HAWAII, USA – Serendipity & Sinuses

Hawaii islands are a beautiful speck in the Pacific ocean – half way between North America and Japan which is far enough. Enchanted by legends of Hawaiian climate and nature, I could not miss the opportunity and challenge offered by a major congress organized jointly by the American and Japanese Chemical Societies in Honolulu, Island of Oahu.  I was to present our first paper on “Uranium and thorium removal by biosorption”. 

Serendipity - Nuclear Mishap

Little did I know that a nuclear reactor of a power plant close to Philadelphia would go out of control and close to a melt-down just at that time. As a result, thousands of gallons of radioactive water flooded the containment basement of the plant.  When the media discovered the title of my presentation at the conference, I had journalists jumping all over me. Of course, there may be quite some gap between discovery research and the application of it. I tried to explain what I could and – it was interesting and overwhelming. What a serendipity ! 

And this was how I found myself in Hawaii.  While I was talking my way through the conference, my wife Zuzana was already enjoying the Waikiki beach. Yes, Hawaii is beautiful.  As it happened, I had to take a deep breath there several times. In between though, we took some time off trying to take in as much as we could of the breathtaking scenery.  There are “different people” living in Hawaii – many of them native Hawaiian, Japanese and a selection from the US mainland. After all, it is the USA's 51st state and that comes with the US Dollar, skyscrapers, cars and hamburgers too.
 

Pearl Harbor
It was interesting to notice how the Japanese tourists traveled all the way to Hawaii – arriving on Japanese airlines' jumbo-jets, booked into Japanese hotels, eating in Japanese restaurants, they really never left Japan ! 
Visiting the infamous Pearl Harbor and its sunken-ship memorial (USS Arizona)  >> 
it was weird to notice that the tourist boat we took was full of Japanese tourists listening to the narration about the treacherous surprise Japanese attack that sparked the US entry into the horrors of World War 2.

The Island of Maui
Seven Sacred Pools and Chopin
Right after the conference, we left Honolulu and the main island of Oahu to spend some time exploring a more quiet island of Maui where we relaxed snorkeling in the sunshine. We could not resist a driving trip around the island taking the scenic and rugged Hana road to the volcanic crater of Haleakala, crossing the bridge into the “unrecommended” terrain section at the Seven Sacred Pools >>

We did not pay much attention to some “danger” poster at the small one-way bridge across a tiny but very scenic river trickling down volcanic mountains.  There, we happily climbed the rocks up and down looking at the waterfalls cascading into the seven pools of crystal-clear water as the day was drawing to the close. Never mind, we were experienced campers and overnighting in our rented station-wagon car was a pleasure – under the starry dark-blue skies.  However, that was not the same picture in the morning with dark clouds hanging low and pouring rain, with roaring sound emanating from the river gorge close by.  As the rain ceased, we looked around with our breath taken away by the view of the streaming inferno of a flash flood roaring through the canyon of the river which was so tranquil the day before.

This was a magnificent view indeed – and we were lucky that we were not closer to the path of that liquid might.  It was so huge and powerful that it overcame the mighty ocean as its tongue poured into it creating a long series of pushy waves far into the distance.  That view of the wild river finding its peace in the ocean became forever etched into my mind.  In time, I had that roar and receding hum somehow connected with Chopin’s Nocturn piano concerto (E-flat-major, Opus no. 9) – in a colorful memory of Hawaii that Chopin never got to see.

Haleakala and Black Beach
I never stood in a crater before - at least not knowingly. Following some climbing (Haleakala top is 3,055 m), there we were in the midst of it.
I suppose that a good thing was that Haleakala was friendly extinct, despite the raging inferno of Mauna Kea (4,205 m) close by on the neighbor (Hawaii) Big Island that we did not manage to visit.
The volcanic origin of Maui is very palpable also at the ocean level where the ancient lava flows came into contact with the almighty ocean - leaving behind beaches that are black. Yes, black pebbles and black sand - like the gateway to hell. Contrasting with the crystal-clear innocent blue of the ocean incessantly rolling in  >>

Sinuses
All has its end – but I still had not done any surfing. And is it not what they do in Hawaii ?  Oh yes, I have watched the surfers there carefully and with admiration. I had to try it -

Our flight was departing rather late on our last day – and back on Waikiki I managed to rent a surf board and paddled it for a not-so-killing surf spot out away from the beach, decent rollers all around me. Paddled and paddled – until I caught a good wave to take me back to the beach. Of course that I could not stand up and so I just hung onto the board kneeling, gaining speed with the wave. In that position one cannot really steer the board and so I just hung on it for dear life – and took another hawaiian deep breath as its bow started dipping, slicing off a mighty layer of water that streamed right into my nose. I thought that it must have been coming right out of my ears then.  I held on and suffered it not wanting to give up that precious proud ride. Then the wave broke, rolled over me and I was in what felt like Niagara Falls of soda water – that, fortunately, hissed away as it spat me out.
Thoroughly confused, I struggled to the shore over a bed of razor sharp corals, looking for the board that I eventually located as it bobbed in the tidal pool, way in the distance.
To summarize – I returned the board, my wife could not collect the insurance that she was expecting - and I have a huuuge respect for the surfers.
We even managed to catch our flight.
I have to bashfully admit that the stream of sea-water that came out of my nose as I bent over to lift our carry-on luggage was mighty embarrassing. I would have never believed that sinuses could hold it for so long and so much of it. No doubt, my brain must have been then thoroughly washed too –

That I did not write enough about the legendary Hawaii ?  Well, I think that there is enough relevant writing by many travel agencies, individual travel writers and such.  From my thinning memory, I just set out to record a couple of remaining images of my own for posterity.  So there -

Aloha !

●  And what do they eat in Hawaii ?

Like this plate lunch of lau lau, kalua pork,
lomi lomi salmon, poi, haupia, and rice >>
Hawaii cuisine
It incorporates five distinct styles of food reflecting the diverse food history of settlement and immigration in the Hawaiian Islands:  Polynesian, Native Hawaiian, European and American cuisine, and eventually New England cuisine brought by Christian missionaries and whalers.  Immigrant workers from China, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Portugal arrived in Hawaii, introducing their new foods and influencing the region.  A blend of cuisines formed a "local food" style unique to Hawaii, resulting in plantation foods like the plate lunch, snacks like Spam musubi, and dishes like the loco moco – all together forming a new fusion cuisine as of recent.