There will probably be few episodes in my lifetime that cause me to throw out my routines and my meticulous plans so entirely as I did this year because of COVID. I was planning to study for my board exam then return to Hopkins to begin work in the hospital. Instead, I ended up living in rural Hawaii for several months. It is true what they say that being on an island makes everyone more relaxed, and for me it was an extremely surreal experience.
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| Richardson Bay |
My days were filled with long hikes with a surfboard balanced on my head, biking from the top of a volcano to the ocean for an early morning swim with dolphins, scuba diving with my housemates (divemasters out of jobs), learning tropical horticulture, how to dig up a banana pup and transplant it, making herb beds out of lava rocks, baking from scratch, using “vegan roadkill” like fallen coconuts or sugar cane found on the side of the road, and catching giant brown spiders after sunset dinners on the lanai.
In classic Hawaiian style, the governor made it clear surfing and otherwise being in the ocean was still allowed under quarantine, just no sitting on the beach. Parking lots and roads to beaches were closed off so sometimes we had to hike down a ways to get to enormous empty beaches abandoned by tourists. The reefs were suddenly so clear; they likely had not seen a day without being trampled in decades.
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| Waikoloa |
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| Giant monstera that are usually tiny houseplants in the mainland |
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| Spotted on evening jog: Turkey Trot |
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| Entering a lava tube where we hiked in the pitch black |
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| Making a lei for a friend, from plumeria flowers gathered by the side of the road |
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| A beautiful natural wave pool at the bottom of an amphitheater of green sand |
One of the best days was driving with a couple friends to the southernmost tip of the island (also happens to be the southernmost tip of the entire United States) in search of a famed green sand beach. Where the roads disintegrated into lava rocks, we ditched the Prius to hike the rest of the way. Partway along our long walk, an old lifted truck with enormous wheels emerged from the ruts behind us and offered us a ride in the bed of the truck. The driver was born and raised in the area, usually made a living bringing tourists to the green sand beach, but that day was going simply to enjoy the ocean himself.
Another favorite day was hiking into the Waipeo valley. At the bottom of the valley, the beach was a misty forest on the edge of a wide expanse of very shallow water you could walk out onto. We forded a river to climb up the other side of the valley for a beautiful view of the ocean.
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| Seaside run at sunset |
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| I've never seen the departures board at LAX so empty |
Another favorite day was hiking into the Waipeo valley. At the bottom of the valley, the beach was a misty forest on the edge of a wide expanse of very shallow water you could walk out onto. We forded a river to climb up the other side of the valley for a beautiful view of the ocean.