Big Island Introductions, Bra

 

We would technically spend the next two nights docked on the big island of Hawaii, but we would be at two different ports, on opposite sides of the huge island.  Around 7:00am on Tuesday, we pulled into the city of Hilo, on the eastern, windward side of Hawaii. The town holds the dubious title of "wettest city in America," and averages 211 days of rain a year.  With its geography on the windward side, it gets 10 to 40 times more rain that the other parts of the island.  We would later visit the wettest spot on the entire globe, which is on the island of Kauai.  

We had originally booked a car for Hilo, but in the end, based on recommendations from folks on-line, we elected to book a tour through an outside vendor.  "The" thing to see while in Hilo is Volcanoes National Park, and we were anxious to do just that.  It is another national park that we were relieved would be open for us.  

Welcome to the Big Isle of Hawaii

Example of the Industrial Port.

As our tour didn't leave until almost 9:30, we had a very leisurely morning and had a proper sit down breakfast (rather than going to the buffet on board) in the main dining room.  I was again impressed by the great service on board.  We walked off with no lines or anything and met our tour operator in the huge arrivals terminal.  I wasn't sure what to expect with this tour, as we saw a lot of people in line for our company.  We ended up being separated into groups of 24, which matched the size of the mini-bus.  Our driver and tour guide was named Gino, a native Italian who has lived on the island for the last 15 or so years. Over the course of the day we would learn that he is an artist, and that is how he made his living most of his life; that is, until 2018.  It was in that year that the volcano for which Hawaii is famous -- Kilauea -- had its most recent deadly eruption.  At that time, more than 700 homes were destroyed, including Gino's home and studio.  While trying to get back on his feet, he is now working as a guide on the island, though it is not his passion, needless to say.  Before he lived on Hawaii, by the way, he lived in Lahaina on Maui, which was recently destroyed by wildfires.  Gino was clear, however, that despite the dangers of living in Hawaii, he would live nowhere else on earth.  About that, he was emphatic.

In hindsight, I would have preferred if we had rented a car and done the Shaka tour of Hilo, but this tour served its purpose, as we saw the highlights.  As morbid as it might sound, too, I would have preferred to have been fortunate enough to visit during an active (non-deadly) eruption of Kilauea, but it was not to be.  We missed one by less than a week, but I don't begrudge the visit one bit.  I should note, too, up front, that the geography of Hilo was far different than both Maui and Oahu.  In fact, all five of our ports on this tour were completely different from one another, and I did not expect so much diversity between the islands.  We lucked out, too, as we had only a few sprinkles of rain all day, which given the odds, is quite rare for Hilo.

After visiting a few beaches, including a black-sand public beach, we toured the largest Japanese ornamental garden outside of Japan.  Hawaii as a whole has a very large population with ethnic ties back to Japan, as large numbers of Japanese (and Chinese, Koreans, and Filipinos) were brought in to work the sugar cane fields in the 1800's.  Those immigrants, along with Americans and a large Portuguese minority, intermixed with the remaining native Hawaiians, who themselves were already interrelated with multiple races from across Polynesia.  We learned, too, that after Captain Cook "discovered" Hawaii in the late 1700's, leading to an influx of Europeans, nearly 90 percent of the native Hawaiian population was killed by disease, as they had no natural immunity to most viruses.  With so few indigenous people remaining, they were left to intermingle with the influx of settlers and workers from across the globe, and that has led to the very diverse native population today.  

