We hit a glitch in our group yesterday. Well, we hit one earlier when Diane had to deal with sewer smells in her stateroom. But more recently, Cary got sick. Allergy-type symptoms combined with stomach issues. Yuk. He felt better enough to make the bus, though. However … at our first stop he decided to get a Uber and go back to the ship and to bed.
Our tour guide Rosario was from Italy by way of New Jersey. Been on this island since 1980.
That first stop was at Shark Beach. Not sure what it’s real name was, but the sign said it was inhabited by the shark god and his descendants.
Parentheses here. Chris got a phone call from the doc. The results from her gene testing came in. Negative on all counts. That’s a good thing. Great thing, in fact.
Next stop was a massive waterfall emptying into the Wailua River. Biggest one yet. Beautiful. The river was the site of a Dwayne Johnson movie, Jungle Cruise.
Next came a big blowhole next to the sea. It is a lava tunnel with a hole on top that spews when a big wave comes in.
We stopped briefly at the Jurassic World Valley (one of the film sites). Gorgeous.
Waimea Canyon was Chris’ bucket list. The whole thing. And it was nothing short of Spectacular. They call it the Grand Canyon of the Pacific. I think it’s prettier. Certainly more colorful. Seems somehow vaster, too.
On the way to the luau we stopped at some tourist shops. Grabbed a few souvenirs. Highlight, though, was the shave ice from JoJo’s. Pretty famous place around here. Monster snow cone. Goood.
At the luau we got some great news. Cary was there, feeling a lot better. We shared a table with four other Texans. They were from Gatesville. One of the ladies told us that she has seen Josh preach on TV. The other one told Chris that her Mom had a stroke and was in a stroke facility. Every Sunday when she visited, her mom told her to Shush because she was listening to her Pastor Josh. She never missed a Sunday. So the daughter thanked us for that.
Back to the luau … they did have a pig. He was being cooked underground, though. When they finally uncovered him, they just plopped the meat over into a tray. No red head or apple in his mouth or roasting on a spit here. But that’s ok. The food was spread out on a buffet. All you can eat. My favorite was the local fish they caught and baked in some kind of white sauce. Oh, and there was a totally open bar. The only rule was you could only leave with one alcoholic beverage at a time. We tried non-alcoholic mai tais and non-alcoholic Blue Hawaiis. Tasty.
The entertainment was amazing. They acted out the history of Tahitians coming to the island. They did hulas and even fire dances. A guy twirled and juggled one and then two fire sticks. The girls did a dance where they held coconuts that were burning inside. Quite skillful, to put it mildly.
The only issue was getting back to the ship. There were 700 plus people there, and all of us needed to get in line to be shuttled. Long, looong wait. Good company, though.
We finally got on a bus at 9:15 or so. Put us getting back to the ship around 9:30. Well past my bedtime …
John 15:4-5 says, Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
Father, thank you for one more absolutely amazing expression of your magnificence. Amen.
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