Aloha, Hawaii ... I'm back

It’s been a long time, Big Island, and I’m glad to be back visiting you again.  I only wish I had more time.  But that’s not to be this trip.

We docked a bit before our scheduled time on Wednesday, May 3, in Hilo, one of the wettest cities in the world.  Today, though, it was beautiful and Stef and I had planned a bicycle trip around the Kilauea crater rim, billed as the most active volcano in the world.  It is also the longest continuously erupting volcano on the planet.  It wasn’t a long ride, 6-8 miles, but we were excited. 

Before anyone was allowed off the ship, an ambulance pulled in.  I saw this one.  A man with what appeared to be a green soft cast was taken off the ship on a stretcher and put into the ambulance.  There have been lots of casualties this trip, more than any other cruise we’ve been on.

We finally got off and got to the van that would take us to the bicycle area.  But first we stopped at the Jagger Museum to visit and we could see Mauna Loa, the world’s largest active volcano, 20 miles away.  Best of all, there was lava bubbling up out in the crater in front of us.  It hadn’t been seen the day before, so we were quite fortunate. 

How cool to see the bubbling lava.

All the bicycles were ready for us.

From there we drove to a parking lot where we were fitted for our bikes, given water, and off we went.  It was a great ride, with a number of stops, including one where they had fresh pineapple and papaya for us.

We were told to take a couple of turns around the parking lot to get used to our bikes.

It was nice to have a chase car.

They told us not to take selfies while we were riding. 

There are a lot of steam vents all over and we stopped to see some of them.

It's beautiful country, this volcano area.

We stopped at the Thurston lava tube, and as I understand they are working to change the name of it.  I’d gone through the tube years ago, maybe in 1976.  So, it was time to do it again.

A lava tube is formed when large rivers of lava flow and while the core is hot, the slower  moving edges cool and thicken.  When the eruption stops the lava often drains from the tube and leaves behind something like this.

Another stop at some lava fields, and I had to go into a hole for a photo.

These red flowers are beautiful, and the lava must be good for them as they're growing quite well.

 Our journey ended all too quickly; we could have gone a lot longer. 
 

 We arrived back at the port and then waited for our sail away as we would be heading to Honolulu.
 

Honolulu is a beautiful port coming in.  We didn’t plan an excursion for today, Thursday, May 4, because I only have one mission … to ride in Hawaii, so I can notch state No. 50 on my belt.  Finally, that mission will be completed … to ride in all 50.  I don’t know why I waited so long to get the last one.

Honolulu ... and we'll be down in the middle of it.

This King Kamehameha the Great statue was beautiful and glistened in the sun.  The man was a great warrior, diplomat and leader.  He united the Hawaiian islands into one kingdom in 1810. 

Sometimes things aren’t quite so easy.  We were going to take a city bus, but didn’t know which one.  A guy said where are you going?  We aren’t sure.  He said, “The island is small; get lost.”  So we did.  We took the next bus and stayed on it til we got off. 

We wandered around, and found the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.  It’s a beautiful one, stunning in pink architecture. 

The Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach has been a landmark since 1927.

The inside of the hotel is no less extraordinary, although I could have lodged a complaint, if I’d been staying there.  We used the ladies room.  Part of the stall handle came off in my hand and I was trapped.  Stef was already outside in the lobby, and there was no one else in there.  Finally, after much movement of the silly thing, I was able to get it open.  I flew into the lobby and said, “Let’s get out of here.”  Off we went. 

We wandered out to the beach front of the hotel.  It was quite the place with a great view of Diamond Head, named by British sailors in the 1800s when they mistook glittering calcite crystals in the lava rocks for diamonds.

There were lots of surfers waiting for the right wave.

We found Chase Cycle Rentals, and got our paperwork taken care of.  He had mapped a route for us, but when we took off it appeared it might take us into the mountains and rain.  Nope.  Not going there.  Not riding in the rain.  We instead did our own route that included the some winding roads and some pretty beaches. 

We're off.

From the hills ...

to the beaches.

There's gotta be a bird photo somewhere.

The bikes got back with no damage and no tipping over.  Not even a close call here.  And my mission was complete.  We got on another bus and got back to the port. 

We walked around a bit, and had something cold to drink.  It was a great day, and a kind of relaxing one with no excursions we had to get to or back from. 

