Maui

second of two today

Exhausted! By the time we woke up after our big evening in Honolulu, breakfast in the dining room was over, so we ate in the Lido. We were in no hurry anyway and were just looking forward to the relaxing day in Maui because “Maui no ka oi” or Maui is the best.

Before we even left the ship, we were enthralled by a whale and her calf swimming right near the ship throughout the day. We watched the two swim slowly together blowing spouts of water and a couple of times flipping a tail. The Captain said he had never seen so many whales in a port in all his years at sea. It is always exciting to have even a glimpse of these giant mammals of the ocean and to have one nearby for so long was wonderful.

Taking our time we had a pleasant 15-minute tender ride to the pier where we headed off for a stroll through Lahaina, the former whaling port on the island, now a tourist spot. We wandered through some shops, stopped at the post office, made some phone calls, and boarded a bus to Kaanapali Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world. We rode the bus to Whalers’ Village, a shopping mall adjacent to the beach. Jerry headed right to the large towel on the sand and I headed to the restaurant for lunch. After lunch, we spent our time swimming and sunbathing. The water was clear and cooler than I expected but welcome in the 90 degree temperature of the air.

Since the ship was to sail at 6 p.m. and all aboard was at 5:30 and we were more than 30 minutes away and the bus left once an hour, we reluctantly left the beach at 3 p.m. to board the bus back to Lahaina and the tender back to the ship. After showering and getting dressed for dinner, we returned to the top deck to wave good-bye to the whales and Lahaina. Sitting at the dinner table, I had a perfect view of the sunset and one more green flash. A show in the Grand Lounge featuring two young men singing Beatles music was a perfect ending to our stay in the Hawaiian islands.