Let the Countdown Begin

Let The Countdown                      Begin

"The loveliest fleet of islands that lies anchored in any ocean..." ~ Mark Twain

The Hawaiian Islands are a chain of eight islands, which were all formed by volcanic activity. This chain of islands is located approximately 2,550 miles SW of Los Angeles and 3,900 miles SE of Tokyo, in the Pacific Ocean. 

Hi Everyone...Or should I say Aloha. 

Today is my first day of blogging. I am still in Colorado but my preparations and the countdown, three days by the way, for my trip have begun. In my normal last minute manner I decided to check for Advanced SCUBA certification classes in Denver on Tuesday and in my normal lucky manner got signed up to take the certification classes last night. After two hours in the classroom and two hours practicing navigation, search and recovery as well as buoyancy control skills in the dive shop pool, I am ready to test my new advanced diver skills in Hawai’i. The best part of taking the class is that I absolutely have to go on at least five dives while in Hawai’i. Although I am hoping to make a few friends who I can SCUBA with every day! :)     

I have started packing or more like did not unpack from my trip home from Texas. My bag is quite large and I am beginning to wonder if I really need all these clothes... maybe my Dad is right, pack seven swimsuits, one for each day of the week, my SCUBA gear and call it good. HIs approach is starting to look quite reasonable. 

Now that you know where I stand in my packing and preparations, I also want to give y’all a little insight about where exactly I am going, a little geography, and reasons as to why I am so enchanted by this island. As y’all know I am going to the Big Island of Hawai’i, however what most people don’t realize is that the real name of the Big Island is Hawai’i but it is most commonly known as the Big Island. There are seven other islands in the chain that make up the Hawaiian Islands, the Big Island is the largest of the eight islands and it is also the youngest island visible above the surface of the water. 

The Big Island currently sits above a hot spot in the middle of the Pacific plate, which makes the island volcanically active and therefore still growing in size. The Big Island is made up of five volcanoes, Kohala, Hualalai, and Mauna Kea, which are all thought to be inactive and then there are Mauna Loa and Kilauea which are still active. Kilauea being where almost all of the eruptions occur and it is the location of Volcano National Park. 

While the unique volcanic origin of Hawai’i is incredible to me, part of my fascination with the Big Island comes from the fact that it is home to 11 out of the 13 climate zones that exist in the world. Hawai’i only lacks Arctic and Saharan climates. With such a diverse number of climates you can travel from the beach, to the peak of a snowy mountain, to the rainforest, to the volcanic desert all within a few hours. In talking about the differing climate zones I am sure y’all are curious as to which climate I am going to be spending my next six weeks in. I will be calling Hilo and the rainy side of the island my home. Getting on average 129 inches of rain a year, Hilo is one of the rainiest cities in the world (Fischer, 2012). My rain coat is packed and I say bring on the rain! While I am going to be on the rainy side of the island I do plan on traveling around the island. Maybe I will even plan a trip that allows me to say I have been in 11 out of the worlds 13 climate zones in one day.

Now y’all have a bit of information about where I am going to be. I will try to keep you updated on my exact location on the Island and give some history or interesting facts about the area

Aloha from Colorado...

*Note: Unless otherwise stated all my facts come from lecture notes I took in 2008 while attending a summer marine science program on the Big Island put on by my high school or from The Illustrated Atlas of Hawaii Including a Brief History of Hawaii  by Gavan Daws.