My last morning in Hawai’i was a rushed one. I grabbed breakfast quickly, finished packing up my carry-on, and hopped into a van for the airport. I was nervous about executing my plane for the day, but excited nonetheless. In fact, to make the transition more seamless, I wore my bathing suit on the plane.
I was a bit early to the Hilo airport, so I sat down with some friends and chatted for an hour or so before we boarded our flight to Honolulu. The planes used for these inter island flights are tiny! And they seem to go every hour of the day.
I landed safely and on time in Honolulu, and from the moment I touched down, it was go-time. I picked up my bag, said some final goodbyes to some friends, and rushed off to Terminal 2 to get to baggage storage. It went smoothly, and before long I was in a taxi to the famous Waikiki Beach in downtown Honolulu.
While it was reminiscent of what I saw in Hilo, Waikiki was so much… bigger. There were hundreds of people basking in the sun on the white sand beach, with plenty swimming in the water. Some surfed, others just enjoyed floating around. The water certainly looked warm, and blue. I couldn’t wait to get in and experience it myself.
But first I had to get lunch. I went to a little picnic shop by the beach and picked up an açaí bowl and smoothie to enjoy on the beach for about half an hour. The weather was beautiful, if a little warm. Thirty minutes was enough for me.
I then headed to the surf shop where my lesson was based out of. Time for my crazy layover plans to begin. I traded my field boots for reef shoes and went out to the beach with five other students in my lesson, each carrying big blue surfboards. The instructors were friendly and nice, and spent some time showing us the ropes on land (including a safety slideshow!) before guiding us to the water to catch some waves.
I had surfed one time before, but it was a while ago. Luckily, I have some body boarding experience under my belt to work off of. It’s different, but at least I’m not afraid to wipe out. It took me some time to paddle my way out far enough to catch waves, and along the way I noticed that the area we were surfing was over an expansive reef – and the tide was low. There must have been coral less than a foot beneath the water’s surface in some places. I had to be careful.
When I caught my first wave, I made a fatal mistake – I was standing too far forward on the board and promptly fell off. I was very lucky that when I crashed into the water, there was an empty pocket on the seafloor free of any reefs or rocks. Instead, I was gently pushed backward into a reef by a smaller wave.
I climbed back up on my board again and began anew. It was at this point that I realized it was very difficult to paddle my way out. I soon figured out why. The winds were strong and they created a strong current that incessantly pushed me towards a much larger reef. In fact, it was so large that the corals stood above the water’s surface!
If I didn’t constantly fight the current, I would slide back toward the reef, where it was unsafe to catch waves. Each time I made it back to the instructors to a place where I could catch one, I was thoroughly exhausted. But, I knew this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience and I had to push on. I didn’t want to miss a minute of it.
I caught several more waves, and never fell again after that first one. Some of the rides were really long, and fun! In the hot sun, it was nice to feel the refreshing splash of the water on me. My ribs, however, were not so happy about the excursion. They’re going to be hurting for a while.
M verdict? Stand-up surfing is a lot more tiring than bodyboarding, but lots of fun! I was nervous about making it to the beach on time, but I’m glad I took the risk and it worked out for me.
I finished the lesson, showered, changed my clothes, and get to a local bar per the recommendation of one of the surf instructors. I wanted to make sure I got some good food before I embarked on a long journey living on only airport food. The veggie stir fry I got actually made me enjoy broccoli, so that’s something.
After that, I walked around the beach for a little while longer, taking photos and enjoying the view. While I popped into a few shops here and there, I only browsed. There wasn’t enough time to buy anything.
I caught an Uber to the airport, picked up my luggage from storage, and did everything I needed to check into my long flight to Dallas. I met up with another friend at an airport bar while I waiting for my flight, and then it was finally time to say goodbye to Hawai’i – for real this time. Since I was so tired from the surfing (and fighting the current), I was able to get some sleep, thankfully.
Well, this is my last post for my blog’s revival. It’s been fun, but now I have to go back to my regular life. There’s a lot of homework, curling, and grad school decisions in my immediate future. I’m not sure where life will take me next, but I’m excited to see what the next installation of this blog will be!
As for a reflection on the past two-and-a-half weeks – I’ve learned a lot! From the more academic side of better understanding geologic maps to the more practical aspect of knowing the best way to walk on fresh lava, I have become a more well-rounded person with a reignited excitement about volcanoes! While I’m more of a desk-work-kind-of-person, I have come to appreciate the hard work that comes with going into the field, and look forward to my next geology field expedition.
Anika Tullos 