After nearly two months, we arrived back in the US via Honolulu on November 25th. We had originally been scheduled to be in Kona on the 25th and Honolulu on Thanksgiving, but many passengers were disappointed that places like the Arizona Memorial and the Polynesian Cultural Center were to be closed on the holiday. So the ship arranged to flip-flop the ports. As we entered the Queen’s Lounge to process through immigration, each of us was given a fresh flower lei, a very pleasant surprise, considering there are about 1100 passengers!
We had selected a shore excursion that we had done when we were in Hawaii in January of 2008 because we had enjoyed that trip so much the first time. It consisted of a circle tour of the island, which gave us a great overview of everything. We set out from Honolulu with questionable but fairly decent skies. As the day progressed, though, the weather became less and less cooperative. Knowing Hawaii gets rain every day, we weren’t concerned, but this time the rain didn’t go away.
The trip included stops at Hanauma Bay (marine wildlife center) for a brief overlook, followed by the Halona Blow Hole. We also traveled up to Pali Lookout, which is windy under normal conditions, but was extremely windy today! All of those things we had done the first time we’d gone on the Grand Circle Tour. This guide did change things up a little bit, which made things even more interesting for us. We made a stop at a cemetery, where we visited a lovely Buddhist Temple, Byodo-In. The gardens were beautiful and black swans swam through the pond.
The most memorable stop for us was the Polynesian Cultural Center, where we were scheduled to have a buffet lunch. We hadn’t realized that our tour included admission into the center, so we were very pleased! And our timing was such that after lunch we got front-row seats for the boat parade. Despite the misting that was occurring, we were mesmerized by the display of dancers performing their native dances: Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, Aotearoa (New Zealand), Samoa, and Fiji. Having now visited every single one of those islands, it meant so much more to us than before – a great overview for the conclusion of the trip, causing us to recall wonderful memories of the days we’d spent in these lovely islands! We just wish we’d also had time to visit more of the center and see the displays in each of the cultural areas. However, being able to see the boat parade was a very pleasant and welcome surprise!
Leaving the Polynesian Cultural Center, we drove slowly along the beaches, caught in the daily surfing traffic. Twenty-plus foot waves crashed to the shores, and our guide told us that this was even high for the surfers, though we did see some brave (or foolish) souls out making a valiant attempt to ride the waves. The following day we saw that the beaches were closed due to high waves.
Our stop at the Dole Plantation was so quick it was hardly worth mentioning – we were in, out, and on our way within fifteen minutes. Chuck and I were glad we’d had the opportunity to spend more time there in 2008.
When we arrived back at the ship, we’d planned to visit Hilo Hattie’s, but the shuttles had ended an hour earlier and the store was closing within another hour, so we had to give up on that idea, hoping that we would have an opportunity somewhere else along the line. Instead we opted for the onboard Hawaiian barbecue on the Lido deck. It was a drastic change from the Outback barbecue we’d had in Cairns – with warm, glorious weather. Tonight was rainy and dreary, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the those who enjoyed the food and local entertainment.
We set sail at about 10:00 PM in the rain, heading for our Thanksgiving port of call, Kona. We arrived there at about 7:00 and were anchored outside the charming little village. We were pleased to be able to make quick phone calls to Joan & Orlan and Lyman & Beryl that morning since we wouldn’t be spending Thanksgiving with family.
While Chuck did a different shore excursion, I did one entitled Magical Seahorse Discovery. We drove seven miles out of Kailua to the first seahorse farm in the country (world?) to learn about these adorable little sea creatures, and learn we did! After scrubbing up to our elbows in soapy water and walking through a rinse for our shoes, we first saw exactly what makes up a seahorse’s diet. We were amazed to find that they are carnivores! The seahorse eats tiny (and I do mean tiny) shrimp; if you looked carefully into the container you could barely make out these miniscule creatures! They then showed us what baby seahorses eat, and those were even smaller. We spent time studying hundreds of seahorses swimming around, hooking onto each other or small grills placed in their tanks. Seahorses are usually monogamous. While it’s the female’s job to lay the eggs, it’s the male’s job to incubate them, and then to give birth. (Ah, justice for once!) Seahorses in the wild only eat live food. At the farm, they managed to breed them so that not only would they would eat either frozen or live food but they would also lose their monogamous tendencies, which helps with breeding. Seahorses have been harvested to the point of near extinction, so this seahorse farm is working very hard to breed them to preserve the species. As we continued to another tank, we were allowed to take a peek at some sea dragons, amazing little creatures that are indigenous to waters near Australia. The sea dragon is a member of the same family as the seahorse, but they have not yet been bred in captivity. Everyone was surprised to see what looked like seaweed in the tank, but upon closer examination turned out to be the sea dragons, and as we studied them, we could see the resemblance to seahorses. The highlight came when we were allowed to “hold” a seahorse. What this really meant was that they got a seahorse to wrap itself around our baby fingers. It was interesting watching these delicate little creatures as they flapped their fins at the rate of about 40 times per second. Our final stop was a small aquarium that housed several species of seahorses of many different sizes and colors.
