Gordie Greenbaum
5/21/15
musical cities
The Winds Of Hawaii
As I walked through the bustling “hub ub”, noise and commotion of this strange environment, it felt so new and far from home. The chatter and pure human energy with which people seemed to have ran through their everyday tasks. The busy block was filled with things that overwhelmed my senses, a great deal of meat displays which carried a salivating aroma through the wind. That along with the warm pungent blistering tropical wind, made me realize how foreign this chinatown environment had been to me, so far away and vastly different from home. The harsh humidity brought heavy sweats and heat, that whipped through the streets and created swells down the deep pacific currents. I breathed in the sweet salty air and faced into the hot island wind. Immersed myself in it, acknowledging this rare opportunity to experience paradise with all my senses. Summer-like weather stays constant, with a consistent island breeze. Many of Oahu buildings were built with serious consideration of the wind. Not just a mild gust here and there, but a strong steady breeze that slowly increased.
Kimani and I spent several days walking around a vast amount of Honolulu, Waikiki and other nearby surrounding towns. We noticed a pattern of short and stalky buildings in parts of the town, that had been affected by strong winds over a long period of time. Over centuries, the island landscape has been honed by humans to best withstand the intense elements that the north shore of Oahu, in particular, has to offer. We experienced one of the most visually stunning island breezes. We saw the rain and vaporous clouds move over the luscious mountain top, that were getting slowly pushed by the wind. As we looked out on the raging sea from our lookout on the serene white sand beach I noticed how different the wind here affected the waves, it seemed to just toss the water in all directions. We also ran into a stunning piece of modern art downtown in Honolulu that completely captured just how powerful the wind was, able to propel two gigantic pieces of steel, in a way framing, the natural phenomenon of these strong air currents. north eastern trade winds blow through bi annually causing all sorts of varying intense types of weather, one of which being rains that make for the extremely lush and fertile valleys, pineapple plantations, average rainfall in hawaii is between 25 and 30 inches a year.
Wind is also what makes for some of the different types of sports that hawaii is known for, including paragliding, wind surfing, surfing. none of this would be possible without wind, the winds bring in swells that make for the extreme weather conditions and waves that the islands are known for, this appears in such movies as riding giants, where some of the top surfers in the world battle deadly 50 foot waves. it seems hawaii is defined by this type of extreme , and almost fantastical islands. Still part of our country but so far off deep out there in the middle of the abyss that is the vast body of water we call the pacific ocean.
Reflecting on this epic journey now from my comfortable northwest home it seems so far away, so lost in time, or as if my lovely days spent wandering the sun soaked beaches palm trees rustling in the island breeze. Inside the trees of the jungle is where the wind would die down a bit, but as I looked at the tops of the trees I noticed the limbs still moving with a good amount of force. The floor of the forest was able to experience a moment of calmness with the help of the jungle canopy helping to block out the initial wind gusts.
It was a lot of fun and interesting being able to experience how the natural winds on the island were able to help influence the outcome of the place and help for the locations of certain buildings, tents, and other structures. Im very curious now to see what other places in the world are influenced by wind as much as Honolulu, Oahu is.