Hawaii December 3 – 6, 2010

Off we went to Hawaii through several days of very rough seas. We walked like drunks weaving from side to side and several times plates and even people went flying. Many of those near the aft (front of the ship) had trouble sleeping when the ship hit huge waves head on, but Paul and I bunked in the middle of the ship and never even awoke! Surprisingly few people got sea sick this time, although many were already ill with a flu-like symptoms.

Many of us enjoy watching the pilot boat and tugs bring us in and out of the ports. Arriving activities usually start around 6:00 am with the rising sun. We docked before 8:00 am in Honolulu, Oahu. Paul and I decided to plan nothing at this port. Instead we headed out with friends, Frank, Louise and Gail to find a bus which would circle the Island. We found it and did just that! We walked Sunset Beach where the waves on this day were not their reputed 40 footers!



Frank and Louise enjoy an icy!


We enjoyed a lovely setting and lunch before finding a bus back to the port. Bus rides allow us to see the layout of the whole place without spending much at all. The next day Paul and I hiked to Waikiki Beach to see this famous place we heard about since we were kids. Coincidently, we bumped into Gail at the bar we chose and enjoyed more beer!








Paul hiking to the bar for a beer!  See Diamond Head!



Crazy! We did not feel pushed to see as much as possible in those two days since we are returning in June for a family reunion with our children. We had left the planning of the reunion up to them and they chose a large beachfront home on Oahu with a pool. We'll go to the Dole Plantation and Pearl harbor then.  When I was a kid I dreamed of going to Hawaii to enjoy its reported beauty, the beaches and the volcanoes but neither Paul nor I ever went until last March. By June 2011 we will have been to Hawaii 3 times in just 15 months – Maui in March 2010, Oahu and the Big Island in December 2010, and Oahu in June 2011. Such good luck!

Our real Hawaiian adventure began in Hilo on the Big Island where we docked the next day. We learned so much about Hawaii from our friend, Kaipo, a student on the ship who doubled as a LLL because of his age, 44. He planned the entire tour from the ship with his wife’s help in back on the Island.



Kaipo, Salina and son

 Kaipo’s lovely wife, Salina, insisted he take the SAS voyage to help him decide the next chapter of his life. He proudly showed 40 of us the seven diverse ecosystems of the Island to help us understand how the early Hawaiian managed to co-exist and how transitions to plantation life have forever altered these delicate biomes. We learned about the early anthropology, archeology, spirituality, agronomy ecology, history and monarchy/governmental transition and how all were related.  And we saw the Nene and a hawk at the Volcano and a Apepana in the rainforest - all good signs!

Mauna Loa Volcano - the most studied volcano in the world!

Kaipo is an indigenous Hawaiian who owns a ranch on the Big Island and has been studying the sustainability of the islands for some time. He continued these studies on the ship where he refined his focus. He is considering running for office to champion environmental and sustainable policies. Kaipo made certain that we would learn as much as possible about the people of the Hawaiian Islands. He gave us the facts, like 40% of their energy comes from renewable sources of solar, hydrothermal, wave energy, thermal exchange, wind, and garbage. We saw the great crack which moves 0.2” per year and promises to eventually break off part of the Island which will cause a huge tsunami. We saw sea turtles at the black beaches, but learned that their population has been greatly reduced by runoff from plantations and pastures. Deforestation for raising cattle has changed the landscape and the moisture level of the entire island. Rainfall in Hilo has been reduced by 100 inches per year.  The black sand beaches and the hardened lava flows marked some of the most spiritual sites like Pu'uhonua o Honaunau which served as a place of refuge to those who had commited crimes and defeated warriors.  If one made it to that location, one could live in peace and make atonement.  All the wooden buildings are gone but the place demands aloneness and meditation. 




Victoria and Louisa meet a friend




Paul's attempt at being  fierce




The black lava flow and the old wall along the sea 

 To think the early explorers who found Hawaii traveled in large, double-hulled canoes for weeks before reaching the place where the smoke reached to the sky. I always wondered how these relatively small land masses were even found in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The volcanic steam attracted them and the ocean currents flowed towards the islands.

Ancient Hawaiian tribes lacked a written language. Their history had been passed down through dance and chanting. When the missionaries came in the late 1800s they were welcomed, but they soon had a detrimental effect on the culture of the Hawaiian natives. The hula and chanting, Hawaiian’s only method of transferring history, were banned as well as the Hawaiian language and polygamy.

Kaipo took us to a stunningly beautiful botanical garden along the coast. It was not a natural rainforest, but one so lovely with waterfalls and truly outstanding plants. Huge philodendron leaves, multicolored bamboo, huge banyan trees and stunning flowers filled this garden. Did you know that Mark Twain loved Hawaii until the missionaries came and destroyed so much of the natural beauty that he left in disgust?

One of the highlights was a gorgeous spot called Waipio Valley. This special place reminded many of us of Big Sur only more beautiful if that is possible. A local resident recited the ancient history of this beautiful valley and chanted a prayer to ask God to bless the land, to send the rain to grow the food to sustain the body and soul.

Picture primitive bamboo structures atop this rock temple.  To build this temple, they formed a relay line of men to bring the stones from 26 miles away!

The Big Island was lovely and I would love to return and so all this great stuff with our grandchildren. They would love the Volcano National Park, the black and white sand beaches, the sea turtles, the mountains, desserts, forests, waterfalls, lava fields and tunnels and rainforests. But we would so miss the special touch of Kaipo and his strong belief in the need to recognize our connection and responsibility to the earth. He reminds us that Hawaii is not a land of five-star hotels and hula dancers – it is a beautiful earth still being created along the world’s most active fault. Its ecosystem is delicate, like a small world. And only if we make a serious effort to conserve and use sustainable energy and building methods will Hawaii and the world survive another hundred years!