(As Barb indicated, I did a different excursion in Kona than she did. We had planned do one together but since our itinerary for November 25 and 26 was reversed after the cruise began, the one we had intended to do was unavailable on Thanksgiving. I decided to do what was called a “Cloud Forest Walk”, a gentle walk on the slopes of the Hualalai volcano starting at an elevation of 3,000 feet. This volcano had last erupted in a destructive display in 1801 and typically erupts about every 200 years. There is no soil as such but lush vegetation grows on the presently inactive volcano. We learned that “Norman” purchased a 700 acre cattle ranch that had occupied that land and had decided to return the area to a natural state. He painstakingly introduced various types of vegetation which are flourishing because of the frequent moisture that is present at that elevation and above. It is called a “cloud forest” as opposed to a rain forest because, although it gets copious amounts of rain, it is at a higher elevation and it rains there nearly every day. Kona, though very nearby gets about 22 inches of rain annually, but up in the cloud forest, there are nearly daily rains normally in the afternoons. Sure enough, we saw the skies getting more gray as the morning passed. “Norman” is an active 70 year old man who has been working on his project for the last 30 years and is seeing the fruits of his efforts fulfilled. We saw many Hawaiian flowers and trees, some of which were indigenous and some of which had been introduced by Norman to his property. These were too numerous and tedious to mention; besides my not being a botanist, it makes it a convenient excuse for me not to mention all that was seen!
We were provided with walking sticks which I personally found somewhat cumbersome especially when we were on more level ground. As the morning progressed, we began to climb over the tangled root system and through the trees, branches, and large ferns, It reminded me of the rain forest walk that we had one over a month ago in Fiji although I would say the one in Fiji was infinitely more difficult. I was, however, grateful that Barb hadn’t done this one as she would not have enjoyed the walk. And I admit I enjoyed it more not having to be concerned that she would trip and fall over one of the seemingly thousands of roots over which we had had to maneuver. We were told that we might observe some wild pigs and maybe some wild sheep on our walk but they usually stay out of the way if people are hiking. At one point, we stopped as several sheep were keeping wary eyes on us from a high point on our path. I managed to get one picture of one of them at a distance before the sheep ran on to safer terrain. I was fortunate as some who were farther back weren’t able to snap a photo. The trail back down to our starting point was just as difficult in a different respect as we had to walk on damp leaves as we walked down. Fortunately no one fell going in either direction but it was miraculous that there were no mishaps. There were some older people (yes, some older than I) and they managed quite well. The one who had the greatest problem was a younger woman who apparently was diabetic who had to stop once check her sugar. I could hear her moaning on occasion as her older husband helped her along. Several times she shrieked as she nearly fell but thankfully all ended well. As the hike ended, we returned the short distance to Kona, passing lava fields from the 1801 eruption. Some of the land has been developed but much has not. The guide said that with an eruption overdue, most are concerned about investing too much in an area that is prime for volcanic action.
The early afternoon return gave a chance to make the trek to Hilo Hattie’s and other places in Kona for some window shopping and shopping. Despite the fact that it was Thanksgiving, most stores were open including Hilo Hattie’s which boasts it is open 365 days a year. Wandering the streets of small town Kona with the tourist business district concentrated along the harbor makes shopping there quite convenient.
Aloha, Chuck)
While we looked forward to visiting Hilo, it was with mixed emotions, being our very last port on the entire cruise! The day never really dawned since the cloud cover was so thick. (Chuck had said if there was one day we needed nice weather, it was in Milford Sound. That was a glorious day! However, ever since Milford Sound, on the southern tip of New Zealand, we’ve had far more overcast days than sunny days! Hmmm….)
We should have gathered how the day would go when we received our tour stickers: pink 13. Pink is fine, and I’m not normally superstitious, but looking back, 13 fit the tour perfectly! Our group was sent out from the Queen’s Lounge (where we meet for excursions) a few minutes late, and when we got to the pier, they asked us to wait because the bus wasn’t ready yet. A few minutes later a woman came over and told us that a group from the ms Zaandam would be joining us for the excursion, but that the Zaandam hadn’t yet arrived. No worries, though, because they’d just take us to Queen Liliuokalani Park and then to the Big Island Candy factory and gift store to help us kill a little time. Off we went, spending about ten minutes driving through the park, and arriving at the candy shop at about 9:30. Our guide told us that we’d get samples of candy and Kona coffee (candy – normally fine, but at 9:30 in the morning, not so good; coffee – yuck! They can keep their sample coffee!) He said to be back in about 20 minutes. We enjoyed wandering around in the shop and watching the workers through a glass window, but I don’t think anyone bought anything – the candy was very high-priced! Someone commented that we’d have been better off being delivered to Hilo Hattie’s for a shopping spree.
