Sunday, November 14, 2004
Hawaii, Part 6: Second day on Oahu
Began our day early because I had booked a dolphin watching tour. The bus came to pick us up at 7:30 to take us to Yokohama Bay, an area mostly frequented by locals on the northwest side of Oahu. The tour guide didn't speak much English, and I don't know any Japanese, but it worked out just fine. Most of the others on the tour were Japanese (Hawaii is a popular vacation spot, especially for people from Tokyo), so most of the guide's conversation was for their benefit. I rather enjoyed listening to the guide even though I didn't know what she was saying, hearing people laugh at her jokes, and wondering why I'd never properly learned a second language.
It took about 45 minutes to reach our destination, and we got a good look at the Oahu countryside along the way. The main part of our tour consisted of a 3 hour yacht ride around the bay, where dolphins, particularly spinner dolphins, live in large pods. There were a few other boats and some fishermen around the bay, but other than that, it was fairly quiet. After we got going, everyone found a spot where they could look out on the water. I propped myself securely near the back of the boat, attempting to hold myself (and my camera) steady because of my poor balance. Dan stayed near the interior with the underwater camera. Knowing how extremely difficult it is to capture a good photo of a moving dolphin while on a moving boat, I figured two cameras were better than one.
Almost on cue, three spinner dolphins appeared, swimming along with the boat! Spinner dolphins are smaller and darker (charcoal grey) than the bottlenose variety, and VERY fast. When they leap out of the water, they spin like a corkscrew, hence their name. Everyone speaks the same language when they're admiring something....Asians, Europeans and Americans all say "oooh" and "aaah" exactly the same way. We were all thrilled to see the dolphins....some were so excited they actually applauded. It didn't take very long at all for other dolphins to appear....you'd see one and point it out, follow it for awhile and when you saw it again, you'd suddenly realize it was surrounded by others, sometimes a few dozen of them. I'd seen bottlenose dolphins in the wild in Florida, but never more than a few at once; these pods had as many as 30 dolphins. We even saw babies swimming side by side with adults. Quite thrilling.
We had lunch on board the boat; I mainly ate white rice and fresh fruit, which I was glad to be finding in abundance in Hawaii. I listened to some of the conversation around me; a few people were speaking German, a few in English with an Aussie accent, and of course lots of Japanese. I had time for a few more photos before we headed back to dock. While I was reluctant to leave the dolphins, I was relieved to get back on solid ground as the rocking motion of the yacht had gotten very tiring.
We got back to the condo by 2pm, and since I'd dozed off on the tour bus on the way back, I had a bit of energy to spare, so I decided to try a shopping excursion. Dan did something else, I can't remember what. I wanted to visit the Hilo Hattie's warehouse in Honolulu, and they offered a free shuttle service there and back, so I consulted the map I'd downloaded at home from their website for the nearest stop. It was about two blocks away, and the wait wasn't very long, which was a good thing because it was HOT out, about 92 degrees....unusually warm for October. Once I got on the shuttle, which was like a San Fransisco open air trolley, the breeze felt good and offset the high humidity a bit. The warehouse was larger than the store in Kona and was mostly dedicated to clothing, referred to in Hawaii as "aloha wear". They had matching patterns for couples and some even for whole families. Unfortunately, the ladies' styles did not seem to fit me, so I found something I liked in a men's medium. It was a purple shirt with white hibiscus flowers on it. I also bought plumeria perfume as I'd been around so many of the sweet-smelling blossoms on the Big Island that I was addicted to the scent.
After I returned, I rested for awhile and then headed for the beach near sunset with my camera. Saturday night on Waikiki Beach is quite the extravaganza. Along the pier, restaurant tables had been set up; I think one of the local bars was doing business there. I went down to the end of the pier for awhile to watch the dozens of wannabe surfers. To the south of the pier, a huge stage and a movie screen were set up in one area; there was live music going on, and then they actually showed current run movies. I would have stayed to watch, but the sledgehammer of fatigue showed up and convinced me I should go back to the condo and veg.
It took about 45 minutes to reach our destination, and we got a good look at the Oahu countryside along the way. The main part of our tour consisted of a 3 hour yacht ride around the bay, where dolphins, particularly spinner dolphins, live in large pods. There were a few other boats and some fishermen around the bay, but other than that, it was fairly quiet. After we got going, everyone found a spot where they could look out on the water. I propped myself securely near the back of the boat, attempting to hold myself (and my camera) steady because of my poor balance. Dan stayed near the interior with the underwater camera. Knowing how extremely difficult it is to capture a good photo of a moving dolphin while on a moving boat, I figured two cameras were better than one.
Almost on cue, three spinner dolphins appeared, swimming along with the boat! Spinner dolphins are smaller and darker (charcoal grey) than the bottlenose variety, and VERY fast. When they leap out of the water, they spin like a corkscrew, hence their name. Everyone speaks the same language when they're admiring something....Asians, Europeans and Americans all say "oooh" and "aaah" exactly the same way. We were all thrilled to see the dolphins....some were so excited they actually applauded. It didn't take very long at all for other dolphins to appear....you'd see one and point it out, follow it for awhile and when you saw it again, you'd suddenly realize it was surrounded by others, sometimes a few dozen of them. I'd seen bottlenose dolphins in the wild in Florida, but never more than a few at once; these pods had as many as 30 dolphins. We even saw babies swimming side by side with adults. Quite thrilling.
We had lunch on board the boat; I mainly ate white rice and fresh fruit, which I was glad to be finding in abundance in Hawaii. I listened to some of the conversation around me; a few people were speaking German, a few in English with an Aussie accent, and of course lots of Japanese. I had time for a few more photos before we headed back to dock. While I was reluctant to leave the dolphins, I was relieved to get back on solid ground as the rocking motion of the yacht had gotten very tiring.
We got back to the condo by 2pm, and since I'd dozed off on the tour bus on the way back, I had a bit of energy to spare, so I decided to try a shopping excursion. Dan did something else, I can't remember what. I wanted to visit the Hilo Hattie's warehouse in Honolulu, and they offered a free shuttle service there and back, so I consulted the map I'd downloaded at home from their website for the nearest stop. It was about two blocks away, and the wait wasn't very long, which was a good thing because it was HOT out, about 92 degrees....unusually warm for October. Once I got on the shuttle, which was like a San Fransisco open air trolley, the breeze felt good and offset the high humidity a bit. The warehouse was larger than the store in Kona and was mostly dedicated to clothing, referred to in Hawaii as "aloha wear". They had matching patterns for couples and some even for whole families. Unfortunately, the ladies' styles did not seem to fit me, so I found something I liked in a men's medium. It was a purple shirt with white hibiscus flowers on it. I also bought plumeria perfume as I'd been around so many of the sweet-smelling blossoms on the Big Island that I was addicted to the scent.
After I returned, I rested for awhile and then headed for the beach near sunset with my camera. Saturday night on Waikiki Beach is quite the extravaganza. Along the pier, restaurant tables had been set up; I think one of the local bars was doing business there. I went down to the end of the pier for awhile to watch the dozens of wannabe surfers. To the south of the pier, a huge stage and a movie screen were set up in one area; there was live music going on, and then they actually showed current run movies. I would have stayed to watch, but the sledgehammer of fatigue showed up and convinced me I should go back to the condo and veg.
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