The Big Island is one of my favorite destinations, a place I can go to often and always feel at home. It’s a rugged land, newly created by it’s great volcanoes (and with new land formation continuing in the southern part of the island).
A special place I came across during my last visit to the Big Island was the “Place of Refuge” or, in Hawaiian, “Pu`uhonua O Hōnaunau”. It’s a smaller National Historic Park situated just south of Kona that was important to the Hawaiian people because it was a “safe zone” — a place where someone who had broken one of the many Hawaiian laws could seek refuge and escape their sentence (usually death), with no fear of arrest or punishment while they were there. It was a place for wrong doers to think about what they had done and, perhaps, how they could make restitution. As I sit here by the ocean, in a field of black lava under some palms, I can easily see how the environment would make one relaxed and receptive to contemplation.
We lucked out in the timing of our visit, arriving the hour before sunset. We explored the place and were treated to some beautiful light. In this post I offer two differing perspectives of the same group of palm trees. The first is taken from behind, facing the setting sun which silhouettes the trees. The second is taken of the same group of trees from the ocean’s edge looking east, with the soft light of sunset directly on the palm trees. I like both images — different, yet complimentary.
Which perspective do you like better?
(to read and see more about Kona and its environs, please click here).
(Click on thumbnails to enlarge, right arrow to advance)
