The Pacific

There is another place

Almost 3000 miles southwest of Seattle, Kauai is another place that feels like home – although a very different type of home. Yin to Seattle’s yang, Kauai offers more than the breathtaking beauty of a tropical island; it feels like a deeply spiritual place. While Seattle is about doing things, Kauai is simply about being.

Not to be confused with Kauai’s more developed sister island of Oahu, her more flamboyant and extroverted sister island of Maui, or the sprawling upstart Big Island still in the process of making itself, Kauai is a tranquil, soothing place where construction is limited to the height of a palm tree (defined as four stories) and fewer than 60,000 permanent residents struggle to maintain a connection with ancient Hawaiian traditions even in the face of increasing numbers of tourists and the recent invasion of “big box” stores.

We have been coming to Kauai for almost 20 years and it still holds a special magic for me. The minute the plane touches down in Lihue I begin to relax. Because there are so few distractions we find it easy to live in tune with the sun and the wind and the sea. We notice a shift in the trades and rejoice at every sunrise and sunset. We slow down enough to hear the birds sing and appreciate the glory of the earth.

Image: Early morning fisherman preparing his throw-net, December 2006.

Ring of fire

One of my readers sent me a private comment on yesterday’s post. He said, “My take on the Pacific is a little different from yours. By no means do I disagree with your assessment, however, I see it through different eyes. The Pacific is violent with thundering surf and earthquakes of unimaginable force as well as volcanoes from Krakatoa to Mt. St. Helens. Quite a body of water.”

He’s right, of course. The horseshoe shaped zone that encircles the Pacific Ocean, known as the ring of fire, is an area of frequent and violent volcanoes, earthquakes, and the tsunamis that follow them. In fact, 90% of the world’s earthquakes occur along that 40,000 km band. The cause of this activity is plate tectonics or continental drift, which is actually causing the Pacific to shrink.

The irony is that the forces that make the area dangerous are also the forces that make the area beautiful with tropical islands, magnificent mountains, and the vast sea.

Photo: The Pacific during a relatively quiet period. Taken December 2006.

The Pacific Ocean

If Magellan had only known he would probably have called it the Mare Magnum instead of the Mare Pacificum for the Pacific Ocean, though not always calm, is undeniably vast. Occupying one third of the earth’s surface it is the largest body of water on the planet and is larger than the entire landmass of the Earth combined - by quite a lot.

Whether you think the Pacific unites or divides the region, there is no question that in touching four continents it creates an economic as well as a geographic entity among an enormous range of nations. It offers low cost transportation of goods, offshore oil and gas fields, and over half of the world’s fish supply. Major ports on the Pacific Ocean include: Seattle, Los Angeles, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Auckland, Callao Peru, and Valparaiso Chile – to mention only a few. Many speculate that the Pacific Rim with its economic and cultural diversity is beginning to replace Eurocentric nations facing the Atlantic as the dominant world force.

Photo: Sunrise over the Pacific taken December 2006 from the shores of Kauai.