Kauai - The Garden (or Chicken) Island.

When our cabin steward, Ian, said “Have a nice day on Chicken Island” first thing this morning we were not sure what he was talking about. None of the literature that we had read about today’s destination had made any reference to chickens or indeed any other fowl. Later in the day we would find out to what he was referring.

Kauai is the fourth largest and oldest of the Hawaiian Islands and in many people’s opinion the most beautiful. We had once again booked a shore excursion to take in as much of the island as possible. This didn’t start well as the window in the coach was in such a poor condition that we couldn’t see out of it. Not much good on a sight-seeing trip!! The driver was very good and managed at the first stop to transfer Sylvia and I to the second coach doing the trip. This coach had perfectly clean windows but no seats together. Sylvia and I sat opposite each other next to two individuals hogging the window seats who we realised were a married couple from Texas. Now most couples would offer to swap seats to enable Sylvia and I to sit together but not these two.

The first stop on the excursion was the breathtaking Waimea Canyon, apparently referred to as the “Grand Canyon of the Pacific” by Mark Twain. The fact that he never visited the island perhaps places a question mark over this, but the description is apt.

Although substantially smaller than it’s mainland namesake the canyon is spectacular measuring 12 miles long and nearly a mile deep. It may seem very familiar to many of you as it has featured in many Hollywood blockbusters such as “Jurassic Park”, “King Kong” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark”.

All around the car park chickens, large and small, scurried around pecking at the soil for any foodstuff. These are all feral being released from captivity by a hurricane that devestated the island in the 1980s. Since there are no predators on the island, they have prospered and now can be seen all over the place, except ironically in the car park of the local KFC!!

The tour passed through the township of Waimea, where in 1778 Captain Cook became the first European to set foot on Hawaii. A replica of the statue in his birthplace Whitby marks the occasion. The trip continued along the coast road until it reaches a dead end at the Spouting Hole,one of the most photographed spots on the island. The waves breaking against the rocks are forced up through holes in the volcanic rock forming a fountain of white foamy water.

After a break for lunch (no BBQ today but a fish and pork dinner - delicious) we proceeded to the Wailua River for a boat trip. On the way we passed fields of coffee bushes, now the major agricultural crop of the island since the sugar canes and macedamian nut trees were destroyed in the same hurricane that released the chickens.

We boarded the boat for the journey upstream to the famous Fern Grotto, on the way the crew related tales of the history of the area. I listened intently.

The Fern Grotto is a large cave covered with Boston Sword ferns which dangle in front of the entrance, whose Hawaiian name is Maamaakualono. At one time access to this location was limited to just the Royal family but it then became one of the most popular wedding venues in the Islands,in fact it featured in the movie “Blue Hawaii”.

Nowadays due to safety concerns access into the grotto is prohibited but we were treated to a performance of the Hawaiian Wedding Song, which apparently meant we were all re-married.

Returning to the coach we were offered seats together by the couple who had been sitting apart. Now whether this was a result of the wedding ceremony or the fact that there were no more sights to see, we will probably never know.

O’ahu - A Cultural Visit.

We woke at 6.00am as the pilot joined to guide the ship into the port of Honolulu, the largest city and State capital of Hawaii. We had booked a full day excursion today so after a quick game of table tennis and the now obligatory selfie we readied ourselves for our day out.

Our driver and guide today was Ed who negotiated the early morning city traffic to take us to our first stop the Pali lookout. Here a viewing point at the edge of a cliff gives spectacular views over the north of the island. It was here in 1795 that the Hawaiian King Kamehameha the Great forced some 400 rival warriors off the cliff edge and thus united the Hawaiian Islands.

Driving back through the city we passed the site of Pearl Harbour, still today a major military establishment, before making our way to the middle of the island to the Dole plantation. Pineapples were a major crop on the island and the Dole company had a large plantation and canning factory here. Unfortunately like many agricultural products Hawaii could not compete with the cheap labour in many South East Asian countries and commercial growing ceased in the 1990s. Our driver Ed told us to check our cans of pineapples as if they say “Canned in Hawaii” they must be at least 26 years old. The plantation is now a tourist attraction with a small train line and the largest maze in the world with over 1.5 miles of paths.

