Day 8 - Sunday January 21, 2024 Hilo Hawaii

Arrival 07:00 All Aboard 15:30 Departure 16:00

Welcome to the Big Island of Hawaii. A cool breeze greets the ship as we sail into Hilo. Hilo is the largest town on the island and considered the wettest as well.

I take full responsibility for today's very early tour to Volcaneoes National Park which started at 07:15. It is still dark but I am dressed when the call comes for room service as I may have stumbled looking for the phone as I was still in bed.

Everything was packed for the tour the night - we had tried for a later tour but they were booked.

The lights of a tug boat directing Insignia to the pier are silhouetted against the early moningring sky. Just like the gym seniors are up early for thier morning java fix. There are people waiting at the specialty coffee station, Barista's when I arrive.

Our bus leaves the industrial harbour of Hilo which is also the cruise terminal and makes its way down highway 11 towards Hawaii Volcaneos National Park approximately 50 minutes away. When we return to the ship it looks like the bulk of the town is to the right on Highway 11.

We will be visiting the Kilauea crater inside the park. Some people on the bus thought we would be going into the crater. The area is roped off and can only see the crater from a distance. Our tour guide Dexter indicated that the weather although cool would be good today because some days it is raining.

Somewhat overcast and shooting into the rising sun made photographing the crater difficult. The soil around the roped off area of the crater appears to be dark black, this I assume is from countless eruptions throughout the years. Steam appears from the bottom of the crater. Does the picture for this blog look like a giant pizza? In fact our tour guide/driver Dexter took this picture back in January 2023 when Kilauea was active.

As reported by the National Volcano Service, there have been no active eruptions of the volcano since September 10, 2023. No lava fountains, flows or glows are visible.

Leaving the crater rim area we travel a short distance to the steaming bluff overlook. Here there are many spots where steam can see seeping through the ground. There is no sulphur smell from the steam unlike Yellowstone. At a different angle you were better able to see the crater.

Hawaii's Volcaneos National Park has no running water. Everything either needs to be collected from rain fall or trucked in. Any housing within the park has corrugated roofs that allow the rain water to be collected in large containers. I noticed one at the National Park Service Art Centre within the park.

The early tour had us back at the ship by 12:00 and time for a snack and then a slouffie or nap.

Again with everyone back on board before 15:30 Insignia left early for Monday's stop in Nawiliwili, Kauai, 292 natical miles away.

Tonight's entertainment was a deck party on the pool deck at 21:30. Mother Nature decided not to cooperate as rain began shortly after the deck party started. Alot of the people from the deck party followed the band and the entertainment team up to Horizons Lounge to continue the party.

I cannot remember what time we returned to our cabin.