On our last day in Kona, we had a little bit of a late start and went to lunch. Trying Poke was on Cameron's to do list, but not so much mine. We went to a restaurant called Island Ono Loa Grill first, so I could get a burger and it was one of the best burgers I have ever had. After I ate, we ventured over to the Da Poke Shack for Cameron. He says it was delicious, and lived up to the hype! On our way out of Kona, we were heading to Mountain View which is close to the volcanoes. As we kept getting closer to the volcanoes, everything around us was dead. The last eruption killed everything in its path. Some rocks are darker than others and that's because they were hit from different eruptions. The darkest rocks are from the most recent eruption which was in 1907. There are areas that are from an 1887 eruption and even some spots from 1500 years ago! Crazy! The volcano that did all this damage was Mauna Loa, which is currently dormant. The locals believe it will erupt again, but they aren't sure when. These people are living on the edge!
We journeyed to the Green Sand Beach, and getting to the beach was an...adventure. The walk to the beach is about 3 miles, one way. When we first arrived we were greeted by some people who seemed pretty sketchy, and it felt like we were being hassled. They told us it would take an hour and a half to walk there. Let's just say we didn't believe a word this girl was telling us, and they didn't seem like a legit "business." SO we walked, and it was every bit of 3 miles...like she said, and it was so so hot. We were in flip flops, no water, no sunscreen, in the afternoon. It was awful. We did actually prepare, and we brought all of these things with us in the car, but were so thrown by these unnerving women that we didn't even think to bring them. This was not an easy walk either. It was very hilly, and all sand. Very thick, orangish sand. It felt like we were in a scene of Mad Max Fury Road. No greenery, just miles and miles of sand. We finally made it to the beach and it was breathtaking. The most beautiful beach we saw the entire time in Hawaii. The sand was actually green! When the sun hit it, they looked like shiny green crystals. I have photos below, but it's just not the same. It's definitely something worth seeing with your own eyes. A different man offered us a ride back - who was apart of the sketchy "business" - but we were so tired and worn out, we took it. We were up on the back of his truck with a bunch of other people we had never met holding onto each other for dear life. This dude was driving way too fast for those hills. I had bruises all over my upper body for the rest of our honeymoon. It was incredibly painful, but worth it. There was no way we could walk back. SO the trip there and back sucks, but seeing the beach is worth it. If you want to hitch a ride with this crew, it's $20 a person, come prepared!
We finished off the day be seeing the southernmost point of the United States. Not a whole lot to see, but we can say we've been there!
