Hilo- the rainy side of the big island

Our plan today is to cross the island to Hilo, so we had breakfast at home with porridge and papaya on lanai. 

 Every few miles the landscape changed. Lots of lava rock then rolling hill and maybe a volcano.

As we arrived in Hilo, the area was humid and raining off and on all day. Our first stop the Farmers Market.

And lots of fruit. The biggest avocados I’ve ever scene

Lots of papayas. 

Next lunch at the Pineapple cafe. Hawaii is no longer the home of pineapples. They started in the 1900’s even though they are not native to the islands. Nowadays Thailand and Philippines supply the world.

None of us had pineapple but the meals were delicious. 

Just a couple of blocks away was the Pacific Tsunami Museum. 

In 1946 Hilo was hit with a huge tsunami. It arrived on April 1st and people did not believe the warning- thinking it was an April Fool. Some waves were 45 feet high. 159 people died and so much damage. 

An excellent museum showing tsunamis around the world.

Heading back to the car this Banyan tree caught my eye.

Working our way back to Kona we went to the Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden. 1took way too many photos but I have to share a few. The garden started in 1977 when Dan and Pauline Lutkenhouse bought the land because it was so beautiful but an overgrown jungle. For 8 years they did all the work by hand to preserve the natural environment. Today there are more than 2,000 tropical plants.

So much to see even in the rain

The gardens go right to the ocean. We hid to stay dry but could still see the waves 

One more

Finally back to our condo. Tomorrow lots of fresh fruit for breakfast.