Honolulu
CHAPTER PREFACE:
A CHARACTER’S ACCOUNT OF HONOLULU
“Hawaii has eight islands, but the majority of people live on four of them. The island of Oahu is where Honolulu is located. It is the most populated, and much more developed compared to the other islands.
Still, despite having a city, Oahu is surrounded by nature - you can’t escape it. There’s a million beach breaks - so many surf spots all over the island, both north side and south side (north is good for winter surfing, south swells typically come in summer). Surfing is a HUGE part of the culture, I don’t have really have any friends who don’t surf. On any given day I can text 10 friends and tell them to meet me at a surf break.
The hikes are insane. A lot of them involve rock climbing or hiking narrow ridges, or scaling waterfalls. Some take hours to complete, some you’re fighting the wind right on the edge of a cliff, but the views are unreal.
In addition to surfing, I go free diving pretty much every week. I also scuba dive a good amount, lots to see like shipwreck dives and diving with sharks. I see turtles and rainbows every day. It’s a place where you fully realize how rich the ocean and where you really develop a relationship with the ocean.
People in Hawaii protect its natural resources; we respect the land and keep it super clean, we respect the ocean and protect the ocean as well. There is this saying ‘aloha ‘aina’ which means love of the land - the land came first, and then us.
Because Hawaii is so far out from everything else on the map, there is basically no pollution. You don’t see a hundred stars, you see a million stars, you see the Milky Way, you see EVERYTHING. It’s the clearest sky - there are lots of telescopes on the islands.
Everywhere else in the world, I see in black and white, and in Hawaii I see in color.
Because of the volcanic energy, it’s really healing, and you feel the spirituality the moment you step on the land.
There is also the “spirit of aloha.” Aloha means hello and goodbye, but it also means love, and it also means warmth, openness, kindness, respect. It’s personal to you as well. People will say “drive with aloha,” that kind of thing. But you can really see this embodied in the culture and the friendliness and hospitality of the people, and especially when you get a lei on arrival.
You really experience the magic of the earth like nowhere else and live in harmony with it.
Some of my favorites things to do with friends are kayaking to the Mokes to go cliff jumping, hang out at China walls, kayak to Chinaman’s Hat and hike barefoot to the tip of the hat, bodyboard at Sandy’s (breakneck beach), and drive a bunch of boats out to the sandbar at Kaneohe - a sandbar where we can park the boats out in the middle of the ocean and then party and boat hop.
Hawaii is home to the freshest ahi tuna - poke bowls are a big thing. My friends will go spearfishing, and sometimes I even fish in my friends’ backyards if they’re right on the water. And because of its Portuguese influence and because it’s a US military base, a popular breakfast comes with fried rice and Portuguese sausage or spam.
Native Hawaiians are Polynesian, so you’ll see a lot of this in the culture. It’s where I started fire dancing. My friends and I throw festivals with 100 people over the weekend and fire dance. And of course camp under the stars.”
ON THE WALL:
(ACTUAL BOOK TEXT)
Volcano
Look into the crystal ball.
Tonight is the night that unites all of the nights that separated us.
This afternoon, when a bunch of us were in the back of the pickup, you caught my eye.
We stopped at spitting caves to watch the sun set over the lavastone until the falling stars came out.
We drew 60 second portraits of each other. The one I drew of you was just your eyes.
We asked each other “deep questions.” One of them was to guess each other’s worst fear. You asked me,
“Do you take many risks?”
I had that feeling of catching a wave under the full moon without being able to see the wave, just the sound and momentum.
That’s how it feels to be with you.
Ocean mist tickles my shoulders, so we spark fire to feel warm. I spin fire to feel human.
I still want to watch the sunrise together on the beach. So much.
Till then, let’s live the night that changes us.
BEHIND THE TEXT
An experience that could only happen in Hawaii. Being in the back of a pickup truck is probably one of the most “Hawaii” experiences. Spitting Caves is a sacred spot that looks otherworldly, like Mars. The texture of the rock is made of ancient lava formations.
There’s something about fire dancing as well that captures the essence of someone’s soul - you can see their essence as they’re dancing. And fire dancing is meditative, but the difference is when you’re meditating you can be outside of your body, but fire dancing keeps you present and in your body at the same time (similar to yoga). Dance is one of the few things you can truly be lost in the moment in. Lost in the moment and also present. When you’re holding fire, you have to be present.
There’s nothing like the thrill of night surfing, when you can’t see the wave. You just have to pop up based on other senses, on how the wave sounds when it’s coming, on how the momentum feels as the wave picks up under you and you paddle to match its speed.
And finally, camping on the beach on Oahu is a surreal experience. You can see every star in the sky, you see the Milky Way. You can get lost in it. Waking up on the beach with friends and watching a sunrise together brings a closeness, a sense of community, magic, an unbreakable bond, and a grand secret that only you know.
Your bright eyes, I imagine on these words.
The day is now, finally, always. Your fingertips, the nerves of them I wished upon my face, but they were meant for other things, brushing the surface of what lies beneath neverending, never fully knowable, like your gentle variety.
I hope the curve of your neck could retain the earnest grace of your lips as they part to this great mystery: you answered all questions but mine; I never had one, and you were the answer anyway.
You are water’s best invention, and still you nourish the sea within me, rushing forth this fleeting tide. Capillaries of blue-green canopied thicker than a forest of palms, and in your palms fresh fruition, your expansive calm.
A sweet melody echoes from the furthest point between your divine fins and my fragile idealism, and the wisp of your breath on my ear takes me home, riding the pacific sets for which I so patiently prayed.
BEHIND THE TEXT
In the book, this is a letter that was written to the main character. This wall is where Brian’s Fishing Supply used to be. It’s on King Street close to town. Stop in the Japanese restaurant next door or the music store across the street.