Back on the bus, we waited for awhile longer, then headed back to the pier, cleared security, and finally managed to get to the pier where the Zaandam was docked (a challenge in and of itself). The people from the Zaandam came out in small clusters, and at 10:45 we were finally ready to head off on our five-hour shore excursion (that should have left at 9:00).
Our trip the the Waipi’o Valley (located in an extinct volcano) took over an hour, and we arrived there at about noon and took a bathroom break (quite a lengthy one, considering that there were 38 people and two individual unisex bathrooms. I got steered into a different line than Chuck, and he began to wonder if I’d gotten lost, it took so long! After a long delay, we finally clambered up into our four-wheel-drive vans and were off on our adventure. The Waipi’o Valley is lovely – beautiful scenery in a sunken valley with lush green lands dotted with ponds, and pencil-thin waterfalls cascading down over high cliffs. We drove down and down and down into the valley, making a photo stop along the way. I was glad I had worn my Crocs as I stepped into deep mud getting out of the van. On our way again, we reached the floor of the valley and enjoyed viewing the scenery from there. Our driver pointed out his home that had once been owned by his grandmother but had been destroyed in a tsunami and had been rebuilt. That was near a hippie camp (these people looked like typical dead heads!) A very short distance from there, he told us to hang on as we were heading into a stream of water. We bumped down the road, and, splash! We were STUCK!! The right rear wheel of the van had slid off the road and sunk. The driver tried going forward, then going back, and nothing happened other than scraping and grinding! There we sat in our fishbowl as the van drivers behind us – and the gray-haired hippies – converged to offer their suggestions as to how to get out. Finally one of the men in our van said, “We’d better climb out because it will lighten the load.” He took off his shoes and socks and stepped down into the stream. I took my socks off and started to roll my jeans up – now really glad I was wearing my Crocs! In the meantime another van driver (with others from our group) had managed to get around in front of us, and had chained our van to his. A minute or so later, we found ourselves safely on the other side of the stream. I hadn’t even had to get my Crocs wet! We waved the hippies good-bye (just kidding) and continued on our way, once again enjoying the sights, which now included wild horses coming right up to the vans and saying hello. (They sure do like guavas!) One more photo stop where we had more wild horses come near for pictures, and we were headed back. Happily, we made it safely to the top without further incident.
Now it was back on the bus and on our way back to Hilo. We were relieved that we were on a Holland-America shore excursion because we scheduled to set sail at 4:00, which meant onboard at 3:30. We did manage to get back onboard by 3:45, but we really cut it close! I guess you could say we certainly had a very memorable last shore excursion – and plenty to tell our dinner companions that evening!
Our Hawaiian ports have been wonderful, but the weather has been quite overcast and gloomy. We were so glad that this weather occurred in ports we’d already visited. When we stayed with Susan & Hugh in Ko Olina in January of 2008, and the week following when we took a cruise of the other islands, the weather was spectacular.
Now we have four days at sea before arriving in L.A. and flying home to Chicago. We attended a “coffee chat” this morning that featured our port lecturer, Barbara Haeni. Barbara, who is from Pt. Pleasant, NJ along the Jersey shore, has been a wealth of information for our various ports of call, and Jacky, the coffee chat host, told us that Barbara has been named the Holland America Employee of the Year! We were all thrilled to hear this news as she’s given us such wonderful insights into our various ports.
We’ve planned to go to the Indonesian Crew Show tonight after learning that both our dining room stewards, a former dining room steward, our cabin steward, our dining room manager and two Pinnacle stewards are all performing! We don’t think we’ve ever known so many people participating in the performance! But then, we’ve never had so many opportunities to get to know members of the crew until this trip. Knowing them makes seeing the show more special.
Barb
Since this is our last blog entry, it seems appropriate to say our travels have taken us to some amazing and beautiful places on earth. So much was new to us – cultures, scenery, wildlife – that it has given a new appreciation of our planet. Yet while it is always good to go away, we were happy to return home to the USA when we set foot in Honolulu and were happy to join Hawaiians as we all celebrated Thanksgiving. We could say that we were not only celebrating Thanksgiving on the ship, but we were celebrating it in the USA. It wasn’t the same as spending it with family or long time friends, but we were happy to be in Hawaii. Just a few more days and we will truly be home after our long adventure, looking forward to seeing family and good friends again, and yes, getting back to our daily routines, but we are also happy to have met some new friends with whom we have shared the adventures of travel.
Chuck & Barb
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