Monday, January 28, 2008

Ka'u dirt


My feet are caked in Ka'u dirt from day after day in the hot sun, digging in the soil and working on Ben's land. From the jungle it once was, we're transforming it with the help of Michael, Colleen, and Ambiana into an inviting abode on the big island. When we're not on the land we swim, backpack, and play. One highlight was an overnight trip straight out of Ben's backyard through savanah like grasslands where we watched the sun set, then the moon rise yellow and looming through the skeletons of trees. With tired feet, and stumbling in dim light, our souls soared when we rounded the last bend to embrace the wild, pounding ocean and its salty spray, all to ourselves for the full moon. And to top that: while snorkeling at Two Step, I watched a sight that made me blink twice. About 50 feet below me, glimmering in and out of the aqua blue water, a group of dolphins circled in two directions. A belly flashed white, they appeared and disappeared. Not knowing where to glance, at the surface or down below, they broke the water's calm in froth of gray fins. Ben, just ahead of me, was surrounded. And don't worry about if we were harrassing these magical creatures, as they came to us. If if I wanted to, I couldn't have swum closer, as I was still trying to recover my breath by the time they moved on. We'd encountered these spinner dolphins during rest mode, and they circled in the deep and for a few minutes, then climbed for air for a few. Now once I hear the whales from under water my life will be enlightened.