While on Oahu and Maui, I had seen long, slender animals running across the roads a few times.  K had not yet seen them, but I could not figure out what they were.  After doing some reading, I realized they were mongooses, a non-native animal introduced in the 1800's.  In hindsight I felt stupid for not realizing, but Hawaii has no native non-sea mammals of any kind.  All of the birds and insects that populate it today came in from elsewhere, with many evolving into unique species only found in Hawaii.  The national bird is the Nene, which evolved from Canada Geese who were blown off course centuries ago.  Their plumage evolved to better camouflage them with native plants, and their feet lost their webbing, so they can walk on lava rock.  Anyway, while at these gardens, I got my first upclose look at several mongooses, who had dens among the rocks and ponds.  Mongoose were introduced from India by plantation owners who wanted to control the population of rats, which themselves had been inadvertently introduced into Hawaii from merchant ships.  The rats were feasting in the sugar cane fields and the thought was that mongooses would kill the rats but not eat the cane.  They soon learned, however, that as rats are nocturnal and mongooses are active during the day, they did nothing to control the population.  To this day, Hawaii faces a problem with rats and mongooses on most islands, with the notable exception of Kauai (more on that later).  As there are no natural predators for either the mongoose or rat, they are left to thrive.  There aren't even snakes to help counter them, as Hawaii and Alaska are the only two U.S. states without snakes.

Japanese Gardens in Hilo -- Largest Outside of Japan

Banyan Tree -- Roots Grow on Top of Lava Rock

Mongoose

We visited the so-called Rainbow Falls, but as the morning mist had already cleared, we did not see any rainbows.  Following a short drive through the small downtown (which itself has been wiped out twice by tsunami), we started to drive up the Kilauea volcano.  The so-called big island is comprised of six different volcanoes, with Kilauea being the most active, but not the largest.  Unlike Maui, there are a lot of trees and vegetation as you ascend the volcano, and the road is pretty much a straight line up, as the elevations are not as extreme.  At the top is Volcanoes National Park, which sits alongside the largest "lava lake" in the world.  Hearing the term "lava lake," one could expect to see a volcano crater full of molten, bubbling lava.  Alas, the lake -- aside from relatively frequent eruptions -- is now cooled, solid lava stone.  In fact, you can hike across the surface, and the crater is humongous.  We learned that most of the eruptions that happen today occur outside the cauldron.  Lava rises beneath the cooled surface, and the floor is raised as a whole.  When the pressure gets to the right point and the weight of the lake surface counteracts that, the lava will escape through other routes, usually breaking through underground tubes and then erupting elsewhere on the mountain, often with no warning.  It was such an eruption that destroyed our guide Gino's home.  There was also the eruption earlier this year, which threatened to flood the sole highway that crosses the center of the island, which would have isolated thousands of residents.  As it was, that lava flow ceased only a 100 yards or so from the central highway.

Rainbow Falls on Hilo

We had time at the excellent visitors' center, including being able to watch a great film on how plants have adapted in Hawaii, to include dealing with the geothermal heat created by the volcanoes.  Though random facts, I found it fascinating that mint on Hawaii has evolved to lose its smell and taste, as that famous mint flavor is actually a mechanism to deter rodents from eating the plants.  The same goes for raspberries, which have evolved in Hawaii to lose their outer prickles, as they're unnecessary.  The birdlife on Hawaii, too, is simply amazing.  Scientists have determined that from an original small flock of finches blown off course from Australia to Hawaii, 42 unique species -- found only on the islands -- now exist.

Our tour brought us to several vantages over the crater, to include visiting active steam vents and a long hike through a lava tube.  Though quite old now, it is an example of something through which lava from a previous eruption would have sought the point of easiest escape.  We learned from one of the rangers, too, that even though there were no active eruptions at the time, if we visited at night (which is possible), you can see orange glowing through cracks all over the surface of the lava lake.  I would have liked to have seen that.

One of the Many Steam Vents Around the Park

The "Lava Lake" -- You Can See the Hiking Trail Across It

See People Below...for Scale

Approaching One of the Lava Tubes

Into the Lava Tube

On the ride back down into Hilo, we passed the absolutely massive macadamia nut orchards owned by the famous Mauna Loa company.  They are the largest grower of macadamias in the world, and I can believe it.  Before returning to the ship, we visited a small candy company, famous for the cookies and chocolates they make with the nuts.

In the "Big Island Candy Company"

Our ship left Hilo around 6:00pm, and we didn't get back to the ship until almost 5:00pm.  We had booked the steakhouse for dinner this night, and our reservation wasn't until 7:45, so while we had plenty of time to enjoy some cocktails before supper, we were more than ready for bed as soon as we were done.  

