Greetings from the far side of the Pacific Ocean! We are about two days away from Japan and I have been extremely busy! I've finally found some time today to catch up with my blog. Whew! I figured I better do it before I'm let loose on Japan!
So, where to begin? Probably the morning we sailed into the Hilo part, huh?
Needless to say I was very antsy about getting into Hawaii. We had been on the ship for six days and I was starting to feel some cabin fever!! I was even up early enough to watch as we sailed into the island. It was amazingly calm and serene. We got to see a few whales breech in the distance as the ship came in. I wasn't able to get any pictures though as they were visible and then gone in a few seconds.
We finally docked in Hilo and by 11:00am were able to get off the ship. Five of us decided to rent a car as there were quite a few things we wanted to do in such a short amount of time. The taxis were super-expensive and the buses only went to a few of the places we wanted to go. Now, if you read my blog last voyage, you know that I vowed never to rent a car again as I had a major mess-up when a group of us rented a car in Croatia. However, since Hilo is still the United States, I felt a little better about the idea of a rented car. And since someone else was technically renting it, I wasn't breaking my NO RENTAL CAR rule for this voyage. :-)
Anyway, we got our car and decided our first stop needed to be a restaurant. On the ship, a visiting professor who lived in Hilo had suggested Verna's for some authentic Hawaiian food. The five of us (Darby, Rachel, Travis, Josh, and myself) decided, since Verna's was on the way to our first stop, we might as well try it.
Here's a picture of us at Verna's:
After such a great hike through the crater, we made our way back up the other side (through some more beautiful rainforest with leaves as big as a kite) and to our car. We were all so inspired by the beauty of the volcano park; it's all we could talk about as we drove back into town. After a stop at Wal-Mart (needed some more snacks for the 9 day trek to Japan) and a nice dinner of kahlua pulled pizza (it made up for the not-so-great lunch), we made it back to the ship around 2200 for bed.
For those of you who know me, you know that I could lay in bed until late morning. However, I managed to wake up the next morning at 0630 and went for a run in Hilo. Woo-hoo! I am now 2 for 2 with my goal to run in each port. I'm really starting to enjoy these runs as I usually have to stop for a restroom and get to interact with locals. Many of the natives were so extremely friendly and also very laid-back. The run was a great way to orient myself with the town.
I showered and made my way to Hilo to visit the market. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Hilo market is huge, taking up a few blocks with tons of fruit, veggies, and even locally made items. I took a taxi down to the market and ran into some fellow Semester at Sea staff (we're everywhere on such a small island). We explored the market, I ate a mango for the first time, and even got a taste of a lychee, a really odd looking fruit that tastes like a cross between a strawberry and green grape.
The group decided to head up to Rainbow Falls. Rainbow Falls is another Hilo landmark. It's about 40 feet tall with lots of lush vegetation surrounding it. There is a beautifual natural walkway to the top of the falls that includes a huge tree with a variety of trunks twisting together. I even dressed up in my "Where's Waldo?" outfit and got my first picture for the students at Mangum to see.
Our group spent about an hour at the falls, taking pictures, eating some of the fruit we bought at the market, and just getting to know each other. We had only spent about eight days together at this point and there was a lot we still could learn from each other.
After a while, we decided it was time to head back to the ship. We had to get ready for the students as we knew that they'd be early at this port for fear of earning dock time. We stopped off at a convenience store where I stocked up on a few snacks and some postcards, headed back to the ship and got ready for our nine day sail to Japan.
More later...Hope all is great back on the East Coast!!
So, where to begin? Probably the morning we sailed into the Hilo part, huh?
Needless to say I was very antsy about getting into Hawaii. We had been on the ship for six days and I was starting to feel some cabin fever!! I was even up early enough to watch as we sailed into the island. It was amazingly calm and serene. We got to see a few whales breech in the distance as the ship came in. I wasn't able to get any pictures though as they were visible and then gone in a few seconds.
We finally docked in Hilo and by 11:00am were able to get off the ship. Five of us decided to rent a car as there were quite a few things we wanted to do in such a short amount of time. The taxis were super-expensive and the buses only went to a few of the places we wanted to go. Now, if you read my blog last voyage, you know that I vowed never to rent a car again as I had a major mess-up when a group of us rented a car in Croatia. However, since Hilo is still the United States, I felt a little better about the idea of a rented car. And since someone else was technically renting it, I wasn't breaking my NO RENTAL CAR rule for this voyage. :-)
Anyway, we got our car and decided our first stop needed to be a restaurant. On the ship, a visiting professor who lived in Hilo had suggested Verna's for some authentic Hawaiian food. The five of us (Darby, Rachel, Travis, Josh, and myself) decided, since Verna's was on the way to our first stop, we might as well try it.
