When I circled back around to Kona, I decided it would be best to avoid camping on the beach. The people living on the beach were a little aggressive and I prefer to avoid that when possible. I spent part of the day walking around town and scouted out a nice camping spot across the road from the Walmart. Only downside….fairly large spiders with large webs set up in the various paths. Eye level, of course. So I memorized a path that was spider free to use for camp later.
The lady I met on couchsurfing had just got into town. She was staying at her friend’s house while they were away and also had use of their car. She prefered to travel with someone like minded, so she looked for a fellow traveler on couchsurfing.
It was a little awkward at first explaining that I was sleeping in the spider infested bushes across from Walmart, and that I was doing it by choice. However, a decade of hitchhiking, off and on, leveled me up enough to know how to smooth these things out without depleting my mana. So, for few days(I don’t remember exactly) I would wake up and meet her in the Walmart parking lot, spider free. We’d get breakfast and head off to our next adventure.
Roxanne is a really cool person. Easy to talk to, fun to hang out with, easy to click with, adventurous. I had good time hanging out with her. There are times when you meet someone, and it feels like you already know them. We went snorkeling one day. I got to swim alongside a sea turtle, then cut my foot open a bit getting out of the water. God….I hate injuring my feet when I’m hitchhiking.
Probably one of my favorite times was when Roxanne and I ended the day at beach north of Kona. I believe it was Beach 69. We spent the rest of the afternoon and some of the evening there. Doing a little reading, a little swimming, exploring. Letting the current push me in and and yank me back. Felt like being on an amusement park ride. And of course, soaking in those wonderful, wonderful sunsets.
I ended up wanting to get a bed, shower, and some basic conveniences, plus check out Hilo a bit. There was a hostel that was not bad price wise. I think it was about $24 a night. The Wild Ginger Inn Hotel and Hostel. I spent 3-4 nights there and met some cool people. The staff invited me to a movie night and I accompanied a few to a local kava bar.
Kava bars can be a great place to meet people. Kava leaves you more relaxed and empathetic, unlike alcohol which...does not. So you can have a good conversation and meet some interesting folks. Plus, I’ve found people at kava bars generally are more open minded.
Roxanne met up with me at the hostel one day and we went to Volcano National Park and drove around it. Got to see the Volcano, the famous rock arch at the ocean, and check out a few spots along the way.
All in all I really loved Hawaii. Everything was a picture. Being near the ocean, the sunsets, the plant life. There were times you could sense some strong hostility from locals...but honestly I can understand it(at least I think I can). A friend of mine was frustrated with me for not doing more touristy stuff. But I wanted to save the bulk of my money for Vietnam. A day on a beach, by myself, with a good book and some sunscreen was a perfect day for me. No need for anything fancy or expensive. Getting to sleep right next to the ocean, drifting off and dreaming to the sound of the waves was the best sleep I’ve had.
And if you’re living out of a backpack, there are showers at a lot of beaches. So staying clean is so so easy! Much better than having to find a stream or body of water that isn’t infested with mosquitoes like when I was hitchhiking the continental US.
So yes. An overall good time. The only times that were a little rough was day one, and one time when I got completely soaked to the bone near Hilo when it started raining like mad. On my last morning on the island, one of the hostel workers had to drive their dad to the airport, and his flight happened to be the same time as mine. All I had to do was suppress my nerves for what was going to be my first flight outside of my country. Every emotion was mixing, but primarily fear and excitement mixed with joy. I was finally about to accomplish a big dream of mine that I’ve had in my head and heart for nearly 10 years.
And here's a few more photos I didn't know where to put, but I didn't want to leave out. The sunsets....oh man the sunsets. You can't beat em.
