Aloha Hawaii...

Quote of the day: “No, I’m staying on board today. I’ve had enough of this trip. I just want to go home now.”

Some days on holiday are better than others, and on this holiday, today was one of the best. We sailed into Honolulu at dawn, with just a light shower falling. The temperature was just right, and there was a gentle sea breeze blowing most of the day.

I’d previously had two holidays in Hawaii, and hadn’t made any great plans for the day. However my friend from the ship (who I’ve nicknamed MGM: Mr Gadget Man, because he always heads ashore armed with a still camera, a video camera, and a GPS unit!) encouraged me to get off my butt, and sign up for the tour to Pearl Harbour. Yes, I know. Everyone who goes to Hawaii goes to Pearl Harbour, but somehow I’d never got around to it…

I have no great interest in either war history or American history, but I really enjoyed the visit. We used the time we had to wait to get on the boat across to the Arizona Memorial to indulge in a bit of American culture: hotdogs… Now, I never eat junk food, but I made an exception today, and actually quite enjoyed it. I even washed it down with Pepsi that wasn’t diet. Much to my surprise, my digestive system didn’t protest too much, even when I followed it up with a burger and fries later in the day. Ah, the things we do for world peace and understanding!

The second part of the tour was a quick drive through the countryside, then through the centre of Honolulu. At that point we left the tour, and grabbed a trolley to Waikiki. Yes, it’s commercial; yes, it’s touristy; yes, it’s not the “real” Hawaii – but I love the place! I got to have a latte at the wonderful Hawaiian Coffee Company, and it was divine: the first seriously good coffee I’ve had in over 2 months. In fact, I threatened to stay put in the café for the rest of the day… However, eventually I managed to drag myself away, and we wandered along the beach to my favorite park area. There we sat in the shade of a palm tree, and just watched the world go by. It doesn’t get much better than that, folks!

After dinner in a café above the International Marketplace, we grabbed a taxi back to the ship for good dessert and bad coffee, followed by the sail away bash up on the top decks. I sat up there for a long time watching the lights of Waikiki slowly fade into the distance, and contemplated my return visit to this wonderful part of the world…