Lunalilo was the kingdom's sixth monarch and was quite popular, although he only ruled for a little more than a year, dying at age 39.  His wish was to be laid to rest near his people, and that's why his tomb stands here near the entrance to Kawaiaha'o Church rather than at the Royal Mausoleum. 

Kawaiaha'o Church.

We walked near the Aloha Tower where we found a number of statues.

Aloha Tower.

 

There's always some action here.

While we didn’t get to my old stomping grounds, I realized I still love Hawaii.  However, I wouldn’t want to live there anymore, and that’s okay.  I can visit any time.

Back to the ship, and now as we continue on back to California, we will have a new ship captain, Captain Bill Kent.  We sure liked the other, but we’ll give this guy a chance.

At sea

We were now pushing on to Hilo, Hawaii.  Back into the good old U.S. of A.  Five days at sea, April 28-May 2.  Would I get bored?  I think not.  Most days I played cards at 9 a.m. with my friend, Alice, from Australia. 

Alice and me ... no money involved.

One day I had a massage, a long one.  I do like to indulge myself on the ship.  I’d go to the gym or walk the deck, read.  That’s the usual stuff.  And deciding on the next cruise, the Greek Isles, for next year.  Mike, Vangie, Stef and I got our deposits done … we’ll be ready to go.  If anyone is interested in where and when, I’ll give you the information.  Message me.

Then there were the other things.  I was doing hula and ukulele lessons.  Those were 30 minutes each, with hula every day and ukulele every other day because there were so many people wanting to learn.

In between that, there were three Hawaiian craft days.  In addition, there was an orchid-lei-making class and a ribbon-lei-making class.  I hardly had time to eat lunch.  And I had no time at all to go to the destination presentations to learn what was coming up in the ports we’d be visiting. 

Orchid lei-making class.  It was fun and didn't take too long.

 Evenings were spent going to the Elite Lounge to join our friends, including some new ones, Derek and Margie from Toronto, being silly and laughing and having fun.  Then we’d all go to dinner, occasionally in one of the excellent specialty restaurants, sometimes a movie or a show, or maybe just going back to the cabin to work on a blog or sleep. 

Me, Vangie, Mike, Margie and Stef.  What a crew.  We were eating at the Crown Grill, one of the specialty restaurants, and quite excellent.  It was so good we ate there twice this trip.

Not much left ... delicious food, right, Mike?

I slept a lot … good sleep as the Beautiful Emerald Princess was usually rocking just right.  The waves are one of the most soothing sounds in the world, I think.  I’ll miss them when the cruise is over and we’re back on land.  Six weeks on a ship is wonderful.  I don’t think there’s any reason to be bored.

I had noticed in the recent days when walking the deck that the water has changed color, from turquoise to the bluest sapphire I’ve ever seen.  It’s beautiful.  Up until the seas changed and got a bit ugly.  On those days it was difficult to walk out on the deck, but it’s all part of the adventure.

We crossed the equator, and received another certificate.  We’re gathering wallpaper by the day, and all we have to do is be on the ship.  But it’s all new stuff, and welcome.

There’ve only been one or two other ships out here.  Where are they all?  Ours is a lonely life in our little community.

An impromptu hula demonstration with the Hawaiian ambassadors who were playing music in the piazza.

We were scheduled to arrive in Hilo Wednesday morning, May 3, but there was excitement on Tuesday.  There was a medical issue on board and Tuesday morning we were steaming as quickly as we could, at about 22 knots or so, to get to Hilo to get the person off the ship and to medical help.  It became critical, and a helicopter evacuation had to be performed.  While I didn’t see it, some of my friends did.  The helicopter sent down a medical person to evaluate the situation, then a basket came down, the person was loaded and the airlift completed.  A C-130 circled around the entire time … watching … waiting to help if there was a problem with the airlift.  We did hear later all went well and a full recovery was expected.

After the rescue was complete we cut our speed to 10.8 knots.  We were getting too close to Hilo and we weren’t expected to arrive until 7 a.m. the next morning.  We ended up slowing and just doing big circles out in the ocean until it was time for us to get to the dock. 

Steam from the lava reaching the ocean.

The upside was that we spent the afternoon and night on the ocean, watching the steam come off the water where lava was flowing into it.  We also saw the orange glow of the lava as it came down the hillside.  We wouldn’t have seen that otherwise. 

