enehunes, alasadas, and ore on Hawaii’s Big Island
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By Joeann Fossland
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s I stepped off the plane at the Kona Airport, the humid, owerscented air enveloped me and melted all my tension. Every year since 1993, my husband Bub and I have visited the Island of Hawaii, often called The Big Island Volcanos created this island. The 14,000-foot tall Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea volcanos spewed lava that is deposited from the heights down to the sea. Visitors are often shocked to see black lava instead of white sand beaches and palm trees. One year, my young granddaughter traveled with us. As we headed through the lava elds to our resort, in her tiny voice she asked, ”When are we getting to Hawaii, Grandma?”
An Ethnic Mosaic Hawaii is one of the most culturally diverse destinations in the world. Over three hundred years ago, Asians, Europeans, and Polynesians began moving to Hawaii, joining the natives and Menehune who were already here I’ve never seen a Menehune, but legend describes them as little people (six inches to two feet) that are superb craftspeople who live in the forests and labor at night. On my Hawaii visits, I feel as if I’ve slipped down a rabbit hole into a magical, mystical existence steeped in the mythology of gods, goddesses, and legends
Big Island Fun
Blood Red Hawaiian Sunset ©Joeann Fossland
The stunning lava ow scenery in the west contrasts with the green rainforests in the
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