November 30, 2014
Day 14: The Shrieking Frogs
We thought we had the weather pattern here on the wet side of the island figured. Now, at 8:00 a.m., it's supposed to not rain, at least for a couple of hours. But here we sit, looking out at a downpour. Oh well, that gives a chance to correct a misconception that we had, starting at Manuka State Park. That's where, when night fell, the air erupted with a chorus of shrieking calls that lasted until dawn. At first we thought it was birds, then insects. But Dodie had read something about Coqui frogs, and we allowed that some of these might bemixed in there.
Today at breakfast we came across a newspaper article that began a process of clarification. The article quoted a study that shows that Hawaiian residents have become accustomed to the frogs, and that there are two camps - one for attempted eradication and one for preservation. We asked the Wild Ginger owner, who was sitting with us at the table. He explained that the frogs had come here about 15 years ago, probably from Puerto Rico. In Peurto Rico they are a national icon, and their all night mating call is a macho symbolism. The recent study indicates that here in Hawaii, the frog too has made friends.
This is all part of a topic about the status of imported species, and in fact ecological changes, anywhere in the world. If a stream is dammed, there will be protests. But later, the resultant reservoir/lake will have supporters too. One example, here in Hawaii, is ginger. When we first came here, in 1988, I was very impressed by the beautiful ginger plants all around. I thought of them as really Hawaiian. But on this visit, in the National Park, we learned that ginger is considered invasive, and you can actually sign up for going out with a naturalist to hack them down. Hmm, go figure.
Rainbow Falls
Deceptively close to Hilo is the Wailuku River State Park, and within it, Rainbow Falls. It's deceptive because the whole thing is uphill from town. It makes sense, becasue you can't run a river and a falls downhill without starting with a little altitude! The road to the park is the same one that ultimately is the Saddle Road, hwy 200, that heads back to Kona, between Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea. The area of the Falls is wonderously tropical, with lots of large plants and trees all about. The rain had quit (else we would still havbe been huddling back at our room), but there was not enough sun to create any rainbows. It was still highly scenic, though.
A set of rough steps led up toward the top of the Falls, and Dodie bravely, if not too eagerly, ascended these. Her knees paid for it a bit, though, because on the way down the steps were rather rough and high.
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Port of Hilo
From up the hill at the Falls we swooped down to the southwest, just to have a look at the port, where the cruise ships dock, when they are in town. The two ships that were here yesterday had taken off, so all we got to see was a general industrial wasteland. It's a little strange that the tourists are brought in through an unattractive part of town, but presumably they will not notice anything until their bus drops them at their first attraction, be it Walmart, Hilo Hattie, or the Nut Factory.
Big Island Candies
We ourselves headed off to the next attraction, which is a rather large cookie and chocolate factory, near the airport. Their first claim to fame isthat they offer a sample of Kona coffee, and then samples of most of their products. We found their stuff quite good, and much more varied than the offerings of Mauna Loa. On the other hand, the prices still seemed high for what you get, and we settled for just eating the samples.
Back in front of the shop, we found three people who were interested in our bikes. Mainly, the focus was the Ortlieb packs. One of the three, now a student here at U of H, was looking for a dry way to transport his books on a bike. Of course, Ortlieb is the answer, and we enjoyed demonstrating the mounting system, the closure system, and discussing the size of front and rear bags.
Back through town from the Candy factory, we could see a little different district. Typical Hilo, we conclude, is one or two story weathered buildings in some sort of pastel colour. Now in the pleasant sunshine, it was all looking pretty good to us.
Our next step is to get ready for heading north. We will go through our stuff and decide what to mail back. Then tomorrow we will actually mail it, and head north. It will be not be the main assault, though. Rather, we will head for the Tropical Gardens, something we will not have time for, when we really hit the road, Tuesday.
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Today's ride: 18 km (11 miles)
Total: 416 km (258 miles)
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