We had a great day. We always have great days when we are on the road. It was a couple waterfalls, a botanical garden and a chocolate manufacturer for today's itinerary. This time around the waterfalls were not at the end of a long downhill hike which would necessitate a long uphill return.

The chocolate business was interesting. We started at their farm where they grow cacao and bananas. I didn't realize that a banana tree makes only one bunch then it is cut down. They get a lot of sprouts around the root system so another plant is ready to go right away. The guide opened a ripe cacao pod which contained a bunch of gooey beans. These are fermented then dried before they are further processed. At their "factory" we saw the cocoa processed and had a couple samples. Very good. Very expensive chocolate.

The it was a stroll in a big botanical garden. It was nice. I am not big into flowers. Ginny is. There were lots to see and photograph.

Lastly we went to Rainbow Falls in Hilo. It was overcast so the photos were pretty dull.

Today's photo if my rendition of Akaka Falls. We spent a bunch of time fooling around with neutral density filters to get a nice smooth appearance of the water. I don't mess with ND filters very often so it was a learning experience.