Going Places with Lucy & Leo

January 3rd and 4th, 2024

After five days at sea it was a welcomed sight to open our stateroom curtains and see a gorgeous landscape spread before us. We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise from our balcony as the port tender guided our ship into port.

Kauai is the oldest island in the Hawaiian chain approximately 5.1 million years old it is also the wettest place on earth with an average of 450 inches of rain per year. All this rain makes for a green lush landscape where anything grows in abundance. The island also boasts the only navigable river in the Hawaiian islands. This is the picture of the unspoiled Hawaiian island most of us have in mind. This is probably one of the reasons so many movies have been filmed here like Jurassic Park and Outbreak to name a few. To preserve this idyllic landscape the town codes prohibit building anything taller than the height of coconut palm trees. To add to this perfection there are no predators species in these islands, no snakes, no ticks, nothing that can harm you, sign me up!

We were lucky to tour on a sunny day even though we arrived at the height of the wet season and we were able to enjoy the beauty surrounding us. Our first stop was Opaeka Falls which is a 151 foot tall and 40 foot wide waterfall located in the Wailua State Park. It is very visible from the road and we had plenty of time to walk to the lookout point and view the gushing waters. The name Opaeka means “rolling shrimp” which were once abundant in the river below the falls. Our driver was very instructive on the pronunciation of these names and breaking down the language for us. He said the shrimp have disappeared but people still claim to see them rolling down the falls.

From the falls we traveled to Kilohana Plantation listening to funny anecdotes from our driver and learning the meaning of Aloha. The word Aloha which is a greeting for anytime of the day can be broken down into Alo which means“ turn and face” and ha which is “the breath or essence of you” so in effect you are giving your essence and receiving someone else’s in return. I thought this was a lovely way to describe it and in fact the Hawaiian language and folklore is rich with these stories and meanings.

Another interesting fact was that we kept seeing chickens all over the place, literally everywhere, sidewalks, people’s yard, on the road, shopping centers, everywhere. Our driver explained that when the chickens were introduced to the islands by the original Polynesians the chickens basically went wild and now roam freely on all Hawaiian islands. They are called Moas in Hawaiian and the Moas are everywhere. Our guide also told us that it is legal to capture any Moa and they can be used for one’s food. He proceeded to give us his favorite recipe. In a large pot put a whole cleaned Moa, add onion, garlic and favorite spices. Add a lava rock and boil for 1 hour. Afterwards dump the water, add another onion and garlic and repeat the process. Repeat process one more time. At this point the Moa is ready. To eat, take the Moa out of the pot and throw it away and eat and enjoy the lava rock.

We arrived at the Kilohana plantation and got on the Kauai Railway train which took us on a tour through the forest and the working farms and orchards of this famous landmark. This mansion was originally built in 1935 as a cattle ranch but today is a tourist destination with a lovely restaurant and a working farm. Once upon a time this area was rich with sugar cane farms and today it has the largest coffee plantation in the US. All this was explained in a wonderful narrative by our train conductor. We were able to get off the train and feed some of the animals in the farm. Leo made a special friend with a very hungry cow. The pigs were fed Costco tortillas and the cows and horses has a somewhat greener diet but some went for the tortilla. Needless to say it was a fun time for all us in the train.

Our first view of these islands couldn’t have been lovelier. We had time later in the afternoon to visit the town of Kauai on our own where we decided to walk along the beautiful beach and watch the surfers. I know I will repeat myself by saying we plan to return for a more thorough exploration.

Our next port of call was the island of Oahu, the most populated of all Hawaiian islands, 75 % of this states’s inhabitants live in Oahu. This is the most famous island with its iconic landmarks such as Waikiki beach, Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona memorial and Diamond Head volcanic cone. This last landmark was our first destination upon our arrival, where we could challenge ourselves to hike up to the top for dramatic views and learn about its military history.

Diamond Head sits over the eastern edge of Waikiki beach on a 475 acre national park. This saucer shaped crater was formed over 300,000 years ago by a single volcanic eruption. We started our ascend at the park entrance and it was uphill all the way. The initial paved walkway gave way to a rugged path then to interminable, or it seemed that way to me, stairs. There were 99 stairs, then another patch of trail and finally 76 more stairs at the very top. It’s approximately 560 foot elevation from the crater floor to the overlook.

We had a couple of rest stops along the way with panoramic views of Honolulu below and near by islands in the distance. In 1904 Diamond Head was purchased by the government for military use, the caldera was used as an ammunition storage area. You can walk through a couple of tunnels which served as WWII bunkers. The views from the top were amazing and we had a clear sunny day.

After our hike we headed for Waikiki beach. Besides the dense local population of Honolulu, they still welcome 8-10 million visitors a year. This was very evident to us as we strolled on the famous beach and boulevards teeming with hotels, shops, restaurants and surfers. The beach itself is lovely but a bit crowded for my taste, it was somewhat overwhelming. I must say that if you are looking for a shopping destination, this is it. You can do some serious shopping and damage to your finances. We opted for a lovely spot to sit and have a pina colada for me and a beer for Leo. I don’t usually drink pina colada but the setting was perfect for it.

We continued our exploration by visiting the only Royal Palace in the US, the Lalani Palace was home of King LalaKaua and his sister Queen Liliuokalani. There were the last royalty to live in the palace. In front there’s a famous bronze statue of King Kamehameha who was the warrior king that united all of the islands. The islands were united as one in 1810 after many years of warfare. This statue is the most recognized one and dedicated in 1883, there was a second statue created but was lost near Cape Horn as it traveled from Europe. This lost statue was eventually recovered and installed near the King’s birthplace in the big island of Hawaii.

As we sailed off that evening we could see the lights from Waikiki beach. Again it was a lot to take in during one day, hopefully we will return.