In Hawaii we stopped in Oahu, Maui, and both sides of the Big Island (Kona and Hilo). Oahu was a special experience because my godmother’s family lives there. Her sister, Karen, and her husband picked me up and took me around the island for the day. Not only did I get to spend the day with them, but Miriam flew to Hawaii to join me!! Courtney had invited Miriam to join for the Alaska portion of the cruise and ironically it was cheaper for Miriam to fly from New Zealand to Hawaii and then on to Vancouver than it was for her to fly direct. The first stop we made was at the military cemetery where my god-grandfather is buried. We left flowers at his grave and took in the beautiful view of Honolulu. We visited the famous Blow Hole, Hanauma Bay, Waikiki Beach, Diamond Head, Nuuanu Pali lookout, and several viewpoints along the way. Karen took us to buy shaved ice at a famous ice cream shop which is apparently a favorite of the Obama family and we happily consumed it on the beach. As always, spending time with this part of my family was a pleasure. They are such generous and warm people.
Miriam remained on Oahu and I along with the ship headed to the Big Island. Kona was pretty boring. I spent most of my day with the tango group trying to leech free Wi-Fi. The day we spent in Hilo was nice because Courtney and I were able to do a shore dive together. I had been wanting to see a sea turtle and low and behold one literally ran into my mask. It was AWESOME!
Miriam met up again with me on Maui. Before finding her at the pier, I met someone else who would become an important part of my cruise experience. His name is Ned. I knew he worked on the ship and assumed that like most crew members he would probably have been to most of these ports before and thus would know the good Wi-Fi hotspots. I sort of creepily approached him and asked if he knew a good café with strong Wi-Fi. He was a bit taken back, but offered for me to join him in his pursuit of internet. He is a singer on the ship and performs every night at the ship’s pub. We spent about two hours together and quickly got to know the basics of each other’s lives. He is from Omaha, Nebraska, but now calls Florida home-base. His girlfriend lives in the Caribbean somewhere and so at every port he madly tries to find Wi-Fi to contact her. Over the next few weeks he and I would inevitably hunt for Wi-Fi together and I would occasionally sit and listen to him play. I guess I kind of became a groupie for all the musicians on the ship. To give you an idea of how much time I spent with the tango group and Ned, crew members actually would ask me what instrument I played because they all assumed I was Argentinian and part of the tango performance group. Ha.
Anyway, Miriam and I spent the day eating chocolate covered macadamia nuts, sitting on the beach, eating vegan tofu wraps, and chatting a mile a minute. I can’t say how much it meant to me that Miriam was willing to spend so much time, money, and effort to see me. Thank you my friend!
Miriam remained on Oahu and I along with the ship headed to the Big Island. Kona was pretty boring. I spent most of my day with the tango group trying to leech free Wi-Fi. The day we spent in Hilo was nice because Courtney and I were able to do a shore dive together. I had been wanting to see a sea turtle and low and behold one literally ran into my mask. It was AWESOME!
Miriam met up again with me on Maui. Before finding her at the pier, I met someone else who would become an important part of my cruise experience. His name is Ned. I knew he worked on the ship and assumed that like most crew members he would probably have been to most of these ports before and thus would know the good Wi-Fi hotspots. I sort of creepily approached him and asked if he knew a good café with strong Wi-Fi. He was a bit taken back, but offered for me to join him in his pursuit of internet. He is a singer on the ship and performs every night at the ship’s pub. We spent about two hours together and quickly got to know the basics of each other’s lives. He is from Omaha, Nebraska, but now calls Florida home-base. His girlfriend lives in the Caribbean somewhere and so at every port he madly tries to find Wi-Fi to contact her. Over the next few weeks he and I would inevitably hunt for Wi-Fi together and I would occasionally sit and listen to him play. I guess I kind of became a groupie for all the musicians on the ship. To give you an idea of how much time I spent with the tango group and Ned, crew members actually would ask me what instrument I played because they all assumed I was Argentinian and part of the tango performance group. Ha.
Anyway, Miriam and I spent the day eating chocolate covered macadamia nuts, sitting on the beach, eating vegan tofu wraps, and chatting a mile a minute. I can’t say how much it meant to me that Miriam was willing to spend so much time, money, and effort to see me. Thank you my friend!
