POLYNESIAN ADVENTURE – PART 2

 

We spent two full days in Hawaii’s state capital, Honolulu, on the island of Oahu. Many notables were born there, including one of my heroes, Barack Obama. He Made America Great Again! Oahu is the third-largest and most populated of the Hawaiian Islands, home to just under 1 million people, 80% of whom live in the Honolulu urban area. Area-wise, Oahu is slightly smaller than our Prince County, but much of its interior is mountainous and therefore uninhabitable.

On our last visit to Honolulu, we’d spent all of our time in the city, visiting Pearl Harbour and Waikiki Beach. This time, we’d decided to do some exploring, so we boarded a city bus to pick up our rental car, planning to circumnavigate the island. We started our day with a visit to the Dole Plantation, a really nice tourist attraction located about an hour north of the city. We were surprised to be driving on a six-lane highway on our way there but, as we were to learn, Oahu is a very busy place. The site features a train ride through the plantation to see how pineapples are grown, harvested and processed. As with so many tourist attractions we’ve visited, unfortunately, the gift shop ends up being the dominant feature and the most popular place with visitors.

We drove north and followed the coast past an array of beautiful beaches. Since all the parking lots were jam-packed, we didn’t bother stopping. Along the way, it was interesting to see how gas prices have changed since the US declared war on Iran last February 28. When we arrived in Florida on that date, gas there was $2.85 US per gallon. On Oahu, it was exactly double that at $5.70! Heck, it’s even more expensive than gas on Prince Edward Island which, as I write this, is selling at the equivalent of $5.34 US. Even diesel is more expensive here than it is back home. Of course, we’re led to believe the price will plummet soon after the midterm elections on November 3. And land in the Miscouche swamp will soon be worth $1,000,000 an acre! Remember, you read it here first!

After having lunch at the Wiamea waterfall, we drove the coastal road until we finally freed ourselves of heavy traffic and rain along Oahu’s Windward Coast, a wilder and more rugged part of the island I really wanted to see. There, we took a stroll along Waimanalo beach, watching surfers try to catch a wave.

On Day 2 in Honolulu, we took the bus downtown to Waikiki Beach and spent a couple of hours there enjoying the sun and the warm water. The place is lined with resorts of every description, and a host of activities are on offer for those looking for a bit of action or an excuse to do nothing, whatever their heart desires. While it’s a nice beach, it doesn’t compare with my favourites, Greenwich and Basin Head, for sheer beauty. I must say, though, that the urban spaces in the resort area are as beautiful as I’ve seen anywhere in our travels.

On Day 4 of our Hawaiian adventure, the Zaandam tied up at what is surely the ugliest cruise terminal we’ve seen in our many years of travelling. When we visited Maui in 2019, our ship anchored in the small and picturesque harbour of Lahaina and we tendered ashore. The port of Kahalui, on Maui’s northern coast, was the hub of the sugar trade which flourished from 1901 to 2016. Today, it’s nothing more than a collection of abandoned warehouses and barren parking lots. To get to Kahalui’s main drag, we had to walk through a fenced-in maze topped with barbed wire. Not a great welcome!

The only poet I ever really liked was the American, Robert Frost. He wrote these three lines in 1916 at the end of a poem called The Road Not Taken, and I’ve tried to live by them:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

We picked up our rented vehicle and headed southeast toward the village of Hana. To say that the drive is an adventure would be an understatement. It’s 83 km of hairpin turns, switchbacks, one-lane bridges and single-track road, and it took us two and a half hours and a lot of white-knuckling to get there. The road is heavily travelled and one has to stop often to meet and squeeze past other cars, some of them travelling way too fast! Unfortunately, the weather gods were not on our side, as we drove through rain most of the way, catching a few glimpses of waterfalls, the incredibly lush vegetation, and a pretty little chapel. The northeast side of Maui is the rainy side while the southwest side is bone-dry. After stretching our legs at the small dock in Hana, we headed back to Kahalui.

We had fond memories of Lahaina. Tragically, much of its downtown was destroyed in a fire on August 8, 2023: 102 people are known to have died; over 2,000 structures were destroyed; and damage has been estimated at $6 billion US. We drove into the town and found our way to the dock area. Downtown is unrecognizable. Where homes, schools and businesses once stood is now mostly fenced-in barren ground growing up in weeds. The banyan tree that stood proudly beside the old courthouse was thought to have been killed by the fire but it’s recovered miraculously to its former glory. The tree covers two-thirds of an acre, about the size of a football field, and is recognized as the largest one in the US. Of course, there are plans to rebuild but there is as yet little sign of that happening. The photos below show the banyan tree and the courthouse. A sign at the front of the courthouse encourages people to donate for its reconstruction. Sadly, I doubt Lahaina’s downtown will look much better five years from now. But, our day on Maui turned out to be a great one!

On our last day in Hawaii, the Zaandam dropped anchor in the harbour of Kailua-Kona and we tendered ashore. Kona town is about the size of Summerside and has a very welcoming feel to it, unlike some places that are either too industrial or too touristy. We walked along the main street in the morning past buildings like the one in the photo. I found them interesting architecturally because they add to the town’s historical character. I went for a swim near the pier to cool off from the heat while Elva did some shopping. Soon, it was time to sail south toward our next stop, Avatoru, the main town on the island of Rangiroa in French Polynesia. It will take us six days at sea to get there.

The mortality tables tell me I have a 50% chance of making it to 90 or so if I keep doing the right things, and I hope to have at least 10 more good travel years left in me. This Polynesian adventure is off to a fine start, and we have two years’ worth of trips booked ahead.

The one place we don’t intend to return to is the United States. Other than a family trip to Disneyworld next March, one planned before the Trump administration began its latest round of foolishness, we will not return. Trump’s lack of respect for Canada’s sovereignty and for our Prime Minister, Mark Carney, crossed the line for us. We can handle the tariffs, but not the disdain. Knowing that many of the Americans we know voted for him and continue to support his policies would make it difficult for us to spend time with them. Besides, this world is full of interesting places to visit and of people who respect who Canadians are and what Canada stands for.

I celebrated by birthday in Hawaii. I was born at the Prince County Hospital on a Saturday, 73 years ago. My mother was 36 years old then and my father was 47. Since my father left us when I was only about a year old, I have no memory of him. I remember looking through my baby book and asking my mother what it was like when I first came into the family. A photo shows me in my parents’ lap the day of my baptism. It’s the only photo I have with both my parents.

I remember asking her if there was a photo of me when she came home from the hospital. She answered: “The day you were born, we couldn’t find your father”, by which she meant he was drunk somewhere. I could tell it upset her deeply, so I never asked about it again. I would later find out that my father was serving time in the Queens County Jail on October 24, 1953 for passing bad cheques while he served as the MLA for Third Prince. She was trying to protect me from the shame she must have felt.

My life may not have gotten off to the kind of start my parents intended but it has been a very good one. Though I never knew my father, I carry his genes, the good ones and the bad. I’m my mother’s son and very grateful to her for the way she raised me. She recognized early the independent streak I was born with and was wise enough to always let me do my own thing. And she never once questioned my decisions. Wellington was a great place to grow up and I have nothing but fond memories of my childhood there.

Though my body may be slowing down, my mind continues to expand and grow. I find that to be one of the great ironies of life. Today, as I post this blog, I’m thankful for a life well lived and, especially, for the family I am a part of: a life partner who has been by my side since we became best friends fifty-eight years ago; three wonderful children who make me proud every day; and five grandchildren who continue to impress me with everything they do.