Pacific Islands - Easter Island, Tahiti, Honolulu, Hilo
Hilo, Honolulu, Tahiti and Easter Islands were four of the ports on the southern hemisphere sailings from Yokohama, Japan to South America, Callao. I was excited to set foot on them as islands (especially the exotic ones) are logistically challenge and usually more expensive to travel to.
Hilo - US <Arrival - Port of Hilo, Pier 1 (0700 - 1800)>
After ten days of sailing, our first sighting of Hilo was met with much anticipation. Many passengers were on the deck taking photos and looking at the landscape, visibly excited that the boat has arrived at the first port of call.
[Hawaii - here I come 😚]
We had collected our passports the day before.
After the boat berthed, the US immigration officers came onboard, and we queued to stamp our passport in the Vista lounge. We disembarked from the boat after all the passengers had cleared the immigration.
[Wow! To step on land again after leaving Yokohama ten days ago 💃]
Hilo is a town in Hawaii with old wooden storefronts housing many shops, cafes and galleries. We visited the market, walked around the town, and had lunch at the corner cafe on the main street. Then, we stopped by at the supermarket to buy some Hawaiian chocolate. [first 'souvenir' for this trip 😆]
On the way back, we visited the Kamahakema statue at Wailoa State Park , walked along the coastal road, had paletas, a local type of ice cream, at a shop along Banyan Drive, and another meal before heading back to the boat.
Departure - After all the passengers had embarked, the boat continued its overnight sailing to Honolulu.
Boat's Hilo Information Sheet
The information sheet and the port's map and a 15 minutes information session would be held one/two day prior to disembarkation.
Honolulu - US (24/12 Sunday 1200 - 26/12 Tuesday 1830)
Arrival : Pier 2 of Honolulu Harbor, Cruise Terminal)
From afar, Honolulu beckoned with its beaches, sea-front buildings and the well-known Diamond Head Hill.
Disembarked at around 11am, I had googled and there is a Chinatown in Honolulu.
[Whenever possible, I try to visit Chinatown in whichever city out of curosity 😋😊]
We headed to Chinatown and had dim sum at one of the Chinese restaurants. It was a very satisfying lunch [😄😋]
We walked from Chinatown towards Ala Moana Centre. We stopped at Ros, Kamehakame statue and then window-shopped at Ala Moana Centre before heading back to the boat.
We had our dinner on the boat.
Day 2
The boat's tour to Diamond Head set off at 8:50am. The journey to Diamond Head took about half an hour. Diamond Head is a volcanic tuff cone, and the round trip to the summit trail took about two hours along a hot and dry slope.
At the summit, the view of the sea and city was spectacular from the viewing point. It was very hot though, and I was glad when we returned to the shade of the city. We had our lunch in Chinatown again (haha), and did some more shopping in Ros before heading back to the boat.
Day 3 - Waikiki Beach
We met at 10:20 in the Vista Lounge to take the shuttle bus to Waikiki Beach. The beach was very crowded. I guess many were there on their Christmas holiday.
We walked and shopped while we took in the sight of the beach and the busy shopping area. We had a nice Thai lunch, and then more shopping before meeting at 5pm to take the shuttle bus back to the boat. [The shopping were great!!!]
Evening and Sailing off
The boat sailed off at 7pm.
I looked forwards to our next port of call - Papeete, Tahiti.
Honolulu Information and optional tour
Tahiti (0700 - 2200) <Arrival at Port of Papeete, Pier South No. 3>
Tahiti is one of France's French Polynesia islands. As the boat approached the harbour front, I was surprised by the modern resort-like pier front. With its backdrop of mountain ranges, it looked straight out of a postcard.
The boat's tour was in the afternoon, so we disembarked in the morning to walk around the town by ourselves.
Norman Hall Museum
The museum was one of the tour's points of interests. It exhibits the home of James Norman Hall who wrote the book Mutiny on the Bounty, amongst other writings.
Tahara'a Belvedere Viewpoint
The lookout offers a panoramic views of the island and the bay of Matavai.
