March 16, 2019

   The ship was awakened just before 6 a.m. with a Fire Alarm warning, followed within a minute by the captain’s announcement that everything was fine, an engine room sensor misfired. Already awake we went for a walk on Deck 3 and watched as the ship approached Hilo as the sun rose into a few clouds. The mountain range near Hilo is called Mauna Loa, which is 51% of the landmass of the island. We could see the small white buildings housing the telescopes at the top of Mauna Kea (the world's tallest peak from base, on the ocean floor, to its summit, much taller than Everest by 1,363 meters).

    Hilo is on the island of Hawai’i which is the furthest south of the Hawai’ian islands and is also known as the Big Island. The Hawaiian king who united the islands, King Kamehameha, was born in the early 1800s in Hilo.  The temperature was 19°C with just some cloud at the horizon and inland over the volcanos. It was a lovely morning to eat breakfast outside on the Sea View Deck.

    Hilo has survived two devastating tsunamis in its history, the last one in 1960.

    Today’s tour was 6.5 hours long and called Volcano & Tastes of Hawai’i tour.  We and ten others, from several American states, boarded the van with our driver/guide Angelique (from New Mexico) with Kailani Tours. We started on Kalanianaole Street to Reed’s Bay where the banyan trees were planted by celebrities in the 1930s. Close by was the Chinese Garden on a small island reached by a pedestrian bridge. All the black ground is lava not soil.  The soil layer on the island is only about 2.5 centimeters deep.

   The Hilo side of the island is the rainiest place in the USA averaging 130 inches annually. We were lucky to have a partly sunny day. Angelique was a fountain of information about the island of Hawai’i. The people of Hawai’i pronounce the “w” like a “v”.  The island economy is 45% agricultural. The five top commodities are Macadamia Nuts; Coffee from Kona and other parts of the island; Orchids; Papaya and Purple Potatoes.  The top employers are the military (#1), agriculture (#2) and tourism (#3).

    Our first stop was at the Hilo Coffee Mill where Allan explained the 10-step coffee evolution from planting to roasting, which takes about five years. The beans have to be air dried in shreds, because of the rain, and takes up to 25 days and are raked several times a day. The two types of coffee beans were shown to us. Usually each coffee cherry contains two beans but occasionally only one round bean, which is unfertilized, is produced. It is called a peaberry. The property also grows cacao, banana, pineapple and tea. Then the group walked next door to the store to sample three different kinds of coffee, the dark roast was the best. As we browsed the store, staff offered samples of macadamia nut roasted and covered in chocolate. People bought coffee, tea, chocolate and other coffee related gifts.  There was a local farmers market nearby. As we followed the path, we saw chickens walking around and purple orchids growing on branches of host trees.

   Going to the next stop, we saw many cyclists travelling on the wide shoulders on both sides of the highways. When we entered Hawai’i Volcanos National Park, most of the passengers unlocked their seatbelts since they are not mandatory in national parks, even though there were small cracks in the roadways from weak earthquakes caused by the active Kilauea Volcano. The Kilauea Volcano last erupted from May to August 2018. It also is home to another volcano that last erupted in 1984 – Mauna Loa Volcano. At the park entrance, maps of the park were distributed.  

    We had driven to almost 4,000 feet above sea level to the Lua Manu crater in a 1974 lava field, where vegetation was returning, including a pohutukawa tree which is native to New Zealand, which was starting to bloom its red spikes from the white berries. Its seeds are a reddish brown colour and about one third the size of a poppy seed. The Lua Manu crater is small about 35 meters long. We passed rain forest including two-meter tall ferns along the Crater Rim Drive. Kilauea is part of the Imperial Sea Mound that stretches from Hawai’i underwater to Alaska. The seismographs around Kilauea Volcano record 20 to 30 minor earthquakes daily. Lua Manu crater is about 800 meters from the large Kilauea caldera known as the three kilometer long, Halema'uma'u Crater. In 1982, it was named an UNESCO World Heritage Site. A caldera is a crater that is at least one kilometer long.  Although warned to bring wind and waterproof jackets, the temperature was about 20°C and the sun was shining.  We drove to the Visitor Center and then to the Volcano Hotel for a great view of the Kilauea caldera and its steam vents and hardened lava flows. The Hawaiian legends believe that the Halema'uma'u Crater is the home of Pele, the goddess of fire and volcanos.  The group posed for a photo with the Kilauea caldera in the background.   Steps 13,191

     The next stop was at the Volcano Gardens Art Gallery for a picnic lunch in the garden. The sky was getting cloudier, but the temperature was about 23°C. We visited the art gallery first and were greeted with glasses of Pinot Grigio wine which were refilled several times. The gallery is a remodeled house, with a little restaurant. The water is supplied from rain water gathered in a large cistern like all the buildings in the area. The gallery had many unique artist-created items such as ceramic masks, jewelry, paintings, wooden puzzle boxes and cards. An unusual item was a wine bottle stopper made from old silver cutlery handles. We were escorted to a tent where two tables of six were arranged for the buffet meal of delicious wraps, purple potato salad, pineapple pieces and papaya slices.  There were also bags of chips, tostitos, macadamia nuts and granola bars.

     As we drove to Rainbow Falls back in Hilo, Angelique explained the warning signs of a volcano eruption. They were earthquakes followed back cracks in the earth, then steam and gases escaping from vents and cracks and finally a lava flow of undetermined time.  It was a short walk from the parking lot to the bridge over the Wailuki River for the best view of the Rainbow Falls. Since the sun had been covered by clouds there was no chance to see a rainbow in the falls’ mist.

   Our final stop was at Big Island candies, where we were greeted with small cups of fresh coffee and samples of lemon shortbread cookie, chocolate covered macadamia nuts, chocolate dipped shortbread cookies and even chocolate dipped dried squid, an acquired taste.  Through large glass windows you could watch the candy production.  There were lots of chocolates and cookies ready for sale. When we were dropped off at the terminal everyone was given a big hug from Angelique our driver guide. There was no line up at the security line and staff handed out cool face clothes to wipe our faces and hands.  We entered the ship below passenger deck 1 and had only one flight of stairs to take to our stateroom.

     There was no Wi-Fi in the Hilo cruise terminal nor at the Honolulu cruise terminal, so we have not been able to post entries for one week.

     Our table of six was complete tonight.  We shared our stories of our two days in Hawai’i during dinner. The ship left on time just as the sun set, for a two day cruise to Tabuaeran, an atoll in the Republic of Kiribati, with a population of about 1,900. There was no Lincoln Center Stage performance this evening. The comedian musician, Dick Hardwick, brought his unique brand of comedy to an appreciative audience this evening. 

Total 18,377

sun rise over the Pacific Ocean

sun rise on Hawai'i (the Big Island)

Reed’s Bay

banyan tree

Hilo Coffee Mill 

purple orchids growing on branches of a host tree

Hawai’i Volcanos National Park

plants starting to grow a year after the lava flow

pohutukawa tree and flowers

our bus group at the Kilauea caldera

Volcano Gardens Art Gallery for a picnic lunch

Federal Building

Rainbow Falls

flame tree at Rainbow Falls

statue of King Kamehameha

Big Island Candies