First days at Sea

 

On  Oct 2 we sailed away.   The first several days will be at sea—and the waters are warming as we sail westward.  We are still getting to know our ship.  It has 9 decks which is two less than our previous ships. Space is well used, just not as many quiet nooks to  read. 

We have a neighboring cabin shipmate (elderly man—think he is hard of hearing: too many rock concerts, perhaps, when he was younger given his taste in music) who really likes to start playing music quite loudly in his cabin starting around 9 PM.  So far it hadn’t been a problem but I can see how it might be after 51 days!  

I’m building up my walking stamina on the promenade deck (deck 3) which is also quite close to the sea—where I keep scanning for possible porpoise and other wildlife sightings. Yesterday, on Oct 3, I walked my first mile on the Promenade deck, but wracked up several

more miles just exploring. That evening  we attended the Lincoln Center performance on the large World Stage—the base cellist was quite wonderful as were his companions on the clarinet, guitar, and piano.  

Today, Oct 4, we set our clocks 1 hour earlier manually as time changed sailing westward,  but we awoke as usual and found itches only 5 am.  At lunchtime, we had a Mariner champagne celebration  for mariners levels 3 and up at noon.

Later on our veranda balcony we spied our first at sea wildlife: a bird that looked really familiar from our visitor Hawaii.  I think it’s an ….

Tonight we again treated ourselves to the cellist and pianist in a great performance in a smaller setting.  Equally wonderful.  Liz has watched a couple of films in the little theatre while I completed some loose ends for Conservation Works which I didn’t quite finish at home before leaving on the trip! 

Morning coffee is terrific, and the food is very good-tonight was Germanic influences, and every day seems to have a different theme.  

South Pacific 51-Day Cruise

 

Our first complete day on the Holland America Volendam is off to a good start.  Yesterday, we bade farewell to Elaine & Patrick (and Gary and Maria who were visiting from the east coast).  The morning at their home started off great with a delicious breakfast followed by a lovely walk around the complex and an adjacent park. Their beautiful home is in a hillside wildland edge setting, and the adjacent park is a treasure.  

We'll be back for Thanksgiving, which sounds like it will be a large family gathering!

Onboard today, we are learning the ship, connecting to the wi-fi, and planning out our next few days.  The seas are relatively calm--windy with white caps and swells, but nothing too rough.

If you wish to track the movements of the Volendam,  you can use the Marine Traffic App on your phone (or presumably on your laptop), and of course can check back here for daily updates.  

Days around the house

 

Laura had a low temperature on Saturday, so we decided to stay around the house (it was off and on rainy) and let her rest.  Her Covid test was negative, but we went to the store and stocked up on essentials as well as medicines.  We had quite a rainy night--loud downpours which kept you awake, and in the morning we learned Laura was Covid positive.

 It remained partly rainy with heavy rains at night.  Liz and I feel fine, but Laura was still not well  but feeling better by Sunday afternoon.  Liz and I went for a walk--lovely neighborhood--and caught the turtle swimming in the tidepool across the street (above).  

Today, on Monday, Laura has no temperature and feels pretty good. Liz and I are keeping our fingers crossed. We are having a lazy days around the house in a beautiful setting  

Horses and Kona Side

 

Our second day was spent on the Kona side--including a beautiful drive over the highway between Moana Loa and Moan Kea volcanoes--saddle road to Daniel K Inouye Highway.  The most recent Moana Loa post-Thanksgiving 2022 eruption cause lava flows to approach within a mile of the highway, but we did not stop to explore.  We were on our way the the Ocean Rider seahorse facility for a tour, and where Laura had a chance to hold a sea horse in her fingers.  It's over a 2-hour ride one way.  Feral goats along the roadway make driving interesting.

After the sea horse session, we went north to King Kamehameha Hotel for lunch.  Afterwards, we cut the trip short because Laura wasn't feeling very well.  

Once back, and after a little rest, Laura explored the lovely tidepools just across the street.

Kilauea and Volcano National Park

 Our first day on the Big Island was dedicated to Volcano National Park, about an hour from Hilo.  With our Golden Pass, it was free to enter, and we drove all the way up the crater to the best overlook for catching some bubbling lava.  The volcano has changed so much since we saw it five years ago. It had a 2018 eruption just after we left last time that destroyed many homes, closing several paths and roads.  The cauldron also changed, as the lava is much higher--last time all we could see were steam vents, but this time we could see freshly hardened lava and more molten lava bubbling up in the caldron bottom, shown above.

We drove down the many caldrons road to the coastline, showing Laura the lava fields of aa and pahoehoe, with primary succession well illustrated (seems to be small ferns).

Anchialine ponds at house

Our rental unit has several anchialine ponds, as this section of Hilo seems to be dominated with them. Anchialine ponds are also a unique ecosystem, and are one of Hawaiʻi’s most threatened ecosystems.  Around 700 known anchialine ponds in the state of Hawaiʻi, with most present on the youngest lava areas of the Big Island of Hawaiʻi and Maui. They form along the coast as inland lava depressions, and are brackish water with the freshwater lens floating on top fed to the ponds from ground water that moves downslope and from rainwater. Nearby warmer ocean water seeps into the ponds through underground crevices in the surrounding lava rock, and mixes (but layers) with the fresh water forming brackish condition, with the saltier water being on the bottom as salty water has a heavier density. The level of these ponds rises and falls with the tide and the salinity of the pond varies.  

This unique water environment is always in flux, yet supports common plants such as seaweeds, blue-green algae, and native grasses. Native plants such as pickleweed, sedges (makaloa), and herbs (ʻakulikuli) also grow around the edges of anchialine ponds. Damselflies, eels, crustaceans, mollusks, and fish such as mullet and gobies can be found in ponds that are closer to the ocean. Inland ponds are typically dominated by tiny, endemic shrimp called ʻopae ‘ula. 

People have introduced species into these ecosystems, of course, and the 2.5 foot long red koi, shown below, is just one introduced species in the ponds around us.  Laura has seen inch-long shrimp, and other fish are resent that look remarkably like trout.

A black crowned night heron, doves, and a mallard duck pair are among the birds that also hang out in our yard, working these ponds.

  

Flights to Hilo & arrival

 

We flew out of the Lihue airport on Hawaiian Airlines, first having to land in Honolulu, on our way to another week on the Big Island of Hawaii. We transferred on Oahu to an interisland Hawaiian airlines flight, and proceeded to fly to the Hilo airport, one of two airports on the Big Island, the other being on the Kona side, which is a busier airport.

Our rented house (2232 Kalanianaole Avenue) is not far from the Hilo airport as the crow flies, but there are not that many jets flying in an out of Hilo, so noise from the airport has not been a problem.  However, a direct flight from Lihue to Hilo should be sought in future, because it takes a whole day of travel with the two airports involved.  At the time we booked, there wasn't one now there is.  Would be even better to fly to Kona directly from Lihue, then take saddle highway to Hilo and go back to Kona for a few nights before leaving.

The rental house has a bedroom, full bath, powder room, kitchen and living room, plus a front and partial side lanai/veranda where a dining table seating eight can be found.  Connected to this house, but reachable by exterior walkways are two additional bedrooms, each with their own bath.  One of the bedrooms also has a second day bed.  

While screens are on on the windows of the two bedrooms, the large lanai doors do not have screens.  Small and large critters can come and go, including this lovely gold dust gecko.