Continuing our journey we passed the many surfing beaches of the North Shore, where the winds and currents, especially in winter, give perfect surfing waves. However swimming is not recommended due to the many rip currents that exist in the area. This particular beach features the famous “Jumping Rock” from which Elvis jumped in the movie “Blue Hawaii”.

We were travelling to the village of La’ie where the Polynesian Cultural Centre can be found. The village was founded in the 1860’s by Mormon missionaries and as well as being home to the cultural centre, the Brigham Young University of Hawaii is also located here. The centre is a celebration of Polynesian life, where crafts, dancing and music from seven Pacific nations are demonstrated by students from the university. It comprises “villages” from each of the island nations in a 42 acre educational theme park.

After another “traditional” Hawaiian BBQ of ribs and chicken, Sylvia and I made our way from village to village being entertained by fire dancers…...

…..tree climbers…..

….and many native dancers. This all reached a climax with a spectacular canoe pageant, where each nation performed a traditional dance on the backs of boats. Very colourful and entertaining.

As usual a little reatil therapy was called for with some fridge magnets for our Grandchildren first on the list. We try every holiday to buy a Christmas tree decoration to remind us of the places we have visited. Today’s choice was a nice hand made angel decoration which we discovered was made by a LDS volunteer who was Welsh. The assistant in the shop was so pleased to hear that we lived in Wales that she rushed to get the lady who made it, Sue Evans from Mertyr Tydfil. She was working on a large quilt and had made a study of quilting in the South Pacific. The Christmas decoration will have special significance this year.
Here Sylvia is seen resting next to a statue of Joseph Kekuku the inventor of the Hawaiian steel guitar.

After a very enjoyable but very long day we returned to the ship, but I still had one bit of culture to capture in Honolulu, the headquarters of Hawaii Five-O…...

(Actually the staue of King Kamehameha outside the Hawaiian Supreme Court).

Tomorrow we travel on to the island of Kaua’i.

Aloha Hawai’i - The Big Island.

After five days at sea we pulled back the curtains of our stateroom to take in the view of Hawai’i with the mountain Mauna Kea dominating the skyline. After so many days without sighting land we couldn’t wait to get ashore, see the island and meet the natives.

We had booked on an excursion organised by the ship which was entitled “Farm, Fork and Fire”, a combination of a visit to the island’s only vineyard and to the Volcanos National Park. We were pleasantly surprised that the tour party comprised of only seven guests and Dave our guide. After a short tour around the port town of Hilo, we started the climb towards the National Park with Dave keeping us informed of fauna and flora as we travelled. The first stop was at the edge of the Kilauea Caldera.

Here we learned that a caldera is a crater that is more than a mile across and that this particular one contains the Halema’uma’u Crater (bottom left in the photo). This crater is 3000 feet across and 300 ft deep and is the spiritual home of Pele, the volcano goddess. It has been erupting since 1983 and on our visit today a lava flow could be clearly seen.

Travelling around the crater rim road the next stop was the viewpoint overlooking the Kilauea Iki crater, where in 1959 a major eruption took place. The eruption produced lava fountains that shot up to 2000 ft in the air and covered what was then a densely forested area with ash and rocks. The result was the lava hill that can be seen in this photo and a desert landscape where little or nothing now grows.

There is a 3-4 mile challenging trek that can be taken across the barren landscape but we didn’t have the time to do that today.

Everywhere that you looked you could see jets of steam rising from the ground where the rain from the night before percolated the rocks and hit the hot magma below. Dave treated us as a family, calling the more senior members of the party Auntie and Uncle and answered all our questions with an air of authority.

Next on our visit was the Thurston Lava Tube, a large cave-like structure that was formed when a stream of lava cooled from the outside creating a hollow tube. We walked through the tube avoiding the dripping water and observing the roots of the trees above making their way through the roof of the tunnel.

Emerging from the tunnel we found ourselves in a temperate rain forest with large ferns and colourful birds flying around. In fact,we were informed by our tour guide, we had travelled from arid desert to rainforest in less than a mile. The plants here grow in a symbiotic system known as mutualism, each species living in harmony with the others. Here in the photo Dave is showing three species growing together.

We rejoined the minibus for the short drive out of the National Park to a vineyard and tea plantation. Generally you would associate the Big Island with coffee growing but that is based on the east of the island at Kona. The tea bushes grow well enough in this climate to be harvested every two months with the most expensive,silverbud tea, being made from the young leaves before they unfurl. Green tea is made from the same leaves but combined with the slightly larger outside leaves while the black tea utilises the larger leaves in addition. We did sample the tea and it was very good. The tea bushes are shown below.