Sharks and other beautiful things

Moorea (pronounced MOE-oh-ray-uh and meaning golden lizard), another French Polynesian port, and another tender port, too.  Thursday, April 27, would be a good day for me here. 

A great way to start the day with jet skis winding their way through the water.

It’s a beautiful port, and we were anchored with a spectacular view of rugged mountains, beautifully-colored water, and a sailing ship right in the middle of all of it. 

No more gorgeous port have I seen.

Plus I had gotten a spot on a snorkeling trip … to be swimming with black-tipped sharks, rays and other fish.  I was excited to get to go, but there was daylight burning and my excursion wasn’t until the afternoon.

Stef and I got off the ship and wandered around.  What a beautiful place.  We walked a bit … beautiful flowers and streams.  Lots of lush greenery. 

The bougainvillea flower was named for European explorer Louis-Antoinne de Bougainville.

I have no idea what these are, but they sure are pretty.

And road side stands selling fruit and trinkets.  There were also some pretty buildings, and I was thinking about the difference between here and some of the other places we’ve visited.  I’m glad this was our last island before heading off to Hawaii, as this one certainly is my favorite.

I love all the little roadside stands.  There's so much character, and no one tried hard-pressure salesmanship.

Every direction is a postcard.

We walked by a fancy house.  I especially liked the decorative shells on top of the wall.

Dog fix.  But I didn't pet him. 

I did buy a pineapple from the dog's owner.  He cut it up for us and we ate it right there.  Yummy and so very sweet.  Would we get sick?  Nope, sure didn't. 

No trash in this little stream.

This was inside a little church ... beautiful.

This little dog was so cute with his dainty paws curled up. 

Clean and pretty.

Many think that the fictional island of Bali Hai in the movie, “South Pacific” was based on Moorea.  It’s small, 51 square miles, and I think it’s the most beautiful one of the Polynesian ports we’ve been in.  It was also exceptionally clean.

This young lady was watching the entertainment near the cruise port.  She was pretty in pink.

Then it was time for me to get along to my excursion.  I met up with the folks at the dock, boarded the boat and off we all went.  We rode by some fancy beach shacks where you could swim right outside the door.  They were pretty nice.  Maybe another time.

Beautiful turquoise-colored water that you couldn't wait to get into so you could enjoy all it has to offer ... snorkeling, paddle boarding, kayaking.  Wish we'd had more time to many more things here.

 

This is a place I wouldn't mind staying.  Unless there was rough water or a tidal wave, of course.

We came to a stop out near a kayak and when I looked down there were rays and sharks swimming toward us.  They feed the rays, but not the sharks.  Maybe we were their food? 

I got in the water.  It’s not comfortable for me, and I’m a bit slow to do it, but I did.  I wanted to swim with the sharks.  I guess I should have been nervous, but I wasn’t.  I was more concerned with a ray smacking me with its tail.  The guide was holding one and I went over to him so I could feel it.  He wanted me to put my fingers in its gills.  No thanks.  Just didn’t seem like something I wanted to do.

What beady eyes he has.

 

Shark heaven.

The rays and sharks swam all around and in between us.  None seemed bothered by us being there … of course, this wasn’t their first rodeo.  It was very cool, and I enjoyed it a lot.

Leg or thigh?

 

There were rays and sharks in abundance.  What a treat.

 

I even happened to get a shot of some other fish, one of 500 species in these waters.

Then we were off for the next part of the trip.  We were going to another area by a reef so we could swim around and see the coral.  We were told to be careful as the current is stronger, so I was always aware of where I was around the boat and the reef.  It was also fun, and I sure do like that warm water.

Goofy girl.

 

It seemed like I could right through this fish.

 

Lots of coral out here, and they say it's growing.  That's a good thing.

Then it was back to the ship.  Well, not quite.  There were a few pearl things I needed … earrings, little necklaces.  It was quite reasonable, and I do love my jewelry.

Then we were sailing away, Moorea in our rear view mirror.

We sailed alongside the reef.  There's a paddle boarder out there, waiting for a wave.

The sunset was spectacular, and just as thrilling as the island itself.

Our time here was up, and we had to get on the high seas to head to our next adventure, five days away … Hilo, Hawaii.

