"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #15 Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii October 8, 2016 Saturday Sunny & 88 degrees Part #1 of 2 86 Pictures

Lahaina, Maui, was our port of call for today. It is so much different from the big city feel of Honolulu. We learned that the name "Lahaina" means unforgiving sun. And it lived up to their name today…..it was going to be hot. Even though Maui is the second largest of the Hawaiian Islands, it only has 1/10^th of the population of the state. About 144,000 lucky people live here. That amount increases significantly when the tourist season is at its height, mostly because this is the most visited island of all. It has everything such as pineapple and sugar cane plantations, cattle ranches, and rain forests. They even have goat and dairy farms.

The highest point on the island is Haleakala, the largest dormant volcano in the world. Measuring the volcano from the seabed to the summit, it soars to 30,000 feet.

Another interesting fact is that the waters around this island are part-time home to 50% of the humpback whales in the world. They migrate here to have their calves and breed from mid-November to April. We have had the luck of being here in March, and we can say that the entire bay was swarming with humpbacks.

The town of Lahaina was once a missionary and whaling village, and also home to Hawaiian kings and queens. Right near the tender boat landing, is the largest banyan tree in the USA. It was planted in 1873, and covers a whole square block. It offers shade to the many artisans that display their crafts there. The old courthouse now doubles as a visitor's center. Following the signs, you can do a self-tour of the old landmarks of Lahaina. Among them is the Baldwin Home Museum, built out of rock and coral in the 19^th century.

This port is also a tender port, requiring a ride for about 20 minutes. It is not always possible to land here, due to deep swells that are common to this area. There have been trips where we had to bypass the island, or another occasion where the tendering had to be suspended midday. That was a worry, because we were not sure we would make it back onboard. All it takes is a 4 foot swell, and you cannot transfer from the boat to the ship's platform landing. So we were lucky today.

We waited until the majority of folks had gone over for the shore excursions or independently. Since we have done most of the tours in the past, we chose to do the town on our own. And, of course, lunch was on the itinerary. By 11am, there were only about 2 dozen of us on the boat.

The waterfront at the small boat harbor is under construction. We think it has been "remodeling" since we first came here many years ago. We took a right turn on Front Street, making our way past the elementary school. It was closed up tight, since today was Saturday. Under the massive banyan tree, many artists had set up tables full of their souvenirs. One fellow was displaying items made from deer antlers, something we know is not native here. He had some unusual things, promising potential buyers that everything was one-of-a-kind.

Walking the roadside, we went to the strip of beach that eventually take you to an old hotel. The tide was coming in, so we did not venture too far this time. The surf had a lot of leaf debris, so not too many people were swimming there. Locals do give surfing lessons on the beach, and organize beach volleyball games.

Back in town, we wandered in and out of shops, mostly to take advantage of the air-conditioning. It is a shopper's paradise here with the typical island t-shirts, Hawaiian jewelry, resort wear, and most-desired…….macadamia nuts covered in chocolate. We were able to resist buying anything here, but we made up for it later.

The many restaurants were beginning to get busy, so we thought it was best to head for the Hard Rock Café. This particular HRC still serves the haystack chicken salad, where most of their other cafes have dropped it. We learned that this location will be closing down soon. The staff was not a bit happy about it either. They have been given the opportunity to re-locate to any other HRC, but that would mean leaving the island. Most stated they would not leave here….it is their home. Before we left, we did pick up a city t-shirt. It should become a collector item someday.

After a very good lunch, we headed further up the road to check out a small area of beachfront we could see from town. Up the street from the HRC is a pizza restaurant that we will try the next time we visit here. There is another pizza restaurant in town, but they serve the deep dish variety. This place served wood-fired and thin-crust pizzas.

Following the street signs, we found our way to Baby Beach. The lane that took us to this beach was hidden in between some pretty nice homes. One was for sale, a 4 bedroom, 3 ½ bath house with a pool for a cool $2,220,000. Sounds like the pricing in California….nothing is cheap. If we had continued further up the road, we would have come to the fancy hotel complexes and golf course. From what we were told, none of the high-end hotels and resorts offer a day pass for cruise passengers. No sense even going there.

This strip of sand and surf was clean, and full of families with little ones. The calm water was shallow, perfect for toddlers to play. Several of the little ones had been busy digging large holes in the firm sand, then sitting in it. Don't know why, but it must have kept them busy all day. When we come back here, this would be a good place to spend some time swimming and sunning. Although there were no visible facilities such as restrooms or changing rooms, a stay here would work for a morning or afternoon excursion.

Speaking of excursions, the ship offered many. Some of the highlights were a helicopter ride over Haleakala for 3 ½ hours for $280. Or take a bus ride up there for 7 or 8 hours for $160. with a lunch. The Atlantis Submarine took folks on a 125 foot deep dive for 1 ¾ hours at $130, or you could take a relaxing catamaran ride for 2 hours at $110.

On the way back, we stopped at the Outlets of Maui. Many nice shops have outlet shops here, and many bargains can be found here. Hilo Hattie's is still in this complex, although last year, they had cut down their space by ½. We got lucky, and found a very nice shirt, actually made in Hawaii, for 75% off. Hard to beat that.

The only other necessary stop was at an ice cream shop, of course. One scoop of heavenly hana (chocolate with nuts and marshmallow) was enough for us to share. Not wanting to wait until the last tender boat, we boarded around 3pm. By the time we waited for the boat to load, with the ride back, it took about 40 minutes. Sure was nice to get back onboard the cool ship.

The sail away party was held as usual on the aft pool deck. We watched the sunset around 6pm, as it disappeared behind the neighboring island. Roger, the beverage manager, had his young bar staff dancing on the pool seating to the tune of YMCA. Many guests joined in the fun, the cutest one, being around 3 years old. Earlier in the morning, Roger had summoned us into his office, where he showed us a video of last night's BBQ. He had two of his bartenders/jugglers, entertaining the folks with empty booze bottles. We have to admit, it put the folks into a party mood. We like the changes so far.

You can tell when most people begin to get tired after three long days in port. The dining room was not full at 8pm. Our British couple joined us, but we were missing three. It was nice once again to spend some time getting to know them better. While we were eating, Philip, the dining room manager, brought Petr, the executive chef, around to the tables for everyone to meet. We think he got many compliments on the food. Tonight they served marlin from local markets. Sylvia said it was wonderful. We ordered the chicken cordon bleu, and were not disappointed. Dessert was one decadent chocolate cake and one "no sugar added" lemon tart. That does not mean sugar-free, but should contain a lot less than other desserts. Whatever…..it was really good.

Tomorrow's port will be Nawiliwili in Kauai.

Bill & Mary Ann

Para-sailing in Maui