Tea tasting was not for everyone, the majority had come to check out the wine produced here at the island’s only winery. We were given samples of the eight different wines produced here which varied from a very dry white to some very sweet dessert wines. In addition the farm produced some wine/fruit mixes which were very light and refreshing and a wine/tea blend which they described as their Vodka and Red Bull substitute.

Having selected a glass of our favourite wine we settled down to enjoy an Hawaiian BBQ of ribs and teriyaki chicken together with various salads. Very enjoyable.

On the journey back to the ship Dave attempted to teach us the Hawaiian alphabet and pronunciation using the various street signs. All in all a very educational and interesting day trip where we experienced many things that we would not have been able to see by ourselves. Thank you my new nephew, Dave.

The last stop before the ship gave us a chance to get some beautiful pictures of the blue sky and sea.

Tomorrow another island, O’ahu and the city of Honolulu. Hawaii Five-O here we come!

Halfway to Paradise.

When you take a cruise such as this you realise how vast the oceans are. We have been sailing now for four whole days and as of yet have not spotted any other ships. In fact there have been few signs of any other life, although a fellow passenger said he had seen both a whale and a submarine. I’ve been looking from our balcony and have sighted neither.

However there are plenty of activities on board to keep you occupied during the days ranging from Zumba first thing in the morning, craft classes, destination lectures, movies and of course trivia. We have teamed up with a couple from Canada and another from Indianapolis for the morning quizzes where in addition to the daily prize a cumulative grand prize is to be awarded. After three days our team has a five point lead.
With all these activities taking place we obviously need feeding and there are plenty of choices in which to indulge.On Sunday night, the first formal night of this cruise, we dined in the Italian speciality restaurant, Sabatini’s. For a small supplement we were treated to a delicious four course meal with some very attentive service. Sylvia had the lobster for her main course while I enjoyed the Osso Bucco.

The sweets were again of high quality but many were coffee based so Sylvia choose the citrus tart.

Of course most of the food is available at no extra charge including the special deck Hawaiian buffet that was laid on at lunch time today.
Ornate carved fruit decorated the tables as the food was slowly brought out.

By the time the display was complete queues had started to form to enjoy the freshly prepared food.

After a couple of overcast cool days the sun has really come out today and everyone was out by the pool topping up their tan.They say that there will more of this tomorrow before we arrive at our first stop on Thursday.

Across the Pacific -Day One.

Since leaving Vancouver yesterday afternoon, the ship has taken on a different feel. Part of this is obviously down to the fact that the rest of the family have flown home but decorations around the ship and the entertainment package now have an Hawaiian slant. The highlight of the day was the introductory ukulele lessons from the on-board Hawaiian ambassador Tiki Dave.

Sylvia reckons that this picture makes me look like Benny Hill, I’m taking that as a compliment, but I’m not sure that it was meant as one.

Last night we competed in the ship’s version of the US TV show “Jeopardy” and although most of the teams were far bigger, we won. The prize was a couple of foam “I’m a Winner” hands which we gave away to a family sat near us. The cruise staff seeing this took pity on us and presented us with a bottle of wine, this we swopped for a couple of pens.

The Hawaiian theme continued this afternoon with Hula Dance lessons with Leialoha, Tiki Dave’s wife. We attended but due to the lack of space decided that we would give the dancing a miss.

With the family safely at home we have shared our dinner tables with several couples, mainly from Canada or the USA although there are a few Brits on board. Tonight we met Dorothy and Dave. Although now living in Vancouver, Dorothy comes from Newfoundland and Dave from Nova Scotia. Dorothy was a little eccentric (actually quite batty!!) and had an accent that was very different, a cross between an American and Eastern European. However she must have found us a little difficult to understand, as when I talked about the formal night tomorrow she thought I said “Full Moon Night”. Her husband Dave on the other hand was a fishing boat captain who ran away to sea at the age of 15 and got quite emotional when he related a tale about his late father. An interesting couple.

Our clocks go back tonight by another hour meaning that there will be a nine hour difference between us and the UK, an extra hour to wait before our next ukulele lesson.

The Last Day (For Some).

