Day 7 - Saturday January 20, 2024 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii

Arrival 08:00 Last Tender 17:30 Departure 18:00

We made it to Hawaii after 5 sea days!! On the walking track this morning, humback whales could be seen in the distance. It's like they came out to greet us. How magical...

We required a tender to take us to the dock as the Insignia was anchored in the bay. Passengers need to be aware of their surroundings should the seas be choppy when boarding the tender which was the case today.

Janice booked a snorkeling tour through Viatour which took us to the Captain Cook's Monument in Kealakekua Bay. The tour was scheduled for 10:30 and we arrived in the town just after 10:00. The meeting point was 10Kms or 6 Mi away. We found the first taxi and provided him with the address. The word Haole, is used by Hawaiians to recognize mainlanders or people from other countries "Not from here".

When taxis see passengers arriving from a cruise ship their prices definitely go up. The cost for the taxi was $40 USD plus the same charge to return to town.

This is Hawaii, the directions are as follows: drive 10 Kms along the coast turn right at the lights then meet at the picnic table near the boat launch. At least the taxi driver knew where to go. Janice thought the tour included lunch but she was getting confused with another snorkeling tour. No such luck it was only a three hour tour, so I started whistling the theme for Gilligan's Island as we made our way to the dock towards the zodiac.

Walking down to the dock we are introduced to Captain Dennis and Captain Eric, 2 transplanted brothers from New Jersey. They look to be in their late 20s or early 30s. Lets hope they are good sailors. The means of transportation is a zodiac with two very large outboard motors on the back. Captain Dennis indicated that yesterday (January 19) the waves were larger than what we could expect to see today. Two young mates who are Captain Eric's son are also on board plus seven other passengers. Dennis and Eric's mum is also on the tour.

Its not long after clearing the harbour that the music begins playing as we make our way to Kealakekua Bay. Its good Janice took some motion sick pills as Captain Eric had the motors at full speed zig zagging left and right with some steep banking off the zodiac. Music from Top Gun, Danger Zone is playing as Captain Eric manuevers the zodiac through the rocks and the hidden rocks below the surface.

Several humpback whales could be seen in the distance breaching but we were not able to get too close to them. US federal regulations say tour boats must stay 100 yards away from the whales but if the whales swim up to the boat the captain must shut off the engines and wait for them to swim away. In Canada tour boats must stay at least 200 meters away from whales.

From the zodiac you can see the black lava outcrops all along the shore.

We arrive at Captain Cook's Monument in Kealakekua Bay for an hour of snorkeling time. Several other tour operators are present in the bay as well as locals who jump into the bay from the shore. Unfortunately the coral reefs are not in good shape so there was not an abundance of fish. Two types were the zebra fish (I think) with its yellow and black stripes. The second fish was all black with white markings but neither Captain knew its name. It felt however good to be swimming in very clear salt water after 5 days at sea.

The white oblong monument we see marks the spot where Captain Cook met his death. You can do your own research on Captain Cook and his untimely death at the hands of Hawaiians.

Climbing back on board we are treated to fresh juicy pineapple. It is so much better than the product we get back home in the grocery stores. Leaving the bay the music starts again with Bon Jovi (a good old New Jersey Rock and Roll Band) as Captain Eric takes us past sea caves and lava tubes as we make our way along the Kona coast back to Keauhou. Upon our return Janice gave each of the two young mates $5 USD as a tip for helping thir dad. Our taxi was waiting for us and back to Kona we drove.

After a brief lunch stop of Fish and Chips for me and a spinach salad with mahi mahi for Janice we explored the town of Kona.

We had made a stop here on the ATW2022 and the town did not look any different. Some shopping was done by me (Janice got me an early birthday present of a wooden macadamia nut band - similar to Dennis and Allen's wedding bands) before we returned to the tender point to return to the ship.

There was no Trivia today as the Horizon Lounge was showing the NFL playoff games.

Everone is on board and the last tender is being brought back to its mooring and the anchor has been raised. The engines are churning up the water as I write this. The ship is sailing North as we circumvent the island of Hawaii to our next destination. As we leave Kailua-Kona we are treated with several humpback whales in the area saying their goodbyes to us.