Pointe Venus
It is a peninsula on the north coast of Tahiti. The primary objective of James Cook's first voyage was to observe the 1769 Transit of Venus from Tahiti. Cook established an observatory and a fortified camp 'Fort Venus' named "Point Venus".
The lighthouse marked the bay of Matavai, and was the first lighthouse in the South Pacific. There is also a stretched of black-sand beach.
City Centre (Centre Ville de Papeete)
We walked around the city centre but most of the shops were closed because it was the second day of the new year.
Many of the passengers were at the tourist office for the free wifi. The tour guide mentioned with pride that the surfing competition in the upcoming Paris Olympics would be held in Tahiti. I believe the visitors will enjoy Tahiti with its beautiful landscape and the view of the sea.
There was supposed to be a bustling area with food trucks (roulotte) at the pier area. However, there were only two of them because it was the second day of new year. We ordered a chow-mien from one of the two food trucks for our dinner before heading back to the boat.
Departure
While looking out to the pier from the cabin, I watched with amazement as I noticed a shark swimming at the pier.
As the boat sailed off from the pier, the pretty night scenery faded slowly away. I looked forward eagerly to the next port of call - Easter Island, which was the HIGHLIGHT of my cruise.
Boat's Papeete Information Sheet and Optional Tour
Easter Island (Anchoring 9th January 0600 - 10 January )
Easter Island was the last of the four islands for the boat to berth before arriving at Callao, South America. Its native name is Papa Nui, and it is famed for the many moai on the island. It was the port that attracted me to sign up for the cruise as I was intrigued by the existence of the giantic Maoi on the island [gotto see them with my own eyes 👀😆]
Day 1 - On the boat
The boat arrived early in the morning before the sun rise. The sky was literally filled with stars. Against the backdrop of the island's lights, it was a mesmerising and beautiful moment.
[Definitely one of beautiful moments that etched in my mind for the longest time]
Since the boat was anchored off shore, we could only go onshore by joining one of the land tours. My tour was scheduled on the second day's afternoon before the boat's departure.
[I was a bit paranoid - what if the weather turned bad, and the tour was cancelled?!?! Then, I would miss visiting Easter Island? 😯😮]
Other than doing the usual activities, I 'shopped' at the few pop-up stalls set-up by the Easter Island's locals on the boat.
Day 2 - Day Tour
We took the Tender Boat to the island to start our tour.
The boat's staff guided us to tour bus and the tour guide. Easter Island is one of the most isolated but inhabited islands in the world. As the coach drove towards Ahu Tongariki (our first tour stop), it passed through lengths of a wide and sparse rocky landscape.
Tonariki
The famed Ahu Tonariki came into view as the coach neared the site.
It was indeed a moving moment to see the massive monilithic sculptures - the Moai. I had assumed before the cruise that it would one of the places that I wanted to visit but unable to go. Now at last , I am on the island and looking at the Maoi with my own eyes.
[What's on the mind of the builders when they were building the moat? How many people were working on them, to build and to stack them up?]
The moais at Tonariki were swept inland by a tsunami, and were restored. All moai face the sunset during the winter solstice. After walking around the site, we proceeded to our next site - Rano Raraku.
Rano Raraku
Rano Raraku was the main quarry for building the Moai . It was amazing to walk along the pathway, and to look at the many Moais strewn on the site.
The weather was very hot, and it was quite a relief when the tour ended.
Departure
We returned to the pier took the tender boat to return to the boat.
The boat departed from Easter Island in the evening to make a 6 days sailing to Callao. Other than being very happy to step foot on Easter Island, I also loved taking in the view while sailing on the blue Pacific Ocean, and taking in the starry skies when night came.
Boat's Easter Island Information Sheet and Optional Tour
Thoughts
The islands generally are beautiful with their simpler way of life without big cities' issues of pollution, traffic congestion, etc. However, I still prefer living in bigger city with its amenities, happenings and easy connection to other countries. 😛😙
What's next?
Continental South America 😊