Last night was the last formal night of the cruise and gave us a chance to get some photographs of the whole family. Oliver had bought an unlimited photo package so as long as there was a Shingler in shot the photo was free.

I must express my admiration for the various photographers that we used as we tried every combination of poses available against various backdrops. Nahla particularly was somewhat photo-shy so their patience was sorely tested.

The last day of the cruise is always a sad one with farewells having to be made to newly made friends and this is particulary true for the children who seem to have made some good friends in the Kid’s clubs. Tomorrow they will make their way to the airport while we stay on the ship to start our journey to Hawaii. It’s been a great cruise and everyone has enjoyed themselves and probably over eaten!!

We now have five sea days until we reach our first port of call so I will not be posting everyday, unless there is something to report. I look forward to taking you further on our travels.

At Sea on Star Princess.

After a glorious day in San Francisco the weather took a turn for the worse as the wind picked up and the rain came down. On board a ship what this means is no-one up on deck and full lounges below. This was certainly the case this morning as the Vista Lounge was packed for the morning trivia challenge. Unfortunately we made a couple of poor guesses and missed the chance of winning a magnetic clip.

Following the sessions from songwriter Allan Rich earlier in the cruise we were treated to another presentation last night, this time by composer Charles Fox. Although his name may not be immediately recognisable many of his compositions would be. For instance he wrote the themes to many TV series include the Love Boat, Wonder Woman and prehaps most famously Happy Days. He also composed the music for many movies such as Barbarella but by far his most famous composition would be “Killing Me Softly” a major hit for both Roberta Flack and The Fugees. He entertained us with showbiz tales, playing some of his compositions on the way - a great night’s entertainment.

As a follow up this morning a question and answer session was held with the cruise director where the composer finally put to the bed the myth that “Killing Me Softly” was written about Don McClean. He related that many people thought that this was the case including Don himself but the song was written by himself and a lyricist in a couple of hours as the final song on an album.

Illustrating the variety of entertainment on board, the Q&A session gave way to a game of giant Jenga.

Tonight was the last formal night of the cruise and we all gathered early in our finery in attempt to get some official photographs taken.

The children, as always were very lively………...

…..and hopefully the professional photographers have more luck than me.

An Open-Top Bus Ride Around San Francisco.

Everybody decided to do their own thing this morning, with the Shinglers and ourselves choosing open-top bus tours (albeit different ones) and the Greenes making their own way to various San Francisco tourist spots.

What none of us realised is that today was the 111th anniversary of the Great Earthquake and fire of 1906 that destroyed most of the city. The guide on our bus related the events of that fateful day describing the fact that the quake fractured gas pipes causing fires, whilst at the same time causing the water pipes to leak, therefore there was no water to put the fires out. The final death toll was some 3,000 with about 250,000 people becoming homeless after the event. Close to Union Square in the centre of the city is a small monument where early this morning people gathered and laid a wreath in memory of those who lost their lives.

The civic centre of San Francisco resembles the Capitol building in Washington DC, but is bigger and grander in scale. Apparently federal legislation prevents any State Capitol building to be bigger than the Washington Capitol, but as San Francisco is not the capital of California they can get away with it.

The next stop on our bus tour was the headquarters of the counter culture, Haight-Ashbury and my chance to see the record store I almost found yesterday. Growing up in the Sixties with my love of West Coast music from bands such as Jefferson Airplane, The Doors and Spirit this area evokes great memories. Unfortunately the Summer of Love is but a distant memory to both me and this area, with the shops looking rather seedy. I decided not to go inside the store as I would be sorely tempted to purchase records which would be difficult to transport home.

The bus took us through the Golden Gate park and onwards to the bridge, which on an open top bus is VERY windy. After a short stop on the far side the bus made a u-turn and returned to the city. Interestingly San Francisco has something in common with Wales, in that you have to pay a toll on the bridge to enter both but it’s free to leave.
We returned to Pier 39 for a last chance to buy some souvenirs and take some more photos. Altogether the bus tour was a great way of getting to see all the best parts of the city, with a good guide to relate interesting tales.

Although the weather this morning was overcast with a hint or two of rain, as the day progressed the clouds cleared from the sky and the sun shone brighter. By the time the ship was ready to depart the sky was blue which meant the photos exiting San Francisco Bay were much better than those of the entry.

Two days at sea now before we return to Vancouver.