Here's a picture of us at Verna's:
While at Verna's we ran into some of the immigration agents who assisted us in clearing the ship. One of the agents suggested that I get the smoked meat combo, which is a favorite of the island. Of course, I took his advice and ordered this Hawaiian staple. Oops - wrong choice. Unfortunately, the meat had a lot of fat on it (some people enjoy that, but not this kid) and tasted a bit like gasoline. Ugh. I know, I know...some of you are saying to yourselves, "Kevin, you know you're a picky eater." It's true that I'm not the most adventurous eater, but no judging, please. Thank goodness for the mound of rice and pasta salad that came with the meal.
After lunch we made our way to the big island's most famous landmark - the volcano. We had a few stops to make on the way. First, we went to the Mauno Loa macadamia nut factory. We took a brief tour of the factory, gobbled up some free samples, and then I purchased some milk chocolate and toffee covered macadamia nuts as well as some macadamia nut Hershey kisses (sold only in Hawaii!) to send to one of the classes at my school thanking them for the going away party they threw for me.
After the nut tour, we stopped by an orchid garden to see the variety of orchids grown on the island. Orchids are used to make the leis that visitors are greeted with when the arrive in Hawaii. Orchids also are used as hair accessories. Did you know that the way you wear the orchid in your hair determines if you are single and looking or married? Wearing the flower over your left ear signifies single and wearing the flower over your right ear signifies taken. Guess where I placed my flower...
Here's a great picture of one of the many orchids we saw at the garden:
Pretty, don't ya think?
After the orchid garden, our group stopped by the southern most winery in the United States to do a wine tasting. I'm not much of a wine drinker, but the selection they had was pretty good. We had fun tasting the variety of wines and chatting about which one we would purchase to bring back to the ship. Needless to say, I didn't purchase anything but enjoyed the time we spent together.
Finally, after the winery we made it to the infamous volcano. It had started to rain so we were nervous about whether or not we'd be able to make the hike we wanted to make. We picked up our map at the welcome center and then drove a bit until we reached the hiking trail. The trail started and we traveled for about 1/2 a mile through a rainforest. The rainforest we so lush and there were several species of birds roaming the area freely. What was most amazing was the juxstaposition of the beautiful greenery surrounding the barrenness of the volcano center. This picture doesn't do the scene justice, but it may give you an idea of what I'm talking about:
We took the trek down to the base of the crater rather carefully as it was muddy and a bit gross. Finally, we made it to the area of the crater where there was no greenery growing. As we walked over the first hill at the base of crater, it felt like we were in a science fiction movie and had been transported to a desolate planet. It didn't hurt that, probably due to the rain, we were the only people in the crater itself. We traversed the entire crater, stopping to look at the smoke rising through various vents and to examine the huge cracks in the landscape:
After such a great hike through the crater, we made our way back up the other side (through some more beautiful rainforest with leaves as big as a kite) and to our car. We were all so inspired by the beauty of the volcano park; it's all we could talk about as we drove back into town. After a stop at Wal-Mart (needed some more snacks for the 9 day trek to Japan) and a nice dinner of kahlua pulled pizza (it made up for the not-so-great lunch), we made it back to the ship around 2200 for bed.
For those of you who know me, you know that I could lay in bed until late morning. However, I managed to wake up the next morning at 0630 and went for a run in Hilo. Woo-hoo! I am now 2 for 2 with my goal to run in each port. I'm really starting to enjoy these runs as I usually have to stop for a restroom and get to interact with locals. Many of the natives were so extremely friendly and also very laid-back. The run was a great way to orient myself with the town.
I showered and made my way to Hilo to visit the market. On Wednesdays and Saturdays, the Hilo market is huge, taking up a few blocks with tons of fruit, veggies, and even locally made items. I took a taxi down to the market and ran into some fellow Semester at Sea staff (we're everywhere on such a small island). We explored the market, I ate a mango for the first time, and even got a taste of a lychee, a really odd looking fruit that tastes like a cross between a strawberry and green grape.
The group decided to head up to Rainbow Falls. Rainbow Falls is another Hilo landmark. It's about 40 feet tall with lots of lush vegetation surrounding it. There is a beautifual natural walkway to the top of the falls that includes a huge tree with a variety of trunks twisting together. I even dressed up in my "Where's Waldo?" outfit and got my first picture for the students at Mangum to see.
Our group spent about an hour at the falls, taking pictures, eating some of the fruit we bought at the market, and just getting to know each other. We had only spent about eight days together at this point and there was a lot we still could learn from each other.
After a while, we decided it was time to head back to the ship. We had to get ready for the students as we knew that they'd be early at this port for fear of earning dock time. We stopped off at a convenience store where I stocked up on a few snacks and some postcards, headed back to the ship and got ready for our nine day sail to Japan.
More later...Hope all is great back on the East Coast!!
