Walking on Fire
Something we failed to mention in our earlier post about our Hawaiian lava trek was this guy. We have no idea who he is, or what happened to him. He simply popped up on the horizon perilously close to flowing lava and in near total darkness. Then he disappeared. Down a lava tube? We don’t think so, but we don’t really know either.
Sea Turtles by the Seashore
It turns out we’re not the only ones who enjoy Hawaii’s glorious beaches. These green sea turtles pulled up some sand to soak in the sun at Punalu’u Beach.
A Lighter Shade of Sand
If you’ve been following along on our trip around the Big Island of Hawaii you may have gotten the impression that all of its exotic beaches are exotically hued. We’ve written a lot about black sand beaches and even an incredibly rare green sand beach. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t regular old white sand beaches here as well.
In fact, Hapuna Beach (shown above) regularly appears on various international “Top Ten” lists. With wonderful sand and beautiful water there’s little wonder why it is one of the island’s most popular. That it’s convenient parking makes it far more accessible than those other beaches we’ve discussed doesn’t hurt either.
Limited Edition, Green Sand Beach
It is a long, hot, dusty walk. But considering that it leads to one of only four green sand beaches in the entire world, it’s tough to complain.
The others, we’re told, are Talofofo Beach in Guam, Cormorant in the Galapagos Islands, and Hornindalsvatnet in Norway. Now that we know of them, they’re definitely on our “to-do” list. But having just visited Papakolea Beach on the southern shore of Hawaii’s Big Island, we’re happy to report we’ve now visited twenty-five percent of the globe’s green sand beaches.