I’m in my final leg of this cruise as we sail under a partly cloudy sky with a following sea so the ride is pretty good. Yesterday we had our last port call before I get to my final destination of Tokyo. Now we have 9 sea days in a row which I don’t mind at all.
We docked in Nawiliwili, Kauai yesterday morning. Kauai is the oldest of Hawaii’s major islands as it lies northwest of the other islands. It was formed as the Pacific Plate passed over the volcanic Hawaiian hotspot deep below the ocean surface. It’s the fourth largest of the Hawaiian islands with a population of around 75,000. Kauai is called the “Garden Isle” because of its lush vegetation. The principal industry is tourism. Additionally many movies have been filmed here including South Pacific, Jurassic Park, and even some opening scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark.
I’ve been to Kauai a couple of previous times with both Al and Katie and I did the same thing I did then – I rented a car to drive and see some of the sights. I don’t know what was in my head when I rented the vehicle through Costco Travel, but I’d rented something that seated seven people. The Avis lady suggested that since there were just two of us (my friend Colleen went with me) we get something smaller. We wound up with a Jeep Wrangler which drove nicely but I had a really hard time getting in it because it’s so high. The problem centered around the fact that I had to bend my right knee more than it was willing to go (it’s my knee that really should be re-replaced). Anyway, that’s TMI but I finally got in and we were off.
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| This was a big tank of a car! |
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| We saw some Nene geese which are native to these islands, but they didn't compare to this pretty rooster walking around the Avis parking lot. |
Our destination was Waimea Canyon, which is sometimes called the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. It’s about 10 miles long and around 3000 feet deep. The canyon was formed by both the collapse of the volcano which created the island and the following erosion. The area around it is the Waimea Canyon State Park and there’s a road winding up to the uppermost viewpoint. We left Lihue and drove along the southwestern coast. As we drove along we occasionally had a glimpse of Ni’ihau, the seventh largest of the Hawaiian island chain and the one known as the Forbidden Isle. It has an interesting story to it. Ni’ihau is owned by the Robinson brothers who have strict rules imposed on the island and the people living there. In an effort to preserve the culture and habitat, the island is off-limits to everyone but the Robinsons and their family, US Navy personnel, government officials and invited guests.
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| That's Ni'ihau in the distance |
But back to Kauai. I drove up the steep and winding road and we made stops along the way ay various viewpoints. You know what they say about memories we have that are embellished by time and we try to revisit them they never live up to our expectations. Well, that’s what I would have to say today’s trip. The canyon is still impressive but not as much as I remembered it. I also thought I remembered a lodge or something at the end of the road where we had a view of the very beautiful Napali cliffs, but we didn’t find them. It must have been on a different road. Oh well, next time!
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| Falls in Waimea Canyon |
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| The canyon |
On our drive back toward the east coast we took a detour to visit what the big beautiful sign on the road said was “ the most historic town in Kauai,” Hanapepe. We drove through but we didn’t stop because it didn’t seem really spectacular to us. It does have the distinction of having the westernmost bookstore in The USA, the Talk Story. It’s also the headquarters of Lappert’s ice cream company which runs the largest ice cream chain in the state. Sorry, Katie, we didn’t try the ice cream.
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| The farthest west bookstore in the USA |
On our drive back we had a couple of intermittent downpours when the sky seemed to literally open. That’s a typical thing in some of these tropical places. We turned the car in and got a cab back to the cruise terminal. There was supposed to be a shuttle, but Avis had 10 shuttle buses and only 2 drivers (???) and they were busy taking people to and from the airport terminal. We got back in time to have a salad for a late lunch out by the pool. In the evening I met friends for cocktails and then we had a nice dinner in the restaurant. The show was one I’ve seen multiple times so instead I went and listened to my favorite duo play in the Observation Bar. Pretty late in the evening I went to the Club to see if there was music there. The Band was playing but no song inspired me to dance. I did find some folks I’d met on the second Seabourn cruise Al and I did more than 10 years ago. They looked very familiar so I went over and we discovered that we met on an overnight trip to Luxor. Back then we had a very nice suite we would have parties there and this couple had come to one of them. It’s a small world. Anyway, that was my day and now I’m on the home stretch. Aloha for now.
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| After dinner photo with friends |
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