Honolulu, HI

On Wednesday we arrived in Honolulu fairly early and because we cleared customs in Hilo we did not have to in Honolulu so we were able to leave the ship whenever we wanted to. As it goes with many people in Student Life, it took us some time to mobilize and actually get off the ship. When we finally did we headed towards Lanikai Beach which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. It was however it was quite chilly by the time we got there because the sun had moved beyond the mountain so we got to dip our feet and then it was time to move on.

Lanakai Beach:

So, some of us were on a mission to find a beach while avoiding the crowds of Waikiki. Next stop Ala Moana Beach Park. We got there…still chilly, Cindy ran into the water and then we moved on. So we thought let’s go to Diamond Head, well as luck would have it by the time we got there it was closed.
The view from near Diamond Head:

Frustrated and hungry we decided to park by Waikiki and walk around. The day was saved by the beautiful sunset that we were able to experience. We stopped, took in the sunset and it made up for the otherwise uneventful day in Honolulu.

We met up some more folks for dinner at Duke’s Canoe Club for dinner where I had pulled pork sliders done Hawaiian style, sipped some cool beer and ended the evening on a very positive note.

I was determined to be on the beach on Thursday. I realized that I was not necessarily experiencing the culture of Honolulu or seeing any of the sites and felt slightly guilty but I also realized that I have some pretty intense experiences coming up and if I needed to take a day of relaxation on the beach then I would. So around 10:30 Laura (one of my co-workers) and took the bus from the Aloha Tower (where we were ported) to Waikiki. Waikiki is where 5th Ave meets the beach, lots of fancy shops and hotels on one side looking at the beach on the other. We grabbed a muffin and some coffee, met up with Cindy and headed to a warm spot in the sand. I was able to make some phone calls, write some postcards and take a dip in the cool blue Pacific Ocean. When we had enough we walked around the International market which was essentially a flea market where all the booths sold the same cheap necklaces and other sorts of trinkets.

When it was time to head back to the ship we took the bus again though this time it took us significantly longer to get back to the ship because of afternoon traffic. We made it when we were supposed to be back, again to help with the embarkation process. Much to everyone’s happiness everyone was back on the ship in time (though we had a few that cut it pretty close).

Now I am in the middle of a ten day journey to Japan, we are planning a dance, the Sea Olympics, a Talent Show as well as another coffee house since the first one was such a hit. Busy, busy busy but loving it!!! Unfortunately I am slightly under the weather; I have an awful cold that is going around the ship. I hope to feel better by the time we get to Japan and will post again before we get there with more about Life on the Ship.

Hilo, HI Day 2

We decided Monday night that on Tuesday we would get up early because at 8am the ship was moving to a different dock. So we were off the ship by 7:30am. We began our journey to the other side of the big island to Kona. A two hour drive took us about 4 hours because we took the scenic route and made many stops along the way. For example we stopped in front of one person’s house to watch him pick an orange from his tree using some sort of long mechanical arm. We also stopped so Cindy could take pictures of a house that had chickens and a dog perched atop a car. I think the best stop was when we had Malasadas.  They were delicious donut like treats that for some reason we all thought it was OK to each get 2 for breakfast; so I had one filled with Lemon and the other filled with Bavarian Cream….yummy!!!

 It was interesting as we drove around the island to see the landscape change from very tropical to hardened lave to desert like. I know that we were told that the side of the island Hilo is on was the more tropical side and now I believe it.

One of the scenic views we stopped to observe...pretty breathtaking:

We ended our day at the Kona Brewery where though some people were disappointed we could not get burgers the food was good and so was the beer. The Kona brewery has just made Hawaii's first organic beer and the symbol happens to be the fishhook symbol which is very near and dear to me. When I went on Semester at Sea the first time and went to New Zealand I discovered the fishhook, it was a Maori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) symbol for good luck and safe travel over seas. This immediately spoke to me because I was traveling over seas. I decided then to get this symbol tattooed on my back, so I carry it with me always. Anyway I felt it important to share that story because we saw the symbol sold as jewelry all through Hawai’i.

So after lunch we made our 2 hour trip back to Hilo to prepare for our for embarkation. We (the Living Learning Staff) have to be back on the ship 2 hours before on ship time. If anyone is late for on ship time (which is usually 6pm) they receive dock time. For every 15 minutes someone is late to the ship they receive 3 hours of dock time. So part of what we do is gently remind to students who are hanging around the port to get there butts on the ship so they do not receive docktime. And, I am happy to report that everyone was on time and accounted for and it was a relatively smooth process.

That evening as we started our travels towards Honolulu a few of us got together for a Pajama Jammy Jam to celebrate a new friend’s birthday. We had a great time hanging out in the faculty and staff lounge and dancing to cheesey 80’s music.

Hilo, HI day 1

We arrived in Hilo, HI on Monday morning around 5:30am and I was awoken to an announcement over the ships PA system. This was my wake up call to then proceed to knock on all of my residents’ doors and then head up to start the debarkation process. Since we arrived from Mexico we had to have customs agents check the passports. After I reported to duty we called the students up by their seas (so for example the 75 students that are on my ‘floor’ are part of the Mediterranean Sea. So when we arrive to each of our ports everyone will need to clear customs before anyone can get off of the ship and this is what we got to experience very early!!

After all was cleared I left the ship with a few people and we headed to downtown Hilo. It was quite nice to be off the ship and after spending some time getting my sea legs it was now time to find my land legs again. We walked about the 2 miles downtown, stopped in a Natural food store and ended our walk at a Coffee, tea and Kava bar. Kava is a natural relaxant which I originally tasted when I was in Fiji. “Kava is sedating and is primarily consumed to relax without disrupting mental clarity “(Wikipedia). It is illegal in some countries and very hard to find in the US but apparently found in Hilo, HI. We were all given samples, drank our coffee and then went on our way. We took a taxi back to the ship and low and behold a UMass student of mine, who I forgot was studying for the semester at the University of Hawai'i Hilo was taking a tour of our ship, so we got to see each other for about 5 minutes before she headed on her way , but it was nice to see a familiar face. 

I will say that it took a while to realize that we were in Hawai’i. This part of the Big Island is not what I typically think of when I think of Hawai’i.  It was much less tropical then I anticipated. Cindy rented a car which made it really easy to get around and I took on the role of driver for our 2 days in Hilo. Midhun, Emily, Debbie, Cindy and I were on our adventure around Hilo; first stop Akaka Falls (now I am seeing tropics!). I thought it would be something we would be able to venture into but it ended up being only something we could view from afar. It was quite beautiful though and we took a nice walk around. I kept commenting that it was like we were in a Botanical Garden without anything labeled because there were so many different types of plants as we walked around to see the falls.

After the falls we headed to Volcano National Park where we saw large craters of steaming hot magma. Ok maybe it wasn’t magma but it was dangerous sulphur dioxide gas and if the wind had been blowing in a different direction we would not have been allowed where we were. It is really hard to put into words and the pictures do not do justice to what we saw. There was Vog(volcano fog) in the distance which is what we saw on the drive to the Park as well.

Vog:

The evening ended at a Chinese/Vietnamese restaurant though when we found the restaurant on someone’s iphone it said it was Korean and we figured since we were visiting neither North nor South Korea then Korean food would be great. Since we were quite hungry by the time we reached there we decided to stay the food was disappointing yet decent though there were many overtired laughs had!