Monday, February 1, 2010

Hilo/Honolulu Hawaii

Arrival in Hilo on the “Big Island” on January 25 was so exciting. I never thought that I would be so eager to set foot on solid ground. Seeing land outside our window instead of endless ocean was a welcome change from the long days of rocking that we had experienced in the first week. We cleared customs on the ship early in the morning. Since we embarked from Mexico, we had to go back through American customs. After leaving the ship, we took a bus to the black sand beaches of Richardson Beach. Because of all the volcanic activity of the Big Island, the beaches were completely black and huge volcanic rock protruded from the ocean. We spent the majority of the day on the beach, taking in the beautiful scenery. Late in the afternoon, two different humpback whales completely jumped out of the water! They were only about 200 yards away. They reminded me of the little plastic humpback whale toys I had when I was little – they looked the exact same, only roughly the size of a house. We also saw a huge sea turtle swimming in the surf. In Hawaii, sea turtle are revered just as elders are – for their years of wisdom and patience. In the evening, we attended a Lu’au at the local university. We learned to make tea leaf leis by twisting the leaves. The action of twisting is called “Hilo” and that is how the city got it’s name. We watched some indigenous dancing, learned the basic steps of the Hula and ate authentic Hawaiian food. Hawaiians eat this stuff called “poi” with everything – it’s like a grey paste consistency and tastes sort of like glue. But I tried it! The next day we traveled to the Volcanoes National Park. The Hawaiian chain of islands was completely created by volcanic activity and the Big Island is the only remaining island with active volcanoes. We were first driven to a large crater that was created by the constant churning of magma right below the earth’s surface. We then explored some steam holes, there was actual real steam coming straight from the ground! It reminded me of steam tunneling in Charlottesville. Finally, we took a hike through a lava tube. A lava tube is a tunnel that is created by the flow of lava from a volcano. It was really cool to see the path taken from the peak all the way down to the valley and also the vegetation that is created surrounding it!

The next day we arrived in Honolulu. Very first thing, we boarded a bus and drove to Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. The memorial is under construction right now so we didn’t really get to see all of it, but I’m still really glad that I went. We were taken to a theater where we watched a short movie about the political climate right before the attack, raw footage from the bombings, and the aftermath. It was incredibly well done and following the movie everyone was very quiet and respectful. We then boarded a small ferry for transport to the memorial that is on top of the hull of the USS Arizona. Nearly 1200 men are still entombed inside ship. I was amazed at the reverence everyone showed as we walked through the memorial. It was as though we were really among the dead. Following Pearl Harbor, we had a city tour of Honolulu. We went to the National Cemetery of Hawaii and overlooked Diamond Head beach. In the afternoon, I met up with my roommate and we spent the afternoon on Waikiki beach. A group of about 10 of us had a wonderful dinner on the beach (a really nice change from ship food). We left port the following day for Japan.
The contrast between Hilo and Honolulu was very interesting. I’m glad we traveled to both cities because I feel like I was better able to see a wide range of Hawaiian life, not just the touristy city life of Honolulu. Hilo felt more private, residential, and laid back. Everyone was so friendly and enjoyed listening to our adventures and wanted to talk about their family and life. People seemed really content and happy. In Honolulu, it felt like any other big city almost. I had some great conversations with cab drivers, many from the countries we are visiting. A man from Viet Nam explained to us about life in Ho Chi Minh City and a woman from India told us about her religion and the search for truth. The beaches are gorgeous, and surfing really is as big a deal as you would think. I’m glad we started out our trip in Hawaii because it was good practice for all the traveling we are getting ready to embark on. It was tiring and coordinating everyone’s plans is hard. But, being able to ask people questions in English and use American currency was a huge plus.

We are now back at sea for 11 days. On February 3, we will cross the International Date Line and completely lose the day! I still can’t really fully understand how it works – but it’s pretty cool. Until we arrive in Japan on February 9, we are in a set schedule of classes. This will be our longest stretch on the ocean and it is giving everyone a good chance to catch up on schoolwork and sleep before our marathon of traveling in February and March.

1 comment:

  1. ah it is very cool to read about your travels. So glad you are having fun! Love and miss you!

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