves we get together with Ian and Krista and sometimes other friends of theirs. The wwoofers make dinner for everyone and we say good bye to whom ever's leaving. It was Ana's last night and she wanted to have a theme to the party. We all had to dress as silly as we could.
Andrew is an amazing cook and he made 5 delicious pizzas over the campfire. They were covered with all kinds of veggies and the crust was super thin. Cooked to perfection!!

Our bananas waiting to ripen!

We also went exploring on the property and harvested a bunch of papayas and bananas. We've been eating the papayas non-stop and the bananas are staring to ripen. I had both in a smoothie for breakfast this morning and it was creamy and thick with flavor. I can't stop eating them!!

A new wwoofer arrived last Thursday, Heather, and we've been having such a fun time together. Since we're both the only girls here it's been really easy for us to bond and find common ground.

There are 2 events this weekend. On Friday night there is going to be a bluegrass band performing at the Oasis and then Saturday is the Taro Festival. I am so excited for both!!!

Trying new things

The past 3 days I've spent my afternoons at Red Sands Beach. It's a beautiful beach carved out of the side of a mountain. You have to walk along a narrow path that follows the breaking waves in order to get there. The sand, which is more like pebbles and rocks, is a rusty red and the mountain walls that surround the beach are layers of

different types of rocks. The ocean is a deep, almost electric blue. It is unimaginably beautiful and what makes it even nicer is that clothing is optional. You can tell who's a local and who's a tourist because the majority of the locals don't wear anything. It's funny to watch families of tourists arrive, realize it's a nudest beach, and turn their kids around all in about 10 seconds. In a way, it's been extremely liberating and a new adventure.

Since none of us have cars and Hana is such a small town, we tend to hitch for a ride. I was skeptical at first and very cautious. There is a sense of ohana here and whether you know someone or not you seem to always be waving and saying hello. Most often with hitching people will pick you up if they have a truck. That way it's safe all around. Yesterday I was with Ana and the sweetest man picked us up. He's been living here for about 10 years with his family and loves it. We had such a nice ride with him.

This morning while Eric and I were cleaning the bathrooms in the Oasis (a building where recreational events are held) we found a giant spider hiding behind the door. It was a cane spider and it just sat there looking like it was going to pounce. Fortunately there aren't any poisonous spiders here so we got a container and set it free outside. The only thing I've had the most trouble getting used to are the cockroaches. I was making brekkie the other morning and there was a huge cockroach that crawled down the wall and then went through a tiny hole into the wall. They tend to infest in things that aren't sealed well or scraps of food that are lying around. We have to make sure not to leave any dirty dishes lying around especially over night.

The past two days have been very educational. On both Monday and Tuesday we harvested flowers, washed and inspected them and then packed them in boxes to be shipped. Packing the boxes takes some time. Every leaf and flower has to be placed in the perfect spot otherwise they can shift while in transportation and be damaged. We stuff the boxes with shredded newspaper and add in a few sheets of colored tissue paper to make it look nicer.

Once we finished packing boxes and sealing them completely with tape, we went out and weeded an entire section that had been taken over by weeds. After fertilizing the same beds, we but down lots of cardboard and more shredded newspaper. The newspaper, when wet, turns to paper mache thus keeping the weeds at bay. Hopefully.

Sweet Pea helping us plant starts.

Tuesday afternoon was so sunny and we were able to have our beach meeting. We all piled into the back of the truck and drove to Hamoa, the same beach where we saw the whales. (Which we saw again!!!!! They aren't that common but for some reason I've got the best luck with seeing them!) We all spread out our blankets and spent about 1/2 an hour eating chips and salsa and discussing tasks that have to be done on the farm. Once the meeting was adjourned, we all fell asleep. It was such a peaceful nap but I, of course, forgot to put sunscreen on and so I'm now a little pinker than I would've liked.  But nothing too extreme. 

There are two other wwoofers here, Eric and Derek who spend most of their time singing and playing music. While we made dinner they put on quite a show of singing from the soul and playing they're air guitars. After we ate a delicious dinner of rice and pesto made fresh from our garden, we sat outside talking and listened to Andrew play his ukulele. 

It's so peaceful here. The nights have been chilly (around 60) and perfect for sleeping. It gets to be about 65 during the day sometimes and we all bundled up in sweatshirts and pants. Hawaii definitely turns you into a wimp when it comes to the weather. 

WHALES!!!!

Today was such an incredible day!! We started work at 7:30 and began harvesting flowers and leaves for arrangements. The leaves that we pick have to be completely perfect (meaning if they have the tiniest spot on them, they can't be used.) We spent a long time washing them thoroughly and making sure there weren't any ants or centipedes in them. We did find one centipede in the bin of water and Krista (one of the owners of H.T.) freaked out. Centipedes here tend to bite and when they do it swells and hurts for days. (Definitely not a pleasant experience.)We pasted the time by listening to the Dixie Chicks and Bob Marley as well as other classics. Since it was Easter Sunday Krista let us finish and hour early so we could go play.

The air was fresh and clear and there was hardly any humidity in the air. Since it hadn't rained at all in the morning we headed to the beach after lunch. We spread out on the softest sand and watched the calm waves hug the coast. It was slightly cloudy and there was a chilly breeze coming off the ocean. 

After we'd been sitting there a while, I gazed out into the ocean and saw a large fin waving at me off in the distance. It took us a few moments to realize it was a whale rolling in the waves. We even saw it jump up, twist in the air and splash back down to the water. It was amazing!!

We finished off the evening sitting in the wwoofer hang out area. It's 2 couches outside in the backyard under a roof. There are colorful christmas lights strung up all around that make it feel super cozy. Andrew brought his guitar out and we sat around before dinner listening to him play and singing along. 

Couldn't have asked for a nicer day!!