 

Eyes doing just fine

Papeete, Tahiti, was our destination for Wednesday, April 26.  Papeete (which basically means water well) is the capital of French Polynesia and has a population of about 26,000 (2012).  This was a walk-off port and our only plan was to get me to the ophthalmologist and then walk around.

My ride had been arranged and off we went in a Ford pickup with a very-nicely-dressed female driver.  She got us through traffic and narrow streets and put us off on another narrow street with lots of people and a grey-ish-colored building.  Hmmmmm.  There was a window and I asked about the eye doctor.  Down the block and to the left. 

We walked a short distance down the street.  There were people all over, waiting, for?  We turned left and entered a large open-air type of clinic, with doctor offices located in a large square around a waiting room full of people.  There was a surgery, eye doctors and other specialists. 

I checked in.  English is not the first language, but we managed.  Soon I was taken back and a young lady with very little English questioned me.  She then did a few eye exams, including the glaucoma puff test, and then a doctor came in.  He spoke way better English and said they wanted to dilate my eye and take a look.  Okay.

Back out to the lobby we went.  A young lady with a bottle of drops in her hand came around and put dilating solution in my eye, and the eyes of others.  Head up, drop, and then she moved on to the next one.  It was a bit intimidating as everyone mostly spoke French and these were all local folks.  I was glad Stef had come with me as it would have been pretty uncomfortable in a strange country, strange clinic and not speaking the language.

We sat and waited.  The young lady came and dilated eyes again.  Not mine.  We waited.  Then I was finally called back in and the doctor did some other checks.  It appeared my eye was fine, but he also recommended having it checked again, by my regular doctor when I returned home, just to be on the safe side.  I paid, in their currency, and am not exactly sure how much it cost … maybe $90???  Guess I’ll find out when I look at my credit card statement.

I felt much better about the whole situation, and so we walked back toward the ship, wandering here and there as we hadn’t been but a few minutes away. 

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception took nearly two decades to build.  It can
accommodate up to 400 people. 

The church is located at kilometric point 0.  This is the point from where road distances are calculated all around the island.

We walked through a very large market with everything you could imagine, including some food stalls.  There were other shops and a couple of restaurants upstairs and that’s where we found some WiFi, for a small fee, or free with your food. 

There was everything ... food, meat, trinkets. 

The food all looked so fresh.

We had food that was very good, and lots of it.  As I was finished with my food, leaving some as it was lamb, a man came to the end of the counter where we sat and asked us a question, pointing at the food.  Someone from the shop came and ran him off.  Apparently he was asking for the food on my plate.  I didn’t know as he spoke in French I think.  A very strange situation.  If he was hungry, I would have given some if I’d known. 

Yep.  In French.  The French gained control over the Tahitian Islands in 1842.

While these don't look like outriggers, double-hulled outrigger canoes are called tipairua.  The canoes are used in Tahitian culture for races and festivals.

We walked back down by the docks, and saw fish in metal-grate pens.  Some were beautiful, and we didn’t know why they were there.  We were told there was sort of aquarium down at the cruise port area.  Was that it?  We didn’t know for sure, but there was a large variety, and some were quite colorful.

When we came around the fish would come to the surface, maybe thinking we had food?

There was also a big art exhibit and they were setting up for an event for the evening.  We saw the art and didn’t even have to go to the event, although it was pretty close to the ship and we’d be there until late in the evening.  I just didn’t feel like getting off later as I was tired.  And we’d seen the art.  It was beautiful, arranged on big cubes, with a different photo on each side.

This one was my favorite.

A big wave is kind of cool, too.

The word "tattoo" had its origins in French Polynesia from the legend of the god of the tattoo, Tohu, painting the ocean fishes in vivid colors.  Tattoos continue to represent ceremonial symbols across Polynesian culture.

 

We walked over by the ferry terminal and found this.

From which you could get a photo of this painted on the surface.  It's 3-dimensional, so quite cool.

The Emerald Princess is loading up ... we eat a lot of potatoes, and they make some of the best mashed and au gratin.

Loading us up.

We got back to the ship and had some dinner, then went to the movie with Vangie.  They gave us popcorn, pizza, milk and cookies.  We’ve only had popcorn before, so this is pretty special on this ship.  After, I went down to the Tahitian dancers and musicians they’d brought on board.  I love local talent.

They were great ... O Tahiti E ... showcasing traditional music and dance.