 |
| 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.
No comments:
Post a Comment