We are in beautiful sunny Maui this morning at 8am. Here we were greeted out on our balconies by several groups of large whales and a very spectacular sunrise, everyone was buzzing with excitement!!!! What a welcome.
Some of us are going ashore on different excursions, and some are just relaxing by the pool getting some of that good ol vitamin D (sunshine).
That's it for now, we are headed to the pool. Touch base later in the day to see what the group has been up too.
After 2 busy days traveling and enjoying Waikiki Beach, our clients were “Wowee’d in Maui”. While some enjoyed the ship getting their base tan and watching humpback whales frolicking off shore, others got out to explore this wonderful island and it’s raw beauty. Some booked the “The Road to Hana Tour”, some took the Haleakala Crater tour, while others booked private charters to see the magnificent Humpback whales up close and personal.
Jim and Bev booked a tour that included a trek to the summit of Haleakala Crater and reached heights of 10,340 feet above sea level. Jim (barely) remembers from grade school the equation for 1,000 feet raised above sea level, the temperature drops 3 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say, when we boarded our van in Kahului on a beautiful Maui morning at about 70 degrees, when we reached the summit it reminded us of Canada at a chilly 45 degrees. The views were spectacular with “The Big Island” of Hawaii (90 miles away) clearly visible as well as an aerial view of Maui with Lanai and Molokai clearly visible in the distance. Once back in the comfort of the van, we descended the volcano to about 8,000 feet where we jumped on our bikes for our 28 mile journey back towards Kahului and the Pride of America.
The beauty of Maui leaves you with that feeling that you don’t want to leave, but we have three more ports of call to experience and we pushed away from the pier at 6: oo Pm sharp for an evening of sailing with our next port of call on the Big Island of Hawaii and the port of Hilo.
We bumped into several of our clients this evening and the it appears everyone loved Maui and are looking forward to returning after the cruise for our four night stay at the Ka’anpali Beach Hotel.
Susan and Dean enjoyed their tour to “The Plantation” where they learned about the pineapple and sugar business. Ken and Charlene used some of their time in Maui to collect a few gifts and souvenirs and also booked a whale watching tour.
