We woke up about 4:00 am to an awful noise and figured out it was the anchor being lowered. Being at the front of the ship, we were above the anchor. Then, there was a different loud noise and it was the life boats being lowered. Kona doesn't have a harbor big enough or deep enough for a ship so we anchored off-shore and were tendered in to the dock. The noise reminded us of an approaching train in NYC!
After breakfast it was time to meet up with our group for the Historic Kona excursion. This was another one of our favorite tours. We loaded up in the lifeboat to head to be tendered to the dock.
A great rock wall - 1,000 feet long, 10 feet high, and 17 feet thick - defines the refuge where Hawaiians found safety. Suppose you had just broken the sacred laws, the and the only punishment was death. Your only chance of survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the Pu'uhonua, a place of refuge. The Pu'uhonua protected the kapu breaker, defeated warriors, as well as civilians during the time of battle. No physical harm could come to those who reached the boundaries of the Pu'uhonua. Some examples of breaking the law would be you had entered into an area that was reserved for only the chiefs, or had eaten forbidden foods. Laws governed every aspect of Hawaiian society. The penalty for breaking these laws was certain death. Your only option for survival is to elude your pursuers and reach the nearest pu'uhonua, or place of refuge. The Pu'uhonua was not only for those that had broken a law, but a safe place for women, children, and elderly during times of war.
Just entering the area
Beautiful spot
Darrell & Connie with one of the
wooden ki'i (wooden images of gods)
Behind the rock wall was the refuge. The wall was built using dry stack masonry with lava rock. Over 80% of the original wall was still intact when the site was reconstructed and restored in the late 1960s. The whole area was beautiful and so peaceful.
The wall The wall
Ki'is near the wall Ki'is at entrance of wall
Royal Grounds Pacific Ocean & Royal Grounds
One of the Royal Fish Ponds Pacific Ocean
Coconut Palm Tree Husk from a coconut
There were lots of coconut trees here. They were part of a royal coconut grove, planted to commemorate chiefs who have passed on. We really wish we could have had more than 30 minutes at this stop. You could easily spend 3 hours here.Our next stop was at St Benedict's, The Painted Church. The church was built in 1899 by Father John Velghe. Without any professional training and using house paint on ordinary wood he beautified the church with his 3D paintings. (During this time, paint only came in black, white and green. Father John used plants to make other colors needed.) In those days few Hawaiians could read so he taught with pictures. This church overlooks Kealakekua Bay. The church still holds mass each week. There is no organ or piano. Guitars and ukuleles accompany the singing of Catholic hymns. Inside, banisters (poles), ringed in faded red and white are actually tree trunks. They bear, in Hawaiian language, St Benedict's Prayer of Exorcism, and the weight of the vaulted celing painted with their palm frond tops. Six frescoes line the long wooden walls between the windows - the images on the left side represent the "good life," while darker scenes on the right side are themed "understanding death." Behind the altar, at the top, is what is called "Peek-a-boo Jesus". You can only see it sitting on the left side of the church. Looking at the palms on the ceiling, you'll notice that any that are turning away from the altar are turning brown, indicating those that turn away from the church will wilt." Thanks to the church's original single-walled construction, and the Hawaiian sun, a hell scene featuring Satan and a bevy of tormented souls has literally melted into a fury of snarled color. It's the only melted painting in the church - and it's enough to make you wonder if it was intentionally placed opposite direct sunlight, if the distorted features were intended to ripen into an even more terrifying scene over time.
Front of the church Side of the church
Beautiful view coming out
Poles with prayer "Good side" of the church
One of the paintings The ceiling - notice leaves "Peek-a-boo Jesus" below cross
"Understanding death" side Faded picture
The next stop was at Royal Kona Coffee Center. Kona is the very special coffee grown on the dark volcanic lava rock slopes of Kona. Kona has produced coffee continuously since the early 1800s. The Kona name only applies to beans grown in North and South Kona, and coffee that is grown elsewhere in Hawaii cannot be called Kona coffee. The Kona region contains approximately 600 independent coffee farms. Most are small, usually three to seven acres in size. To be considered authentic Kona coffee, the trees must be grown in the Kona district, along the western coast of the big Island of Hawaii. Only beans grown in this district can be labeled 100% Kona coffee. Kona coffee was brought to the region in the 1800s, and continues to grow on this less than 30 mile stretch of land. The perfect growing conditions are reached through the sunny mornings, rainy afternoons, little wind, mild nights, and nutrient rich volcanic soil.
