Today we drove south along the coast through small towns and past Kona coffee farms to a National Historical Park. It is the site of a royal residence on Hawaii Island. The royal grounds were part of a political sub district that descended down the slope of the Mauna Loa volcano to the sea. The districts were divided this way so that residents would have areas for farming, collecting drinking water, and fishing, It included a beach canoe landing for the chief and his attendants. At this site the sacred bones of the chiefs were buried. No blood could be shed within the confines of this area, so it became a place of refuge for defeated warriors as well as those too old or too young to fight.
A massive stone wall built of volcanic rock in about 1550 separated the royal grounds from the place of refuge. As long as the defeated warriors stayed within these very barren areas they were safe. In 1960 the area was set aside to preserve Hawaiian history. The native Hawaiian National Park ranger who introduced us to the area and told the story of its history was just terrific. He certainly made the place come alive for us. It is still held as a very sacred place for the Hawaiians and the spirits spoke to us in the breeze.
It was pretty hot in the sun and we were happy to sit in the shade and eat our picnic lunch. We drove back for an afternoon rest and then walked downtown to Huggo's for dinner right at the edge of the water. I spied a pod of whales out in the bay and we watched them all during dinner. After topping off a great meal with a slice of macadamia nut pie we waddled back to the condo for the sunset. A great day.
No comments:
Post a Comment