Well, here we are, in the final port of the Hawaiian experience……Kona, on the island of Hawaii. To be exact, it is located on the leeward or the drier side of the large island. Once known as the playground of the royals, Kona is tourist hub of souvenir hula dolls, condos, and expensive tropical drinks. Looking deeper, we found the ¾ of a mile walk on Ali'i Drive full of historical landmarks as well as a shopper's paradise. One of those landmarks is the Hulihe's Palace State Monument, built in 1838 as a vacation home for the Hawaiian royal family. Today it houses a museum of artifacts, photos, and furniture of that period. Another icon is the Moku'aikaua Church, built in 1837, the oldest Christian church in Hawaii.
Some of the shops they have here include Donkey Balls, Kona Brewing Company, Shave Ice, Da Big Bags, and many restaurants like Humpy's. One of the more fun places has to be the marketplace under tents, where you can find island treasures and fresh produce.
And as far as the activities Kona has to offer….they are endless. It is a haven for snorkeling, deep-sea fishing, glass bottom boats, and kayaking. Shore excursions had a total of 20 tours that had helicopter rides, bus sight-seeing, adventure, and culinary skills.
And it was a tender port, like in Lahaina. The ship dropped her anchors after 7am, and the tenders were running before 8am. Looking from our veranda, the swells did not seem deep at all, but occasional waves made the process slow down. The fellows that help the guests in and out of the small boats are well-trained. And over-seeing this operation is Henk, our hotel director. He has seen many accidents with tendering over the years, and is very active with the actual transfer of guests.
We had our usual dining room breakfast, waited for the majority of tours to go off, then went to shore around 9:30am. Even though rain showers were in the forecast, we highly doubted it and left the umbrellas behind. What a surprise we had as the boat was halfway to Kailua Pier when we spotted a whale alongside the Atlantis Submarine. Then a pod of dolphins joined the whale. It was a surreal moment and we hoped to see more once we landed on shore.
There were more tropical fish to see right off of the tender. Locals were tossing pieces of bread in the water to attract the damsels, needlenoses, tangs, and parrot fish to name a few. Then we made our way to Ali'i Drive, the main drag, where we watched a local fisherman snagging small fish. He pointed out this huge cloud in the water very close to the seawall. It was a shoal of sardines, he said. This was what drew the dolphins. And sure enough, there was a couple of pods working the waters right in Kailua Bay. Lucky to be able to see all of this, because later in the afternoon, they were all gone.
From there, we continued on our walk past the historical palace and the old church. We did make it a point to walk through the tented marketplace where souvenirs and produce were sold. A close to monkeypod wood turtle bowl and a smaller bowl for dips or chips were a good buy. The turtle bowl will be used for our pillow chocolates here and also on the upcoming world cruise. Besides an array of island treasures, they also sold tropical flowers and fresh produce in this market.
The Kona Inn Shopping Village was just beginning to open their shops. We found that Hilo Hattie's had a store here, which we did not remember. Used to have to walk uphill to find their larger store. So we are not sure it is still there. And for those that might want to know, we did see free shuttles to Walmart and Hilo Hattie's at the tender boat drop-off point.
Continuing on, we did discover that Bubba Gump's had indeed been closed. So sad, as it sat right on the volcanic beach with a nice breeze. It has remained empty. We did duck into some shops on our way to the Royal Kona Resort Hotel. Still too early for lunch, we strolled the property taking many photos.
Turning back, we headed to Poncho and Lefty's, a Mexican restaurant with great food and ice cold drinks. The only thing was we did have to use stairs to access the balcony tables, but it was OK. I will do stairs for nachos and ice cold beer and soda. And how about a dessert of mud pie? Yes, this was a good substitute for Bubba Gump's today.
If we had not indulged with the ice cream pie, we would have stopped for a shaved ice on the way back. There is a particularly good spot for these treats with Scandinavian in the name.
Right next to the palace museum is a small beach which is protected from a bulkhead wall. It was here that we discovered a young green turtle forging among the rocks for algae, we assume. At one time, we had seen dozens of these native turtles swimming among the volcanic shoreline, but today there was only one. And it blended in with the rocks, making it hard to see him.
The only birds we saw were a huge flock of small doves, mixed with some yellow canaries, and one finch. Someone had thrown seed down for them, and they were pigging out.
The ride back to the ship was a bit rocky, and we did notice that the swells were increasing since we had left earlier. The rest of the afternoon was dedicated to photo downloading and report research from all of the nifty brochures and maps the locals handed out.
A bon voyage sail away happened once again on deck eight aft. Many folding chairs had been placed around the railing…something we have not seen on past cruises. We joined friends Denise and Howie to watch for whales and dolphins. Guess what? A whale appeared and put on a show with its tail splashing over and over….something we have never witnessed. Then the whale dove deep, and the sightings were fewer. Lucky again.
On the southern part of the island, we could see ominous black clouds coming with rain showers. Even though we never felt the rain, all of us got treated with a most unusual rainbow. Just as that faded, the sun was ready to set. Guess what? We finally caught the green flash this time. It was brief, but everyone saw it, clapping after it happened. How about that…what a way to end the day.
Dinnertime offered another fish entrée of barramundi. One of us tried it, and the other had a crispy spring roll, tomato bisque, and a chicken Caesar salad. A tiny pineapple crisp was just enough for us to share. Another nice meal.
Walking through the casino, we noticed it had finally opened up for gambling. Ever since we reached the first island of Oahu, the machines and tables have been shut down. Guess it has something to do with being within waters of the USA.
Showtime was a comedian by the name of Tim Kaminski. After five days of ports, we were finally tired this evening, so missed the performance.
Looking forward to two days at sea as we head towards Fanning Island, a total change of pace compared to Hawaii.
Bill & Mary Ann
