September 29, 2018
We awoke to a heavy tropical rain on our glass door with limited visibility. The Golden Princess slowed to a crawl as we approached land. I saw a tall black rock jutting our from the sea ahead. We had arrived at the town of Nawiliwili on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. This was “The Garden Island” of Hawaii.
We were scheduled for an excursion to the Waimea Canyon early in the morning. The excursion was our excuse to ride a bus across the island so we could see more of this lesser known and infrequently visited island. The driver doubled as a guide and informed us that the interior mountain receives more than 400 inches of rain per year. He claimed that the western coast gets a mere 10 inches of rain annually.
It became obvious why Kauai is called The Garden Island. The landscape was very green with lush tropical foliage and flowering trees everywhere. Rocks at the seashore were black volcanic stones.
Our first stop was a “lava-tube blow hole” known as Spouting Horn. When the tide is right, waves surge through a submerged air “tube” in the lava and erupt in a geyser of sea water. Ancient Hawaiians believed the loud groan emitted by the sea water was the voice of the angry goddess Kaikapu. A legend tells us that the coast was guarded by a large lizard who ate anyone who tired to swim or fish there.
The bus climbed a mountain to 3400 feet above sea level so we could see Waimea Canyon. It is the largest canyon in the Pacific and is called “The Grand Canyon of the Pacific.” The opposite side of the colorful crevice was visible when I arrived at the viewing platform. As I stood there taking pictures, I watched as a thick fog blew in from the right and completely concealed the canyon. It was amazing to watch the entire canyon disappear in the fog!
The bus returned to the ship at 2:00 o’clock which gave us enough time to get ready for the “Sail-Away” at 4:30. We went up to the 15th deck and watched as the Golden Princess applied its thrusters and slowly pushed away from the dock. The lines were brought aboard and the crew turned the bow toward the sea.
The ship followed the buoys out of the harbor and gained speed as we cruised out into the vast Pacific Ocean. Papeete on the island of Tahiti in French Polynesia is our next port. We will be on the ship for 5 days and 6 nights before reaching land. This is a real adventure!!