Alternative Healing Center
Travel and Retreats
Heal Your Heart Retreat - Sacred Hilo Hawaii - Feb 10-19, 2011 Hawaii, the beautiful volcano island. The home of active Kilauea Volcano with her famed lava flows - home of the goddess Pele. Explore the incredible healing energies of these islands through personal experience of earth energies, meditation, mythology, living your vision and healing. We will travel throughout most of the island, visiting east & west and much in between with time for quiet time, relaxing, meditating, workshops, eating, sightseeing, learning, swimming & shopping. Who Are These Tours Designed For? Day 1 Arrive in Hilo, Big Island of Hawaii & travel to location where we will be staying. Welcome & orientation Day 2 Introduction to Hawaiian Mythology. During the tour, explore the incredible healing energies of these islands through personal experience of earth energies, massage, meditation, mythology, & time for relaxing and visiting the beach. Day 3 Sightseeing in Hilo area. Visit beautiful Akaka Falls State Park. A short nature trail leads through bamboo groves, ferns, ti & orchids to breathtaking Akaka Falls, falling 420 feet down a sheer cliff face. Also visit Rainbow Falls, a cascade in Wailuku River State Park. Also we will tour the Botanical Gardens outside Hilo set in a lush valley next the the ocean. We will have a wonderful picnic lunch today in one of the parks. Day 4 Visit Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. Time to view fascinating films in the visitor center giving history of the island & the volcano; the Volcano Art Center; & the Jaggar Museum overlooking Halemaumau Crater, with beautiful displays on vulcanology. We will drive Crater Rim Drive through the ohia forest to the Thurston Lava Tube, a 450-foot lava-tube tunnel set amid a fern forest. We will then hike down into Kilauea Iki Crater for a meditation. This particular vent was active in 1959 spewing lava and now is like being on the moon with steam venting all throughout the crater floor. If there are current active lava flows in the park, we will attempt to drive or walk to them. In other years, Expect to have an incredible experience hiking to lava flows & viewing & filming them. Of course this all depends on Pele. Day 5 Sightseeing/Beach time Day 6 To the west coast of Hawaii to Kona. Sightseeing along the way. Time for shopping & walking today. Day 7 Swim with the Dolphins /Come experience a morning swim with us and the Dolphins on the beautiful Kona Coast on the Big Island of Hawaii! The Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins are year round residents so you can expect to see them. Your journey will start with a Hawaiian ceremony to greet the day, and then it’s off to the adventure of a lifetime – a morning swim with the Dolphins! Simply put, the experience is transformative, and it's frankly impossible to fully articulate. Dolphins are amongst the most intelligent beings on the planet and being with them in their own habitat will amaze you. Imagine your excitement as we cruise out to where the Dolphins live and play. Day 8 One of the most accessible, interesting, and enchanting cultural sites in the State of Hawaii is the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park. Translated, the "Place of Refuge at Honaunau" is the most complete restoration of an ancient Hawaiian religious sanctuary in Hawaii. Hiking the 1871 Trail
These tours are designed for women as well as men; young or not so young; people interested in the mystery and sacredness of life, with a desire to know and understand more of where we've come from to assist us in where we are going and making a difference on the planet. If you have a curiosity about mythology, sacred sites, other cultures, and a sense of adventure and want to travel with like-minded people in small intimate groups with a nice balance of workshop time, site time as well as free, independent time, these tours are designed for you. They are not your ordinary, large group tours, being herded into buses with little time to experience the energy of the site. We allow special extra time at sacred sites and there is always the option of being with the group or being on your own. Also, meals are usually not included (except breakfasts on some trips) to afford you the opportunity to explore on your own at meal time or eat with the group.
Tentative Itinerary
Tall royal palms surround the temple complex that sits on a 20-acre finger of lava bordered by the sea on three sides. The only access to the pu'uhonua (temple of refuge) was by swimming across a bay known as the shark's den. If you managed to survive, the kahuna (priest) was required, under pain of death, to offer you sanctuary and absolve you of all wrong doing. Here in the national park you can walk through an ancient Hawaiian village and see firsthand how the kings of Hawaii once lived.
Puuhonua O Honaunau National Historical Parkis the single most evocative historical site in all the Hawaiian islands, jutting into the Pacific on a small peninsula of 
jagged black lava. The grounds include a palace, with fishpond and private canoe landing, and three heiaus , guarded by large carved effigies of gods - reproductions, but still eerie in their original setting.
For those wanting to explore further, the backcountry trail offers a 2 mile round trip hike along the 1871 trail through the agricultural areas that surround the park. On this trail, you will encounter Hawaiian heiau, holua sled courses and the dramatic Keanae'e cliffs.
The 1871 Trail follows the path of an ancient trail. It is part of a system of trails that encircled the island to serve as trade routes. This portion of the trail was last improved in 1871, hence the name 1871 Trail. The trail is part of Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park, and it begins behind the park's visitor center. Walking the trail, you will be led through Hawaiian history and natural resources until you reach the abandoned village of Ki'ilae. Attractions: ancient Hawaiian ruins, national park Activities: picnicking, swimming, fishing, snorkeling, diving, kayaking, sunbathing
