HAWAI'I, USA [01.12.20]
“The aloha spirit is real simple. You give and you give and you give...And you give from here (the heart), until you have nothing else to give." -Rell Sunn
Today was our first port of the voyage, WOHOO!! I have never been more excited to see land, it felt like forever. We only stayed in Hawaii for one day as it was a refueling stop. No independent travel was allowed because it was such a short stop. This meant everyone disembarking the ship had to leave on a field class or field program. My day started bright and early with breakfast, then the immigration process. I had a field class in Hawaii for my Physical Geography class. A field class is basically a really cool field trip in a port that relates closely to the class. It is fun because you get to go on a little adventure with your classmates and professor which makes it drastically different than traditional college. And let me tell you, "adventure" was an underestimate.
Once we got off the ship, all of us were greeted with a kind “Aloha” and a beautiful lei homemade with fresh ti leaves. We travelled to Diamond Head by bus where we got off and began the hike. This area of Hawaii is very unique because it typically only gets 10 inches of rainfall a year. However, today was an exception! It was downpouring the entire day. Normally I would be upset, but hey, we were in Hawaii surrounded by beauty so I couldn’t be anything but grateful. A little fun fact we learned before the hike: Diamond Head has the most rescues per year because tourists often underestimate the difficulty of the hike. Yeah...Anyways, after what seemed like five million flights of stairs, we made it. We also got to see some native plants along the way. I thought my geography professor, Andy, was going to pee his pants the first time we saw one. I’ve never met a man who gets more excited about plants and rocks in my life! But yes, the views were great and it was worth every step. Once I got to the bottom I immediately treated myself to some fresh mango pineapple whip 😊
Our next stops were the Lyon Arboretum and Manoa Falls. These two places were quite different from Diamond Head as they are more of a rainforest environment and included thousands of tropical plants from around the world. The arboretum was my favorite because I got to see and photograph so many plants that I learned about in high school through floriculture! Also, it was founded by a guy from MN which I thought was pretty unique. And yes, it was raining even harder here. Being surrounded by endless greenery was a breath of fresh air after being at sea for so long. I have never seen so much variety of vegetation in my life. As we explored and learned about the Hawaiian plants, I got to talk to a guy who tagged along with us and was producing a documentary on our tour guide, David. Long story short, he used to be on the production team for Hawaii 5-0; so cool! From the arboretum, we ventured up the Manoa Falls Trail. It was the most intense hike I have ever done. At times we were trekking through muddy streams and climbing up tree roots. The muddiness and adventurous spirit everyone had instantly brought me back to spring in ND when I was little. Once we got to the top to see the waterfall, it down poured!! Everyone was having such a good time and I didn’t want to leave. Unfortunately, we had to follow a schedule so we didn’t get to stay too long. We hiked back down and yes I slipped in the mud a few times. After hosing down, we travelled back to the port to get back on the ship. I got a nice hot shower and snuggled up to savor my final hours with internet!
Overall, I am happy to say I got to experience a two very different hikes. The views, people, and environment I got to learn about was worth every drop of rain. I never realized how amazing Hawaii is not only for their beauty, but for the unique culture that thrives in everything you see. I will definitely be back again to discover more of this beautiful island.
NEXT STOP – Kobe, Japan! Ten more days at sea AHHH. I can’t wait for some yummy sushi, ramen, and gyozya!
Here's a fun little video I made!!
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