Iao Valley - March 3, 2010

Today we had to go back home! We ate at the restaurant in the hotel, loaded the car and went to Hilo Hattie's. This is a local tourist store and we had looked for it several times. Since we were leaving...we had to find it! It was a few blocks from where I thought I remembered! Abby bought a few things and off we went. Daddy had either lost some of his meds, or had not brought enough. He talked to the VA and they called in a prescription to Walgreens. We stopped by there and then headed towards the Iao Valley. The Iao Valley is a dense rainforest with an average rainfall of 386" per year! In the midst of the valley is the 1200' Iao Needle. There is a legend about how the needle came to be...from mauigateway.com...

BIRTH OF IAO NEEDLE

Once in Old Hawaii, in the days when anything was possible, Maui, the most powerful God, had a beautiful daughter. Maui loved her very much and as he watched her grow up, he vowed that only the most worthy King in all the islands would marry her.

But without her father knowing, the beautiful maiden fell in love with Puuokamoa, a Merman God. She knew that her father wouldn't approve, so they kept their romance secret. Every day the beautiful maiden sneaked off to meet her love and every night she returned home, radiant. One day, a townsperson saw the two of them together and ran back and told Maui of his daughter's secret lover.

Maui was furious. He flew into a rage and his screams of anger were heard by Madame Pele, the volcano Goddess. She flew in her supernatural way to where Maui was and suddenly appeared in front of him.

"What is so horribly wrong to put you in such an uproar?" Madame Pele asked.

"My beautiful daughter has fallen in love with a God and I disapprove. When I see him, I am going to have him condemned to a fiery death", Maui said.

"Who is this God?", Pele asked.

"His name is Puuokamoa".

Madame Pele frowned at the mention of his name. "Oh no, Puuokamoa is my friend. Spare him, Maui. I beg you. Do not have him killed".

But Maui would not listen. Madame Pele was still pleading with him when his beautiful daughter returned. She heard her father's death sentence on her lover and burst into tears.

"Oh Father", she sobbed, "I cannot live without the sight of Puuokamoa".

The Father's heart softened at the sight of his daughter and thinking that she would be unhappy for the rest of her life if she could not see the man she loved. Finally, after much thought, Maui put his arms around his daughter and lifted up her beautiful face. Tears soaked her unhappy eyes.

"Daughter dear, I cannot bear to see you unhappy", Maui said tenderly. "But I cannot allow this romance to continue. You cannot marry this Merman God".

His daughter waited to hear what her powerful father had decided. Madame Pele stood quietly, waiting to hear the fate of her friend.

"I will not reduce him to ashes", Maui said.

"Oh, father dear", the daughter cried out, hugging him.

"I will turn him into stone. Then you may gaze upon him, but your romance will be pau (over)".

And that is how the mountain, known as the Needle, at Iao Valley came to be. It is the Merman God turned to stone for all to gaze upon.





Daddy taking it all in...



Me huffing and puffing walking up many, many steps...



We were not flying out until 6PM, so we had a lot of time to kill before turning the car in and going to the airport. So, we went to Kanaha Beach. This beach is famous for kitesurfing and windsurfing. We saw some unbelievable stuff!