Following the words of the attendants of the ticket booth, I dropped in at the toilet. On the way, I took a quick look inside the information booth, and it seemed to be nice to learn about Diamond Head, but I left soon because I wanted to reach the summit of Diamond Head as soon as possible. The slope was gentle for the first 10 minutes as if I could run up, but it got steeper bit by bit. However, the faces of people who were climbing down were really cheerful, and I was able to go up to the summit in a refreshing mood.
I found something halfway to the summit. The trail wasn't just another hiking route. Stairs were set in the wrinkled-like places of the surface of the mountain so that the route was concealed. That's why I was not able to view the whole climbing route from the starting point of the route. Then the route went under the ground, and climbed up the winding stars as if you were going up in a lighthouse. The place I reached was inside of a pillbox built on the summit. I was so surprised. It was the ruin of a stronghold. I had to go out through a small loophole. I recalled that I had seen a signboard showing the detour for obese people before the stairs.
After coming back to our condo, I read some leaflets given from the information center. The ruin of the fortress built in the early 20th century is now utilized as the climbing route and the observation points. A part of a cannon was still left near the summit. The scenery from the summit was really wonderful. When I stood on the summit, the sky was clear and the breeze was comfortable. It was a nice workout. In Ala Moana Center, there were so many people, and I wasn't able to take pictures keeping them out, no matter which direction I chose. Some people would hate to be shot by a strange man. I'd like to avoid such problems. However, on the summit of Diamond Head, one of the tourist spots, I didn't mind such a thing. Some people asked me to take pictures of them and my daughter and I asked them to take ours.
Let me explain the pictures: The 1st picture was shot facing the direction of Hanauma Bay, and shows the tunnel through which I came inside the rim of Diamond Head. The second shows each peak of the rim with its pillbox. The third shows the whole view of the inside of Diamond Head. You would understand that it used to be a volcano, just as I felt. The next one shows the houses just beneath the summit. The 5th wouldn't need any explanation. The next two pictures are the neighboring pillboxes. The last one shows me and my daughter, who left her sunglasses in the condo and suffered a slight pain in her eyes.
(Vocabulary)
winding stairs らせん階段
pillbox トーチカ (鉄筋コンクリートで固め，機関銃などを備えた防御陣地)
detour 迂回(うかい), 遠回り, 回り道
まずはトイレへ。途中でちらっと覗いた山の案内所が充実していたが、時間がないのでゆっくりできず残念。登山ルートへ向かった。最初の１０分ほどはジョギングできそうなほど緩やかな坂だったが途中からきつくなってきた。しかし、出会う人たち皆が笑顔で気持ちよく登ることが出来た。
半分くらいまで登ってきたところで普通の登山道で無いことに気がついた。山肌がしわのようにへこんでいるところを選んで隠すように階段が設置されている。どうりで下から登山道の全景が見えなかったわけだ。そして登山道はなんと地下に入る。そして垂直のらせん階段を上る。まるで燈台に登るが如く。出たところはなんとトーチカの中。最後は幅の狭い銃眼部分をくぐって出る。肥満だと出られない。そういえば下に肥えた人用の迂回路があった。
後で調べると２０世紀初頭に作られた要塞跡が、登山ルート兼展望台となっている。砲台の一部が残されていた。景色は言うまでもなく素晴らしく、風と強い日差しのため娘が顔をしかめているが、気持ちの良い汗をかいた。アラモアナセンターでは人が多くてどちらの方へカメラを向けても人が映り込み問題になりそうだったので撮影できなかったがここではみな思い思いに撮影していた。なので、こちらも自由に、、、撮影
写真の説明をすると、１枚目は通ってきたトンネルとハナウマ湾方向、２枚目には各々ピークにトーチカ、３枚目は火口の全景、４枚目は頂上直下の家並み、５枚目はホノルル市街、６枚目はとなりのトーチカ、７枚目のトーチカにはDanger, Keep Outと書いてありますが、、、、
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