Photo taken in Keaau, Hawaii — March 1, 2020
Whoever coined the phrase “when it rains it pours” must have had the Hilo side of the Big Island of Hawaii in mind.
Our second accommodation on the island was a house on the Hilo side near the small community of Keaau, right on the ocean. Which sounds nice, idyllic, even romantic…until you try it. The open ocean pounded relentlessly into hollows eroded in the lava below the house, booming loudly and shaking the whole building like a significant earthquake every few minutes. The humidity was off the charts — everything in the house, from clothing to furniture to bed sheets felt constantly damp and towels failed to dry despite hanging for hours. And the rain? It fell endlessly in sheets, ropes, torrents…choose your favourite, soggy descriptor.
On the bright side, when it wasn’t raining there were beautiful sunrises. This photo was taken just as the sun was rising and painting the clouds (which would soon open over us) with gentle pinks and oranges. Taking the photo I forgot for a few minutes the pounding waves, sticky humidity and near-constant rain…until I sat on a deck chair and was instantly soaked.
* Why I didn’t post it: I’ve always preferred sunrises to sunsets; others don’t seem to share that sentiment. Instagram bears that out: the #sunrisephotography hashtag has a mere 1.1 million posts while the #sunsetphotography hashtag boasts 6.9 million posts. What do these sunset people know that I don’t? How about you: do you prefer sunrises or sunsets? If you’ve waded this far into this post please let me know in the comments!
* I took a lot of photos in 2020, more than in any previous year. Some I shared, but looking back I’ve found many I didn’t. Maybe I thought they weren’t good enough, maybe I had something else to post or maybe…I just plain forgot. As the year winds down I’m rectifying those oversights and posting some photos I overlooked earlier in 2020.