Day 3 (Thursday)
We started the day with a nourishing breakfast of (island) eggs & bacon, supplemented by POG (which tends to be very sweet; we liked Sun Tropics a little better than the classic Meadow Gold, although they are very similar) and toast with lilikoi (passion fruit) butter from Liko Lehua (which is located in Hilo). We also had fresh papaya and apple bananas which are more aromatic and creamy than the (Cavendish) bananas we get on the mainland.
We decided to go see ‘Akaka Falls that day, which are located north of Hilo and an hour drive from where we were staying at. I didn’t take pictures of the falls but they are spectacular, 300+ foot falls. The trails around the falls are very lush and beautiful, although they were partially closed for renovations during our visit. One of the native fish (o’opu, a type of goby) is apparently able to climb up these very steep and tall falls by using a little suction cup on their bellies, which is quite a feat!
After our visit, we drove back to the charming little village of Honomu. On our way, we passed a goat farm, Honomu Goat Dairy, which was unfortunately closed that day. In Honomu, we spent some time with a very friendly blind cat who needed a lot of attention, in a store that had a beautiful selection of vintage glass objects, and finally at Mr Ed’s Bakery which I had never had a chance to visit before, although it’s been in business since 2000. I wasn’t so much interested in the breads; it was the collection of homemade jam that wowed me. As a home jam maker myself, I couldn’t help but marvel at the huge selection of jams (over 150 varieties) made in small batches using the local fruit (you can read more about it here – essentially, he uses whatever fruit his neighbors bring him and isn’t afraid to experiment!). We were handed lots of samples and left with a few jars: the poha berry mentioned in the article, longan for my daughter, and mango lilikoi for my husband. I would have bought more if I didn’t already have a pantry full of jams at home! The creativity of this was inspiring (this is only part of the collection!). 😊
