Evening in Eden Roc

Katie writes: It's been a long time since I've written an update, and this will be my first entry into the blog. David and I seem to write about different things, which is as it should be. I am so grateful to him for keeping the running commentary on the building process!


It's evening here.... our second night in the RV on the land. After staying in our little rental cottage in Ainaloa (which is between Hilo and Pahoa), we really feel like we are in the wilderness again.... there are no lights to be seen, and very few noises.... occasionally dogs bark, and we do hear the frogs, although very few coqui frogs are on the property here (yet...). I asked our builder, Marlon, if the chirping we had just heard was a coqui, and he responded that no, that wasn't a coqui, but it did sound like something he had heard on Jurassic Park.... Actually, the night noises here are not that different from night noises anywhere where there are frogs and/or toads.


During the day, we have seen and heard a rare Hawaiian hawk close to the land. And true to form with our little RV, we have attracted yet another visitation from a winged creature... the day we picked up the RV from the dock in Hilo and drove to Ainaloa, we opened the RV door so we could load in our belongings, and lo and behold, a hummingbird moth (also called Blackburn's Sphinx moth) flew in the open door and started zooming around. This species is Hawai'i's first federally-listed endangered insect. Since there are no hummingbirds in Hawai'i, it is a treat to have these moths, which hover at blossoms just like hummingbirds, even if they aren't as colorful. David carefully caught the moth and let it go outside.


We have had blessedly few bugs here which I am sure would surprise most folks since this is a tropical rainforest. A few mosquitoes and a few flies are all we've seen on the land so far.


And the weather the past few days has been glorious - warm with just a few occasional showers. It has been said of Hawai'i that most of the rain falls at night, and sometimes that seems very accurate. We had several heavy downpours last night, but these showers are short-lived in general, lasting about 15 minutes at most. Nights here in Eden Roc are cooler than they are at lower altitudes; the gentle tradewinds this evening almost encouraged me to put on jeans rather than shorts.


A woman's perspective on the building process: there are days when the air is laden with testosterone, and I feel totally out of place and often will withdraw to read or knit. I believe we're due for another one of those days once the building supplies are being brought in, and also when the cement truck is here to pour the foundation footings. I am at ease around the sound of hammers and even electric saws, but when the big equipment comes in, I tend to back away. I have learned recently of Pele's sister, Hi'iaka, who is the Hawaiian goddess of gardening. Pele is the goddess of the volcano, and she doesn't like her ohi'a trees or her hapu'u ferns disturbed. Needless to say, the heavy equipment involved in site clearing for a house disturbs much flora and fauna, and I often think of Pele and Hi'iaka and ask their forgiveness for our intrusion. I promise to make amends by planting lots of lovely bromeliads and orchids and fruit trees, and gardenia and pua kenikeni and bamboo and palms. I also hear Pele likes offerings of gin at her "home" in Halema'uma'u at the volcano, and I plan to leave her a bottle, as many people do. We are in her land, the land of volcanic eruptions and earthquakes that are frequent here (mostly too small to register except on the sensitive equipment at the volcano), and I'd like to stay on Pele's good side, if that's possible for a malihini (newcomer). There is a new flow at the volcano, which currently is not threatening our land here in Eden Roc, but one is never sure here on the Big Island. Home owner's insurance does cover damage by lava, considering it to be "running fire".


All for now. We welcome your comments, and emails, too. This is such a grand adventure, and we're having a great time here in paradise. Soon, I hope to list some expenses on the blog so people can see that building a house here is very do-able financially, in spite of what most people think. Hawai'i isn't for everyone, of course, but if someone thought that they just couldn't afford to live here, I would like them to see that it is possible. In fact, David has said that with the weak U.S. dollar, it is cheaper for him to live in Hawai'i than it is in Canada.


My strawberry papaya was dinner tonight, after a late lunch, and although it isn't very late, it is dark (we're near the equator) and I think it's time for bed.