More on Hawaii's trees

Judy. After Ted’s last post, my dear friend Jackie, who lived in Hawaii for several years, sent us this beautiful legend:

Did you hear the legend of the Ohia Lehua tree? 

Madam Pele (Goddess of the Volcanoes)  fell in love with a handsome young Hawaiian warrior named Ohia. He was in love with a beautiful Hawaiian maiden, Lehua.  When Madam Pele approached Ohia, he turned down her advances and told her of his love for Lehua, the maiden. Madam Pele, unused to being denied her wishes, angrily used her power and turned him into an ugly, gnarly tree. A heartbroken Lehua went every day to cry at the tree. The other Hawaiian gods could not undo Madam Pele's curse, so they turned Lehua into the beautiful red fringed flower on the tree, so that the lovers would never be separated. It is known as the Ohia lehua tree, and when someone picks a beautiful blossom from the tree, it is said that it begins to rain, signifying the gods crying for lovers who are separated.

Thanks, Jackie! Makes that lovely tree even more beautiful.

The trees of Hawaii

Ted. One of Judy’s brothers is a tree farmer. Over the years, Chuck has shared a bit of his knowledge and much of his love for trees with us. Consequently, I often find myself looking up as we wander the world.

While in Honolulu, we visited the Polynesian Cultural Center where I was struck by just how important trees are to their culture(s). Most of the food, clothing and housing in this part of the world comes from trees.

While taro, a small plant, is a staple food, so is breadfruit, a tree. Other trees such as mangos, avocados, bananas and papayas provide important additions to the local diet. Coffee and macadamia plantations give a welcome boost to the modern economy. Coconut palms contribute much more than food and could arguably be considered the single most important plant in Polynesian life.

The majestic koa is used to craft sturdy outrigger canoes and prized ukeleles. Other large, shade creators include the massive banyans and monkey pod trees.

Banyan

I loved the beauty of the flowering trees that we saw in Hawaii. Admittedly, most of the trees I admired are non-native but the fact remains that trees like bougainvillea, hibiscus and golden shower grab your attention.

Golden shower tree

Hawaiians make leis from parts of many trees including the blossoms of the beautiful plumeria, the berries of the octopus tree and the nuts of the kukui. In fact, the kukui was named the state tree of Hawaii because of its many uses. For instance, the oil from the nut can be used to light a lamp. One of my favorites is the first tree to grow on a newly cooled lava field, Pele’s sacred ohi’a.

I guess I’m not the only one who has loved the trees of Hawaii. The iconic song of Hawaii, “Aloha ‘Oe” was written by Queen Lili’uokalani in 1878. The song opens with an image of beautiful ‘ahihi lehua trees. Here is a translation:

“Proudly swept the rain by the cliffs

As it glided through the trees

Still following ever the bud

The ‘ahihi lehua of the vale”

'Ahihi lehua

An open question

Judy. The game plan was that Ted and I would spend a week in Mexico City—a city I’ve longed to visit since my parents and brother went there when I was a kid. I pored over those black and white photos of this exotic land and hoped someday I’d go. I still have pieces of the silver belt my mom got there. So we made reservations in the Roma neighborhood, and made a list of places to visit.

Tuesday I saw that a friend had posted on Facebook, “Godspeed for the people of Mexico City.”

“Ted, what happened in Mexico City?”

Moments later we were googling every article we could get about the 7.1 earthquake that had just struck near there.

With Hurricane Maria bearing down on Puerto Rico, it was hard to get information about how badly the city was damaged, but slowly we heard that older sections, including Roma, had serious damage. We tried to contact our hotel, but no luck. United Airlines offered a postponement to anyone flying in. Since we were to arrive on Thursday, we finally called our Airbnb host in Oaxaca, who told us that in the capital there was confusion, some power was down, and many buildings, including museums, were closed. We quickly made plans to go straight to Oaxaca, with an overnight stopover in Mexico City at an airport hotel.

As we flew over the city, we were surprised to see so little damage from the air, and shocked to see how many cars were on the road. Had we made a mistake? To top it off, our hotel emailed to say it was business as usual (although they honored our cancellation).

The news that night was filled with the struggle to find children in a collapsed school. While some survived, nineteen children and four teachers died.

Maybe for most of the city, it is business as usual. Maybe they NEED tourist dollars more than ever. Still, we felt that even the bottled water we’d be drinking would be a strain. Almost 300 people died—didn’t really seem like they needed tourists right now.

All of that comes down to a discussion we’ve been having that somehow (at least to me) relates: When is it NOT okay to visit somewhere?

Ankor Wat was chock-a-block with tourists, and we could barely move in the crowd. We read later that so many people are visiting that the water reserves under the city are being drained, and there is fear that the temples cannot remain standing if the water levels drop too much.

Venice, I’ve read, has more tourists than residents, as do Iceland  and Hawaii (both places have 6 visitors for every resident annually). In Vancouver and in Honolulu, we talked with residents who say that Airbnb business has caused apartment rentals to fall off or become so expensive they can’t afford to live there. In Barcelona and Venice, locals are protesting against excessive tourism. The negative impact is not worth the money it’s bringing in.

Let me be clear: I’m not throwing stones. Ted and I are part of the problem, as we’ve been most of those places. Let me also be clear that I don’t know the answer, if there is one. Many of these places rely on tourism to exist, so I don’t want to see them shut their doors, but if we drive out the residents, who are part of the charm, or, as in the case of Mexico City, if we use their precious resources and cause more problems than we can help, is that right?

I really don’t know. We’re looking at more “secondary” sites and cities to visit. It’s not a solution. And Paris will always be a favorite destination. It’s definitely a quandary for these two world travelers.

Eating local

Ted. An important element in every culture is food. Can there be a better to learn about a region than by eating?

In the Pacific Northwest, we enjoyed local beers and wines. We savored fresh salmon and witnessed Asian influences in many restaurants.

Now that we are in Hawaii, we are trying Polynesian dishes such as poi, poke and kalua pork and cabbage. Honolulu has, by far, the largest Japanese population in the US so it’s also a great place for dishes such as sushi, udon and tempura. Check out google to learn more about these dishes.

Tuna and marlin poke

Nikutama Udon

Wherever we go, we try to hit up a local farmers market. Whether it’s a small town in Georgia or a big city like Honolulu, you’re bound to find local delicacies that are difficult to find as well as regional dishes prepared to satisfy the cooks toughest critics, their own neighbors. Here’s link to a video I took this Saturday. Notice that everyone is either eating, or searching for food.

Honolulu KCC Farmers Market

Hawaii is a rich stew of Polynesian, Asian and European cultures.  Like polite attendees at a potluck, Judy and I are doing our best to get a taste of everything before we leave.