Coffee cultivation is more labor intensive in Kona than in most other regions. From late August to late January, the Kona coffee farmer is singularly focused on bringing in the ripe red coffee cherry, processing the cherry into coffee beans, and preparing for the sale or storage of their coffee. Hand-picking is a meticulous process that insures that only cherries at peak maturity are harvested. Since the cherries do not ripen at the same time, each tree will be picked several times throughout the season.
Entrance of lava tube Inside lava tube
Then we headed back to Kona. It was time to eat so we ate lunch at Paradise Brewing Company. The service was awful but the food was good. We had a great view of the ocean and our ship.
Coming back in to Kona
Nice hotel beach next to the harbor.
There are no private beaches in Hawaii!
Shopping in Kona
Our ship
Another banyan tree
Mokuaikaua Church - The oldest church in
the Hawaiian Islands. The building was completed
in 1837. The gate in the front was built about 1900.
Another interesting tree
Lots of houses had these flowers around them.
A group being tendered back to the ship.
That night we ate dinner in the Liberty Dining Room. It was more formal than where we usually ate. Three of us ordered the Baked Walleye Cod, Spinach Mashed Potatoes, Glazed Carrots, Lemon Butter Sauce. We imagined three separate "piles" of food.
Liberty Dining Room
Below is a picture of our meal. It was all stacked and the glazed carrots turned out to be a large carrot curl on top! It was good though.
Showing our 2nd U-turn
Thursday, February 6 - Nawiliwili, Kauai
Our arrival time was to be 8:00 a.m. but we lost time due to the medical emergency, so we didn't arrive until 11:00 a.m. We didn't have any excursions planned. Some of the 8 hour excursions had to skip some stops and were shortened to 5 hours. The luau was that night and they had the time adjusted because of the late arrival and other excursions. We waited awhile to get off the ship while those that needed off could get off. After awhile we just decided to eat lunch and then explore the town. Connie commented that everyone on the ship looked like walking advertisements in their souvenir t-shirts and some they brought from home! A ship is a great place to people watch!
The seas were a little choppy this morning. It was
quite a challenge to keep my balance in the shower!
Our escort in to the harbor
Kauai looks so different from the
other islands.
The view from our balcony
Tying up at the dock - the
guys are putting rat guards
on the ropes!
We took a shuttle to the Hop On Hop Off office and decided to take the Kauai History Tour.
Our first stop was at Opaekaa Falls. The falls are 151 feet tall and 40 feet wide. There had been a huge rain the night before so the water was really muddy. In all the pictures we've seen of these falls, the water is so clear and white.
Opackaa Falls
Opackaa Falls
Guy making baskets out of leaves
We were able to cross the road here to get a view of the Wailua River. It is the only navigable river in Kauai. There was a big flat meadow lined with a heavy grove of trees. This is where Raiders of the Lost Ark was filmed along with Jurassic Park. The river was also muddy and we saw a group of kayakers. Originally we had thought about doing that excursion and after seeing how muddy the water was, we were glad we didn't do it.
Wailua River - The flat, grassy area is
where the movies were filmed.
Wailua River
Beautiful area!
This is Mt Waialeale. It is the 2nd highest peak on the island. It is the 2nd wettest
spot on earth, receiving about 450" of rain each year. It rains about 350 days
a year on the mountain. The rainiest year on record is 1982 with 683" of rain!
We were lucky to be able to see the peak. It is usually covered with clouds.
So many of the houses and condos had solar panels. Electricity
is very expensive here. An average house with air conditioning
pays 50 cents per kilowatt hour. Their electric bill can be
$1,000 a month!
Spouting Horn was our next stop. It is a blowhole on the southern coast of Kauai. This area is known for its crashing waves. These waves erode lava rocks on the coastline which can create narrow openings. With every wave, water shoots upward when it is forced through an opening and creates a sound suggestive of hissing. The spray can shoot as high as 50 feet in the air.
Spouting Horn
Spouting Horn
Of course, there was a shopping opportunity here!
Next stop was Poipu Beach. There were some good sized waves there. We were able to see monk seals on a stretch of beach and saw a big turtle on the beach, sunning itself. We saw some spinner dolphins as we were leaving here.
The driver dropped us off at the shopping area near the pier and we were able to do a little shopping. We caught the shuttle back to the ship to get ready for dinner. We had to opportunity to see the comedian, Jeff Harms again tonight in the Mardi Gras Lounge. Again, he had a great show!
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