Day 34 - Lahaina, Maui

Day 34 – Wednesday 12^th February 2014 – Lahaina, Maui

Awake at 07.30 and on deck for 08.00 as we anchored off the small town of Lahaina, on the island of Maui.  Were anchored in the Auau channel and could see the other Hawaiian Islands of Lanai, Molo and Molokai.

In this channel is the best place to see the humpback whales, who come here each year to give birth and nurse their young before heading north to feed in May.  I saw numerous whales here and there were quite a few boats out with tourists doing exactly the same.

At 10.00 we went to the ballroom to be given a ticket allocation for the lifeboats, of which there were four involved with running the passengers ashore.  Into the ship’s lifeboat by 10.45, and ashore by 11.00.

Polynesian Dancers

To be greeted on the quayside by the Polynesian dancing girls and backing group.  In the movies, it is always young girls doing the dancing; we got the senior citizens (Derby & Joan Club) with the old codgers ukulele band.  This certainly brought a smile to the whole proceedings.

The little town was all hustle and bustle with a lot of tourists from the hotel complex which we could see from the ships about three miles away along the beach.  I was surprised at the number of shops, mostly selling clothes, jewellery and a few art galleries.  It was all good gear and Hawaiian shirts were everywhere.

Plodging

Onward, through the town, until we found our way onto the beach.  A bit of plodging to cool down in the Pacific, did not bother with the swimming, as informed, last year two German tourists did not make it, after losing limbs to sharks, nasty.

Beach

Set back on the shore line there some wonderful bungalows with fine views over the beach and the bay.  An ideal place to live, some may call it paradise.

We left this lovely spot and made our way into town to do some shopping.  I eventually found a musical shop and asked to see the Hawaiian ukuleles, the lady asked what price range, and I said $100. She brought out the exact same Chinese model, I have at home.  I eventually got a hold of a genuine Hawaiian made ukulele,but it was a smaller soprano version at a price of $500.  I had a little strum on it, the sound was very nice but not worth the extra money, so I handed it back to the lady, and thank her for the experience.

View from Bar

On the main street most of the bars were packed and queues forming for the restaurant tables but we found a place called Sugar Cane and settled down to a cool beer.  On the second floor, they had wi-fi access, so ideal for us two.  We ordered lunch of lobster fondue for me and burger and chips for Colin, washed down with pinna coladas.

After a couple of hours here, we made our way to the queue for the lifeboat, to go back to the ship at 15.00.  The crew were very good on the quayside dispensing cold water to those who wanted it and we were back on board for 16.00.

It's a whale

Onto Deck 9 for more whale watching and the sail away party with the Nexus band belting out their reggae music.  I took a lot of photos and here if you look very closely, there is a humpback whale rippling the surface.

I always took a movie of the whales and actually witnessed one leaping out of the water, of course, my camera was pointing in the wrong direction.

Lanai Sunset

 As the sun was setting, we left our anchor and set a course to the south west.  It had been a fascinating time on the island of Maui, not as busy, or as commercialised as Honolulu.  The big bonus today was watching the whales, and being inspired by being able to watch these wonderful creatures

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We did not fancy today’s cocktail Mojito and stuck with the G&T’s for pre-dinner drinks.

Tonight was informal dress and for dinner, prawn sea food/lamb/caramelised banana, all very nice.

Into the theatre for the Two on Tap show, consisting of two Americans, man and woman tap dancing.  The poor guy murdered the song ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ with his singing and good old Bruce Forsyth can tap dance as good as these, therefore, a bit disappointed with this show.

Finished off in the Golden Lion for the wipe out trivia quiz, and we won it again.

A fine end, to another adventurous day.