Check off another item on our bucket list as Cintra and I complete our fabulous visit to Hawaii. Over the past two weeks, we enjoyed the beauty, sounds and tastes of Big Island and Oahu. We are happy that all went well and are looking forward to getting back to reality.
Oahu was everything we hoped for and more. Having done a self-driving tour of Big Island, we changed our plans to use a car rental and chose to join group tours instead.
This turned out perfectly as we did an amazing island tour with the help of a charming and expert tour guide. We had absolutely perfect weather and a small group of fellow pilgrims. Our first major stop was Pearl Harbor, a must-see for any visitor to Oahu.
As Canadians, this was a very informative and emotional experience. I can only imagine how deeply it touches Americans, especially those with military ties.
There is much to see at Pearl Harbor, but in our limited time we walked around the site, viewed the indoor display, watched an amazing video and took an eight-minute boat ride to the USS Arizona Memorial building. This is a structure built over the shattered U.S. warship that took the brunt of the surprise attack by the Japanese on December 7, 1941. That attack not only destroyed the vessel but resulted in the loss of 1177 lives and their bodies were never recovered. The site was later used to deposit ashes of other servicemen the who died in the attack on Pearl Harbor. To stand on the site of this watery grave was very emotional.
Our tour continued to a visitor centre by Dole Plantation where we were exposed to the usual myriad tourist memorabilia, gifts, keepsakes as well as treats like pineapple ice cream. As we moved to the north coast, it was fascinating to view the rich landscape of pineapple, banana and coffee plantations.
The most stunning sights of the coastline of Oahu were the swells that make this area ideal for recreational and competitive surfing. Even if surfing is not your cup of Kona coffee, it is breathtaking to watch the coast line that combined sandy shores, rocky edges, scenic cliffs and huge crashing waves.
Along the way, some of the group reported they were lucky to view whales and dolphins in the distance.
We couldn't stop to absorb all of these sights, but we're happy the guide made time to stop at some strategic locations. Among these was a mountain lookout at Pali Point offering more than 180 degree view of Kawainul Marshland the community of Kailua framed by mountains on both sides.
Our guide was full of fascinating trivia such as showing us homes that were occupied by the rich and famous like Elvis Presley, Cary Grant, and others. We viewed the location that was the site of the beach romantic encounter with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr in the movie From Here to Eternity.
We had a brief lunch stop at the Polynesian Cultural Centre where we returned later in the week for the famous luau and cultural shows. It was fascinating to have this preview of this popular tourist site.
Having wandered around the island, we gave ourselves a couple of days to absorb the enchantment of Waikiki. We were fortunate to be based in the heart of Waikiki village and were yards from this iconic beach.
There is never a shortage of things to see and do in Waikiki and certainly endless choices of places to eat and shop. Our first venture into the beach did not start off so well as we found the floor of the sea very rocky. We had to search for a sandy floor and enjoyed the rest of the experience. That evening was capped off with a spectacular Hawaiian sunset.
Our next venture into the water turned out perfectly as we immediately found an ideal spot and totally enjoyed our time. The blazing sun was ideal for sun bathers, but we decided to pass up on this popular Waikiki pastime.
We saved the highlight of our Oahu visit for the final evening when we took in the famed Polynesian Cultural Centre about an hour out of Honolulu. This was a full day's outing by coach and is almost beyond description.
In short, the PCC is a theme park featuring the cultures of the islands that comprise Polynesia and that were the early settlers of Hawaii. The Polynesian cultures on display were Tonga, Figi, Samoa, French Polynesia, Aotearao (New Zealand), Tahiti and Hawaii.
It is hard to imagine a more colorful, vibrant and rich mix of cultural practices. The outline of the visit was basically optional buffet lunch, displays of music, dancing and crafts in individual halls, a canoe pageant of all the cultures, a luau, a spectacular IMAX show and closing the evening with a large scale music and dance show in an auditorium and a pre-show backstage tour
If visitors were not filled with the rich cultural showcase, they would be saturated with the sights and colors of the cultures as well as with the unlimited and exotic foods in the luau, which also included another stage show. As luck would have it, we were ushered to front row seats for the luau.
It is very easy to become emotionally connected to the Hawaiian culture as well as to the Polynesians who make up the Hawaiian population. To be greeted with Aloha is common, as is being thanked with Mahalo or to be called cousin or family.
To be clear, a visitor is not necessarily surrounded with native Hawaiians. It is almost as easy to see Asian tourists mainly from Japan and Korea or to see tourists from Europe or the U.S. The Canadian tourists are rare.
There are so many aspects of our visit that justify our naming Hawaii on our bucket list. Our trip was short and sweet and will live in our memories forever.
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