The Amsterdam arrived to the bay outside the town of Lahaina early this morning. The warmest morning yet, it was promising to be a fine day. Better yet, the swells were minimal, and the tendering process was going to be OK. There have been times when we had difficulty entering the boats, and even harder getting back later in the day due to deeper swells. At times, this port can be cancelled, as all tender ports can. But not today.
The process for getting tender tickets was spelled out last night with a note left in our rooms. Those on tours would not need tickets, but most everyone else did. There was one priority ticket station for 4 and 5 star members, and another station for the rest of the guests. We understand this took place in the Ocean Bar around 8am, or earlier. As President's Club members, all we would need to do is join the line on deck one, show our cards, and go down to deck A. And that is what we did after having a light breakfast.
Maui, the second largest Hawaiian island, is known as the valley isle with most beautiful beaches. There are 145,000 residents with 2 million visitors a year. One of the biggest attractions to this island is Haleakala, a mountain of 10,023 feet in elevation, with a volcano that has not erupted for over 200 years. It is the world's largest dormant volcano as well.
Sunsets from Maui's leeward shores rule and that's where you can find the majority of the island's lodgings. The sun-and-fun seekers will be found at the lively restaurants, bares, and high end shops.
Contrasting the glitzy part of the island is the town of Lahaina, our destination today. It was once the capital of King Kamehameha's kingdom, but now is the seat of the touristy place to visit. Did you know that the king served 300 pigs at his luau? What a feast that must have been. The population is about 11,700 people these days. Once the whaling capital of the mid-Pacific, humpbacks were hunted extensively. This area is the calving grounds for the humpbacks that migrate from the Arctic from December through May. We have been here when the bay was chockful of whales and their calves. Quite a sight, even seen from the decks of the ship.
The old wooden buildings in town have been converted to art galleries and restaurants. If you are looking for tasty appetizers, just ask for pupus.
Nearby islands include Lana'i, with only 30 miles of paved roads and 3000 residents. Molokai is 260 square miles, and from 1860 to 1940, it was used as a leper colony. Finally, the smallest island is Kaho'olawe with 45 square miles. It was a former naval bombing range and is closed to the public.
Our plan was to walk the old town with visits to the Banyan Tree Park, where their one huge tree, planted in 1873, shades 2/3 of an acre. It measures ¼ of a mile in circumference. And is undoubtedly, one of the coolest place in town with the shade it provides. Walking down Front Street, we passed the old wooden buildings that house a variety of small businesses. The shop owners were busy recruiting potential buyers into their stores. One such place was a cosmetic boutique promoting miracle face treatments. Stopping for a brief moment was a mistake, because the vendor began demonstrating her products to erase wrinkles around the eyes. This never happens to us, but for some reason, it did today. She put on the product, then lured one of us into the shop for it to dry. Really, we could not get out of there fast enough, especially when we learned a one year bottle of serum was in the $8,000 range. Lessons learned…next time make no eye contact, and keep walking. And besides, the wrinkles are not a huge priority, something you earn with time, whether you like it or not.
Restaurants were just beginning to open for lunch at 11am and the streets were full of potential customers from the ship. It was already pushing 85 degrees by now, and many folks we know were in search of ice cold beers. Walking slowly up the main drag, we found our way to the Outlets of Maui, where the Hard Rock Café used to be located. Closing their doors a few years ago, the building is still empty. We did a little shopping at Hilo Hattie's, and with buying a shirt, we got a free box of chocolate macadamia nuts. Another tidbit of info: it takes 400 cacao beans to make one pound of chocolate. Who knew?
Then made our way back for lunch. Our intended restaurant was going to be Kimo's where they serve a killer hula pie. But, we had a birthday reward at Bubba Gump's also. Checking out their menu, the seater fellow told us that the Bubba Gump's in Kona was closed. So that sealed the deal, we would need to dine here today. Seated at an open window, we enjoyed a cheeseburger, beers, and soda. Their key-lime pie was looking good, so we ordered one to share. Our waitress added strawberry sauce, which was perfect. Even better, most of it was free. While we were chatting with the manager, she told us that the new Lahaina Bypass had reduced the traffic through Lahaina, and the businesses were suffering. And with the high end resorts in the Kaanapali area, visitors tended to stay in that section exclusively. So having the cruise ships stop here in Lahaina, is a plus for their local economy.
It was still early, so we made the decision to walk up the road to Baby Beach. We used to think it was much further, but it wasn't. Nothing compared to the hike yesterday in Honolulu. So many more new houses had sprung up in this area in a year, we were surprised. The beach was not crowded, and the sands were saturated enough to make walking with a sore knee OK. The little kids love this beach, because it is shallow surf. Our walk ended at the remains of the old Mala Wharf, now closed off due to the fact it is falling apart. Must be good snorkeling here, because boats had dropped off the swimmers right under the pier. If we had gone up to Front Street here, we would have run into the Lahaina Cannery Mall.
Back at the tender landing, we did not have to wait long for the boat to head back to the ship. Their operation appeared to work quite smoothly today. Could be that the passengers are more nimble on this cruise, compared to the world cruise guests. And the crew members that assisted the guests today were so helpful in keeping us all safe.
Relaxing on our veranda was priceless, then working on pictures and reports took up the rest of the afternoon. The sun began going down shortly, and we had hoped to get photos. But the island of Lana'i was blocking the horizon, so we did get some color, but not the actual sun going down on the horizon.
By the time the dinner hour arrived, we were hungry. One of the most popular entrees was the marlin, which one of us ordered. Salads, chicken tenders, and a bowl of smoked chicken and corn soup were excellent. Chicken piccata and spaghetti with marinara sauce was another good choice. A tiny chocolate tart was shared at the end of our meal. That ended a near-perfect day for us.
Tomorrow will be the third port in Hawaii, and it is Nawiliwili, Kauai.
Bill & Mary Ann
