"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report #19 Nawiliwili, Kauai October 11, 2017 Wednesday Partly cloudy & 85 degrees Part #1 Of 3 72 Pictures

The Eurodam entered the Nawiliwili Bay around 7am, the scheduled time. However, the ship was not cleared until 8am. With the all aboard time of 1:30pm, it would be a painfully short stay here.

Kauai is the oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, settled in 500AD. It is the most northern island, and the 4^th largest of the 8 main islands. The population is about 63,700 proud Kauaians. Besides sight-seeing excursions, one of the high lights has to be flights over Waimea Canyon. Through the journeys ashore, they run about $290 to $450. Ten miles long, a mile wide, and with a depth of 3600 feet, this canyon has been compared to the Grand Canyon in the USA. We have been lucky to see it once, and unlucky to have seen it covered in fog. A tour here by coach would run around $70 to $80.

Another excursion we took many years ago was to hike in the Princeville Ranch, a rather vigorous one at that. This was while we were on a different cruise line. We do not see that offered anymore, and we certainly would not repeat it. Perhaps on horseback, but not on foot, dodging cow patties all the way.

Considered the Garden Isle, Kauai get 600 inches of rain annually. It has to be one of the wettest spots on earth. Of course, with that amount of precipitation, that is why Kauai has the most beaches, rivers, streams, and waterfalls than any of the other Hawaiian Islands.

While doing our emailing this morning, we checked to see if our shipboard account was up-to-date. The kiosk to print it out was not operating properly, so we had it printed at the front desk. Lo and behold, it was incorrect again. The mistakes are related to our perks….some of which should not be charged. The mistake was promised to be corrected…..again. Also, there were two more port charge credits given back for this Hawaiian trip. She informed us that the money could be cashed out with a 3% fee, but not until the last day of the cruise. This amount should be credited back to our credit card on file, but we are not comfortable trusting that will be done correctly. We may be forced to trust them, because waiting in line on the last day could be a very long wait.

Leaving the ship around 10:30am, we slowly walked to the nearby Nawiliwili Beach Park and Kalapaki Beach. There ws a shuttle transporting folks there, but we needed the exercise. We ended up beating the shuttle that waited to be full before they could leave. Other buses were also taking folks to the town of Lihue and the modern mall of Kukui Grove Shopping Center. You can find all sorts of shops, cafes, restaurants and some big name department stores. Kmart is one, and the other is Costco. We have gone to this mall, and found it was a good place to pick up supplies on a much longer trip.

Staying in Nawiliwili was our plan for this short day. As for the weather, it was promising to be a very hot day. Only a constant breeze saved the day. We toured the Marriott property, which has lovely gardens. The central courtyard has several streams and ponds, full of koi carp. Some black-neck swans, and some rare nene geese keep the fish company. This morning, two large trays had been filled with chopped lettuce and a mash of bird or fish feed. Tiny doves were gorging on the feed, while dozens of mature koi were fighting to get the crumbs. What a sight. And we did get some good photos.

Making our way to the far end, we went down to the pool and patio area of the hotel complex. The garden area was posted with a sign to remind people that these facilities are for the hotel guests. Now, on the beach side, the whole area is open to the public. It sure was easy to spot the HAL guests, who came prepared for the sandy beach with their blue and white striped towels. Dead give-away.

Duke's Barefoot Bar and Grill is a nice place to eat here. So we got a table in this very busy establishment, and enjoyed two local draft beers and a split crispy fried chicken sandwich. To our surprise, they served the Hula Pie here. It is famous, we understand. Too full, we passed on it until the next time we come to the islands.

On the way back, we intended to stop at the Elephant Walk Gift Gallery, only to check earrings we saw advertised in the Kauai This Week. They are created from dichroic glass, hand-made in Hawaii. Wonder if this substance is the same glass that was used on the space shuttles? Perhaps someone reading this will be familiar with this type of jewelry. Turns out, we would not find out today, since the shop was locked up for a "few" minutes. We're guessing that only one person runs this tiny shop, and must have gone to lunch. So it never opened while we were there, and with all aboard so early, we headed back to the ship.

That's when we ran into the Staff Captain, who happened to join this ship recently. He recognized us from the Amsterdam. We thought he looked familiar, but we seldom see any officers on this ship. And when they are out of uniform, they certainly blend in with the crowd. Visiting all the way back, we were surprised to find a line of greeters waiting at the gangway. We knew the hotel director, the food and beverage manager, and Noel, the cute red-hair girl that is the marketing manager. They were welcoming the passengers back, or maybe, they were expecting some new guests? We teased them that the reception was for us, as they all had a good laugh. Or this was because today's port was the final one. Who knows? The Captain may have been among the greeters, but as we have never met him, we would not have known who he was.

It wasn't long before the ship was moving away from the pier, and we were on our way for the trans-Pacific crossing back to Vancouver. Once again, we never left the comfort of our room, watching the sail out of the bay from our veranda. As much as we have complained a bit about the excessive heat, in a few days we will be missing the warmth of the tropics. Captain Scott mentioned that the ship will be doing about 19 or 20 knots as we sail towards Vancouver.

Dinner for us was in the Pinnacle Grill at 8pm. We had a cute Irish waitress, who treated us royally. She even called one of us "my lady", a term we have only heard while catching up on the Downton Abbey series. As always, the cuisine and the service were both excellent. And fitting for the occasion, it was "gala" evening, with most everyone dressed in their finery. It was odd to have a dress-up evening on a port day, however. Even though we departed rather early, many passengers chose to treat the evening as a casual night. Anything goes these days…..

A multi-instrumentalist artist, Viviana Guzman, was the entertainer at the Mainstage tonight. She must have had a full audience, since it was like salmon swimming upstream for us, as the crowd poured out of the lounge about 9pm. It was way too early for us to see the show at 10pm. Especially with a time change tonight.

And as we begn to travel northeasterly, the clocks went ahead one hour tonight. Before we get back to Canada, we shall have two more time changes. Ahead. We all hate that, losing an hour every other day, especially the crew.

Bill & Mary Ann

Entering Nawiliwili Bay