This morning we departed for our service project this trip which included cleaning up trash from the beach and digging sand out of a freshwater and saltwater mixed pond. While searching the beach for trash we were lucky enough to stumble upon a green sea turtle on the beach. We could tell it was a green sea turtle due to the amount of carapaces on its shell, the amount of prefrontal scales on its face, and its size and color. Afterwards we learned that someone had found a monk seal relaxing on the beach. After spotting a monk seal once already on this trip, we considered ourselves very lucky since there are only 4-5 monk seals around the Big Island. Next we dug up sand from the pond in order to expand the pond and return life in the pond to how it was before the 2011 tsunami pushed all the sand into the pond. We then hiked down Pololu Valley to visit the black sand beach which was beautiful. After that we visited a lava tube embedded in a vast field of stone lava. We learned that the tube looked the way it did because of the lava flow and the way it cooled down, creating a tube. We also learned that all the rocks stacked balancing at the tube’s entrance was a way to show respect for Pele. Tomorrow I am excited for the craft market and the farewell dinner.
