Honolulu February 9, 2012

The moon is almost full and glistening on the water as we dock early this morning in Honolulu Harbor.  The temperature is 72 and there are a few clouds over the mountains.  It is a welcome sight to see land and calm seas.  The Aloha Tower greets us.  This is the start of our third week of the World Cruise.  We continue to be in awe of all the amazing sights and experiences.

This visit is our first to Hawaii and we want to experience as much of Oahu as possible in the one day.  We signed up for a tour and hop on board the bus at 8:30 am.  As we travel out of downtown Honolulu, our tour guide starts to attempt to teach us Hawaiian.  Driving past the Iolani palace and church, Terrii explains the flag, the history and the expressway system used to get around the island.  We see the mountains ahead and our tour guide talks about the various native and non-native plants that are in the valley and mountain forests.  Now, a synopsis of ‘did you know?’ from our tour.

·       The eight inhabited islands of Hawaii are actually the tops of a volcanic seamount chain; each island is approximately one million years older or younger than its neighbor due to the sequential nature in which they were formed.  Most of the volcanoes of Hawaii are shield, as opposed to conical, volcanoes, meaning they form what appears to be a small mountain range rather than the expected cone
·       Two mammals are native to Hawaii – the bat and the monk seal.  All other mammals have come from the original Polynesian settlers and western explorers and settlers
·       The pali cliffs were formed by erosion of basalt; and the erosion continues to sculpt this volcanic island
·       No bill boards are allowed
·       There were 108 native species of Hawaiian birds, 50-some of which are now extinct.  The golden plover bird migrates every winter to Hawaii from Alaska.
·       The beaches are picked clean of shells every day.
·       5 species of sea turtles make their home in Hawaii.  We see a green turtle known locally as honu.  These turtles just started basking on beaches in Hawaii in the 1990’s.
·       Highest mountain on Oahu is 4,010 feet.
·       Iron-rich red dirt in certain areas.
·       Dole still grows 1/3 of all pineapples in the world on the Hawaiian Islands.  They are now beginning to grow more coffee and seed corn.
·       All 5 of the US armed forces branches have bases on Oahu. The impact of Pearl Harbor and World War II are visible on this island and not just in the harbor, where the USS Arizona and USS Utah still majestically rest.  All the other ships that were sunk or damaged were raised from the harbor, rebuilt and put into action in WW2.
·       Surfing contests are held throughout the winter when the winds are favorable to large waves.  Most are held at Sunset and Pipeline although there are many more held along the North Shore of Oahu.  Waves come in sets – five to ten every 10 minutes or so.
·       Diamond Head cannot be seen from downtown anymore (for those of you who were here before the skyline climbed!)

The stops along the way provide the opportunity for nice pictures of the rock formations, a Buddhist monastery, beautiful beaches, surfing spots, a green turtle and a monk seal and the Dole plantation.  The tour drops us back at the pier in downtown Honolulu.  A walk down Fort Street in search of a drug store and Starbucks gives a sense that Honolulu is just another US city set in a beautiful climate. Minus the mountains, we could have been Tampa or St. Petersburg.  Yet, there are several more islands of Hawaii and we know we will be back to visit the National Parks.  Plus we didn’t even see Diamond Head, Waikiki or Pearl Harbor National Monument here on Oahu.

We hear at dinner that our Cruise Ship made the Hawaiian news because of crossing the Pacific Ocean in the extreme stormy weather!  The ship sails away from Oahu heading to Pago Pago as the sun sets.  The theatre troupe performs a new show for us – “Vanity Fair.”  The dancers are spectacular and must have had 10 costume changes!