We were docked at the Aloha Tower in downtown Honolulu, having just enjoyed breakfast in our suite. When I turned on my computer there was a news flash announcing that the Missile warning for Hawaii was a false alarm!!! Naturally we then turned on the television to learn the details of what had occurred about 45 minutes earlier.
We keep our iPhones on airplane mode when we are travelling in order to avoid the exorbitant roaming fees that Rogers charges and unlike many other passengers who were alerted to the warning, we were blissfully unaware of what was going on. There was no announcement on the ship and certainly no warning from the staff. In speaking to other passengers later that morning, we found that the majority of them just carried on knowing there wasn’t much they could do about it anyway. One friend said, “why bother to seek shelter to avoid what might come ... if it does, I don’t want to be in this world anyway.”
Our time in Honolulu was enjoyable. Great weather with no humidity and despite the fact that this city has changed one heck of a lot since my first visit here in l967 and our last which was over 20 years ago, it’s still a clean and friendly place. We did a lot of walking because there were no tours that would take us to anything we haven’t seen before.
On our second night, we slipped away from port at 11:30 p.m. and were anchored in Lahaina Bay, Maui the next morning. We watched whales from our suite and again from the terrace of La Terrazza as we enjoyed breakfast before going ashore. They are such magnificent creatures and I never tire of seeing them. They seem to know they are safe and enjoy putting on a show. The problem is trying to get a decent photo of them because their out of water acrobatics happen in a split second and by the time I push the button on my camera, they are gone!!
The old town of Lahaina has not changed much over the years. The ancient banyan tree is still there providing shade for the many artisans who sell their wares to the crazy tourists. I am always amazed by the fact that many of our fellow passengers purchase large paintings and wood carvings that they struggle to get on and off the tenders. How do they ever get them home? And where do they put them when they do?
Last night we enjoyed a barbecue on deck followed by a brief show and then “disco under the stars”. We were still there when the Whisper quietly weighed anchor and headed to our next port.
It is Monday, January 15 at 7:10 a.m. in my part of the world as I write this and we are just docking in Hilo, Hawaii. We’ll only be here for half a day before we journey to Polynesia. We are having a very relaxing time and the weather could not be better. My apologies to all of you who are experiencing the latest arctic freeze!
I’ve sent some photos that may make it into this blog. One was taken from our balcony and shows two happy whales just submerging after providing a quick show for us. Not a good photo, but it will give you an idea of how close they come to the ship.
Aloha
D & K.
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