Hawaii: Kona/Hilo Day 3

Today we drove through the Kona belt. It’s a stretch of the island that is 10 miles wide and 25 miles long. It has the ideal climate for growing coffee trees, sunny in the morning, overcast in the afternoon, rain around 4. We stopped and took a tour of Greenwell Farms. The Greenwell’s moved from England with 10 children in tow in the 1800s. There are still 3 Greenwells living and working on the farm. A nice middle-aged lady walked us though the fields and the coffee process. They have 200 acres of coffee trees, mango, lemon, papaya, macadamia nuts, and other plants. 25,000 coffee trees, all hand picked when the cherries are red and ripe. They then get pealed and have 12 hours to begin being processed, otherwise they’ll ferment and sour. They then dry for three days before being sorted into 100 pound bags. They ship them unroasted to companies like Seattle’s Best, Caribou Coffee, and others because they keep for longer and the other companies can call it their own. The Greenwells do make some of their own coffee and we brought a few bags home. They also had unlimited free samples.

After the farm, we drove down to a great snorkeling spot next to a national park, known for it’s two coral stairs. We had great visibility, 30-35 ft or so, and I saw some of the best coral I’ve seen since being in Australia. Again, lots of fish and even a 2ft barracuda. Before I had even gotten in the water, I saw a turtle who had come up for air. I also saw a baby eel. He was maybe a foot long, cream colored with a little yellow edging, just playing in the coral. The rest of the afternoon, Dad and I hung out at the hotel. Mom and Drew went snorkeling in our own day, but they said it was mostly sand.

For dinner, we went to a place called Bamboos. It was said to have the best food on the island and I think they were right. It started out as a hotel, then a general store, before becoming the restaurant. The wait staff was charming and friendly. The owner even came over to talk to us several times. She joked that they set the bar low with crappy food and lousy service. I think they surpassed it.