I had been to Hawaii before – sort of. I landed there way back in 1975 while on my way to Australia on a work assignment. But I never left the airport terminal. So I really didn’t get to see it back then. I still haven’t seen much of the state, but at least I have seen much of the city of Honolulu.
Honolulu was the first port of call for the Carnival Luminosa. We had a long day docked there – 13 hours. The pier is right in downtown Honolulu, so we could walk just about anywhere in the city as it isn’t sprawling, like Los Angeles. We considered going to Pearl Harbor but were advised that we needed reservations – which are hard to get – for the more interesting portions of that memorial. And some of it was undergoing renovation. So we opted out of Pearl Harbor.
We decided to go to Waikiki Beach instead. Not to swim, just to look around. It was about 3 miles from the pier and we could have taken the bus for $1.50. But we decided to walk. The entire route was along the shore and flat. We thought it would be an interesting hike. And it was.
Interesting birds, interesting vegetation – including some amazing banyan trees. And lawn bowling. When we reached the beach we were rewarded with a nice view of Diamond Head. And some nice shops around the Hilton Waikiki Resort.
We stopped at a bar for a drink and a bio break. Then on to Goodwill with a stop along the way at a fancy high-end mall. Got to see both ends of the shopping spectrum. We spent an hour in the Goodwill store but got out without buying anything. Good thing as we still have a 50-pound limit for the flight from Sydney to Rome.
We made it back to the ship as the sun was setting. Total steps – about 25,000 (over 10 miles of walking).
While on the ship I spent a lot of time on the computer, taking advantage of my access to the internet. I blogged in the morning and paid bills in the evening.
The long walk took its toll – I went to bed early with a sore back.
