Day 6—Hilo, Hawaii
Got up, took a shower, and was up on the Lido deck for coffee a little after 6:30. It was warm and humid. As soon as the sun came up, you could see the island off in the distance—there were still quite a few scattered low-hanging clouds around so occasionally the island would be obscured in the low clouds.
We were scheduled to arrive in Hilo at 8:00 and little-by-little, we were getting closer. I decided to get breakfast and take it out on the deck to eat. The excursion I had signed up for wouldn’t leave till 12:30, so I was in no hurry to leave the ship, and could enjoy breakfast while watching the ship pull into port and dock.
About half an hour after we had docked, the captain announced that we had cleared customs and could go ashore. He reminded everyone to be back on board by 4:30 for a 5:00 departure.
I decided to take the shuttle to Hilo Hatties which is pretty much a tourist store with Hawaiian products. Left the ship at a little after 9:00, took the shuttle, and looked around the store. There are some very nice things, but nothing I had to have. I did buy four 2011 calendars since I liked the pictures inside—they were all different calendars. They were on sale for 2 for a dollar! I plan to cut the calendars up and use them as embellishments in my Hawaiian scrapbook (when I get around to doing one of course).
Got back to the ship by 10:45 and went up to the Lido for lunch before getting off the ship for the excursion I had booked. I had signed up for the Waterfalls Spectacular and went on a van with 12 other people (and the driver of course). The tour lasted about 3-1/2 hours and included Rainbow Waterfalls, and Akaka Waterfalls, as well as a sightseeing trip through several parks. The scenery was beautiful with lush “rainforest-type” plants. It rained several times during the excursion, but the rain didn’t last very long each time. Unfortunately, it rained every time we stopped to see a waterfall and stopped when we were on the van. I had my umbrella so it wasn’t a problem, and the driver also had umbrellas for everyone to use as well. Water, juice, soda, and snacks were provided on the bus. The driver was also our tour guide and he seemed to know quite a bit about the waterfalls, the volcanoes, the two tsunamis that wiped out Hilo in 1946 and again in 1960, and the trees, palms, and flowers that we drove by or saw at the stops. He did a good job and I’d recommend taking the tour.
Unfortunately, the time in port wasn’t that long so it was back on the ship (and yes, I did make it on time). By 5:00 the ship’s horn went off and we pulled away from the dock. Came back to my room and started writing this journal. Boy am I tired! I think the hiking and the humidity has really worn me out. It’s 7:00 now, so I’m going to get ready for dinner. There is a special International Holiday Show tonight being put on by the crew, but I think I’m going to skip it—it doesn’t start till 11:00 tonight.
Dinner was wonderful. We had prime rib with Yorkshire pudding. Everyone was getting in the holiday spirit. Jim and his wife (and I can’t seem to remember her name—on the tip of my tongue…) brought four little bud vases with Hawaiian flowers in them to the table and gave one to me and each of the three ladies at our table who were also travelling alone to brighten our room for Christmas. It was so very nice of them to do that.
Did skip the holiday show and going to bed early. Not sure exactly what the towel origami of the night is, but it looks like some kind of “creature” laying down on its stomach—these are very creative. There is a book you can purchase showing you how to do these, but while I think they are really cute and creative, I’m not ever going to be making these. Instead, I’ll just continue to enjoy the ones my room steward is making each night.
Hope you all have a very nice holiday.
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