A 24 hour rest and lots of good drugs started John back to good health. Holland American’s medical staff does an amazing job of trying to keep all of its passengers in tip top condition. In fact, all of the Holland staff bend over backwards to assist the ultra aged and restricted mobility passengers. We have dozens of canes and crutches and dozens more with wheelchairs and electric scooters on this cruise, yet Holland’s staff has managed to get them on and off the ship with minimum delay, even on the difficult task of transferring to and from the shore tenders.
(March 14, 2010 Maui)
Before the sun rose over Mt Haleakala Crater we were sailing into Lahaina, Maui’s Harbor and were blessed to watch mother Humpback Whales teaching their calves to flap a side flipper or pound their tail on the water surface (their action shocks the fish which is how they catch their food source). It felt good to stand on solid ground after six days at sea and after only having broth, Jell-o and tea for the past day and a half, lunch was a cheese burger and fries with a root beer float at the Cool Cat Restaurant. The day was sunny, warm and filled with lots of fellow cruisers and other visitors to the Lahaina area. An arts and crafts fair was being held under the Banyon tree (that takes up a full city block). We loved all the sights, sounds and smells of Hawaii permeating our senses. A live guitarist played favorites and nearby, you could hear local kids laughing and playing in the surf, all of which made for an awesome Sunday afternoon. After dark, the dolphins were playful and really enjoyed the light our ship cast into the ocean.
(March 15, 2010 Honolulu)
John continues to heal and a visit to Honolulu helped immensely. Long time friend Barb Nolasco picked us up at the Aloha Tower Docks and took us on a driving tour and visit to The National Cemetery at Punch Bowl. We spent the rest of the afternoon at Barb’s home where Kathy Felipe and son Tyler joined us for dinner.
Sandy & Barb @ Punch Bowl
Pulling into the Port of Honolulu
(March 16, 2010 Kauai)
The deep water port of Kauai is called ‘Nawiliwili Harbor’ named for the wiliwili trees that long ago covered the shore. Upon arrival we rented a car for the day and made a COSTCO and Wal-Mart run for supplies, like more wine. Needless to say Sandy visited a few of her favorite fabric shops and before heading back to the ship, we had lunch at our preferred local restaurant in Lihue.
The ms Rotterdam in Nawiliwili Harbor
(March 17, 2010 Kona)
Another outstanding port as we were able to spend the day with long time friend, Barb Azbill. We shared lunch at Barb’s beautiful home and spent the afternoon catching up. Then we did a last minute supply run at Target before leaving our final USA port. At sail away, the Captain tried to give us a view of the active volcano, Kilauea, but the dark of night combined with smoke and ash (the locals call it Vog,) made it impossible to see any lava flowing into the sea.
Barb
Kailua Bay, Kona
Though we had been to the Hawaiian Islands many times in the past, this was by far one of the most relaxing and interesting ways to see and learn more about them. Things like there are more than 130 islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, but only seven are populated.
Well as we say Aloha to the Hawaiian Islands and the United States and head south to Tabuearan in the Kiribati Islands, the Sun is about to set, 5:45 PM, the water temp. is 76 degrees and wine is chilled so until we reach our first South Pacific port, “Parahi, nana”. (Tahitian for goodbye)
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