Coffee, Poke, Setbacks, and Lemonade

Approaching Kona, on the Big Isle of Hawaii

As I wrote earlier, we would be spending two days on the Big Isle of Hawaii; one in Hilo, and one in the town we were approaching this morning -- Kona.  On many cruises in the past, we have had to use tenders to get from our ship to the dock, as the respective ports were not deep enough.  This was to be the case in Kona.  Luckily, it would be our only tender port of the trip.  One of the reasons I had purchased the "Preferred Access" pass for this trip was so that we would have priority access to tender tickets. It can often get very crowded with people trying to leave all at the same time, especially when big cruiseline-run tours are departing en masse.  As we only had this one day in Kona, with a lot planned, we wanted to be off the ship as soon as possible.

We ate a fast breakfast in the Aloha Cafe and then went down for the tenders.  There was some confusion, but I finally figured out what we had to do, and we ended up with a private escort down a blocked-off elevator, which put us at the front of the line.  The tender service was running with 100-person enclosed lifeboats from the ship.  I have never been a fan of these, but it is what it is.

Once again, we could already tell that the topography of  Kona was different than the other places we had been.  Unlike Hilo, Kona sits on the dry, leeward side of Hawaii and gets very little rainfall -- at least at sea level.  It very much looked like Arizona.  This side of the island is essentially "just" lava flows, with very little soil.  Centuries of eruptions, which continue to this day, flow lava down the shallow mountainsides into the ocean on the western side of the island.  As such, it has created very extensive shallow shelfs of lava, on which coral flourish.  This is both the reason why there is no deep-water port on this side and why Kona is world-renowned for his snorkeling.  They are said to have the best reefs in the Western Hemisphere.

Our Ship Anchored Off Kona

The tenders brought us right into the center of Kona, so it had a feel like a "traditional" cruise ship town, with the obligatory souvenir and t-shirt shops, and lots of outdoor bars and cafes.  It was quite charming.  As we pulled into the pier, we saw a large roped-off area of the bay with dozens of swimmers, all of whom were dragging big-orange buoys behind them.  We soon learned that the World Ironman Championships were being held here in just over a week's time, and we saw athletes all over town running, biking, and swimming.  It was quite a sight, but it also snarled a lot of traffic.

One of the Tenders

We were able to get an Uber directly next to the pier and we arrived at the airport in about 20 minutes.  The airport wasn't necessarily far, but the speed limits were low, primarily because of all the Ironman competitors.  We laughed as they gave us a Cadillac SUV at the car rental agency, and this seemed to confirm earlier comments (after the convertibles) that I was going through a mid-life crisis.  

My Mid-Life Crisis Rental Car

Kona is, of course, world-renowned for their coffee.  Katherine had done a lot of reading and identified a small, family-run farm that consistently ranks among the best coffees in the world.  They won the "world championships" three years ago, and have placed in the top five every year since they began producing about 10 years ago.  They do a small number of private tours, and we were luckily able to make a reservation.  We had a little time before that began, so we went into town and did some shopping.  We went to one boutique, in particular, which had been recommended by a friend of Katherine's.  You may recall that I wrote about a couple we met on our first night in Hawaii, who were celebrating their wedding anniversary and who were wearing matching Hawaiian outfits.  Well, at this point we had clearly gone native as -- you guessed -- we purchased matching outfits.  Don't judge us.

The coffee farm -- called Hula Daddy -- is located about half way up the mountain, a few thousand feet above sea level, with beautiful views out to sea.  Because of the elevation, they do get rain and the conditions are great for the coffee trees.  There is very little soil, though, and the coffee trees were actually initially planted by drilling holes into the lava rock and then filling the holes with imported dirt.  The farm is run by a couple as a second career, having visited often from their previous lives in San Francisco.  They decided to give a go at coffee farming and it has become a true labor of love.  It reminds me quite a bit of folks who open small wineries, and do the same.

