Only a few hours drive from Kona, my husband’s conference set up a day trip for us to go hiking at Volcanoes National Park. The park is huge, so we couldn’t cover it all in an afternoon, but we made a few stops at some of the most interesting locations.
Before we went to Hawaii, one of my employers (who grew up in the Kona area) told me to be on the look-out for a local snack delicacy, musubi. Now hang in here with me for a minute while I describe this. Musubi is a slice of grilled spam (usually marinated in something like soy or teriyaki sauce), served over pressed cooked rice and tied together with a strip of nori. If you’re like me and enjoy trying new foods, give this snack a chance. I picked it up from the local convenience stores frequently to take with me on my hikes. The photo above is a serving of musubi at our first stop, overlooking the caldera from the balcony of Volcano House.
Our next stop was the Jaggar Museum. Here we could watch the seismic monitor in real time, and get even closer views of the caldera. Jaggar Museum has been permanently closed since due to instability of the crater’s edge after the recent eruptions.
One of the things I found fascinating in Hawaii was how quickly one can move through various ecological climates on the island, and the park was no exception. We headed out on hike through part of the rainforest to our next destination: the lava tubes.
There are a few ancient lava tubes open to the public at the park, formed by hot lava that kept flowing in spite of the lava around it that had hardened. These are some fascinating tunnels to hike through, and a great way to end our short visit.
You can read more about my trip to Kona, Hawaii, in my “Looking Back” blog series entry here.
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