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Amazing tour! A cultural, historical and geological journey from sea to sky and back!
Our tour started at 11:00 AM and ended at 11:00 PM. Our guide, Jim, gathered us together into what felt like a family outing, not a tour with strangers. He sang to us, played the ukulele, chanted and prayed in Hawaiian. He told stories he learned directly from “kahunas,” the gurus of the Hawaiian culture. And his stories had messages beneath the messages that elucidated the world the ancient Hawaiians inhabited when they reached the Hawaiian Islands in 1200 AD that mysteriously still affected me this day. When we arrived at Rainbow Falls, which is more than 75 feet high, I didn’t expect to react that way I did. The falls and turquoise pools beneath them were so majestic that they didn’t seem quite real. I kept looking for the frame around the picture.
“Pele,” the goddess of the volcano, has shimmering black hair that sometimes looks like smooth volcanic rock that oozes out of the craters. Her fiery eyes smoke by day, but they become visible at night. When we returned to the craters to meet her on her terms, at night, suddenly, modern science merged with ancient magic and mysticism, and Jim’s stories took on a haunting inference I hadn’t heard in the light. After several short excursions to the perimeter of Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park that even included a walk through a lava tube, Nahuku, we stopped for a scrumptious dinner in an inn reminiscent of a European, mountain lodge. As the sun set on a day filled with new information that caressed my mind and opened my imagination, I was ready to return to the smoking, lava flows to see Pele’s fiery eyes shooting glances back at me at night, asking me to question the beauty and truth of this world we live in – asking me to quietly contemplate the meaning of my life and whether paradise could actually be something real – whether promises do get fulfilled for those who learn to make a difference.
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| Packages: | 2-for-1 Review Rebate Special | ||
| Attended as: | Couples | ||
| Posted on: | 2016/03/15 | ||
| Activity Date: | 2016/03/14 | ||
Helpful
Aloha! Mahalo for joining us on our Deluxe Volcano Experience. We are so happy to hear that you had such an amazing day with Jim. He is such a wonderfully knowledgeable guide who truly exudes the Aloha spirit and helps our guests connect with our beautiful island home! His Hawaiiana stories have quickly become a guest favorite and it is so humbling to hear how deeply it all resonated with you. That's exactly why we LOVE what we are able to do! Mahalo for the incredible recommendation and we truly hope to see you on your next visit to the Big Island!