The wife of the owning couple ran our tour, which included two other couples, both of whom ironically came from Virginia.  One young couple, on their honeymoon, was from southern Virginia, while the other couple was actually from South Riding and only live a few miles from us.  A small world, indeed.  We got to tour the farm and see the coffee being roasted.  A highlight was being able to taste coffee which was roasted while we visited.  We learned that among the many challenges to coffee farming, aside from hurricanes and drought, are feral pigs and goats.  The pigs will charge the coffee trees, knocking them over to eat the grubs that live within the roots, whereas the goats will simply eat the plants, from crown to root.  It sounded like a constant battle.  I am embarrassed to say, too, that I did not realize that coffee is a fruit, and that the so-called "coffee bean" is in fact the dried pit of the coffee cherry.  How did I not know this?  I also have a much better understanding and appreciation for why Kona coffee is so expensive.  It takes seven pounds of coffee cherries to produce one pound of roasted coffee.  A single coffee tree on Hawaii only produces two pounds of finished coffee PER YEAR.  The folks at Hula Daddy also hand pick all their fruit and only keep the best for themselves.  They do sell off some of the remainder to the larger producers, but they are focused on producing what they call "competition coffee."  For reference, a pound of their coffee ranges from $120 to $200.  Yikes.

Coffee "Cherries'

We Drank This Right After it Roasted

The Master Coffee Roaster

Owner of Hula Daddy

During our tour, the farm owner said we "simply must" have Poke while visiting.  This is, of course, the native Hawaiian dish of rice and diced raw fish, which has become very popular on the mainland in recent years.  I am not a huge fan, but both Katherine and Anna really enjoy it.  She recommended a place frequented by locals called "Da Poke Shack," off the beaten path, but told us to be sure to get there early, as they only stay open until they have sold all of the fish they purchased that morning, from the fishing ships coming in overnight. We found the tiny place, tucked into a residential condominium complex, and were not too surprised to see the couple of South Riding had the same idea.  We ordered and ate outside.  We are still not exactly sure what we ate, but it was good.  Katherine, in fact, said the side on her plate was one of the best things she'd ever eaten  When we asked what it was, however, we still didn't understand, so it shall remain a mystery.

As I mentioned, Kona is known for its snorkeling, so we had booked a zodiac snorkeling tour out to Kealakekua Bay, which is famous for its dolphins and sea turtles.  We did a lot of research and booked what we thought would be the perfect tour.  We were to be at the shipping pier -- equidistant between the tender dock and airport -- at 12:45pm for a 1:00pm tour.  As we literally pulled into the pier area, my phone buzzed and we had a text telling us the trip was delayed for at least 90 minutes.  Turns out there was a problem with a spark plug on the zodiac for the tour before ours, and they had to send a "rescue boat" out to bring them a new one.  We could not, however, go on the delayed tour, as it would not give us enough time to get pack, return the car, and catch the final tender at 5:00pm.  On each night of our cruise so far, as we neared our departure time from port, we would hear ship-wide announcements with people's names.  We assumed these were people who were not showing as having returned onboard.  We never left a port late and we don't know if they found those people or if we left without them.  I did not want to test this in anyway, so we had to give up on our snorkel tour.  We did spend about 20 minutes trying to find an alternative, but it was simply too late in the day and everything was already booked or departed.

We actively told ourselves that we would not let this setback ruin our day, and resigned that we'd make lemonade out of the lemon we'd been handed.  We were still in Hawaii, after all.  We looked up a recommended nearby beach, which ironically happened to be directly adjacent to the tender pier, at a local resort.  There was plenty of nearby parking, and we were able to rent chairs and an umbrella.  I even rented some snorkel gear and swam to a small reef just off shore.  We agreed it was a saved day, especially since we had no other opportunities planned to actually spend any time at a beach, or to swim in the ocean.  

After a couple of hours we packed back up.  K took our purchases with her and literally walked across the beach to catch a tender back.  She was going to wash up and put things away while I went back to the airport to return our car.  I was quickly back into an Uber and on my way to the tender, arriving about 30 minutes before the final transport of the day. 

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