First Port: Hilo, Hawai'i

Dear lovely reader,

Aloha from Hilo, Hawai’i!! Our very first and beautiful port we docked at greeted us with warm and rainy weather, morning of Tuesday, January 15. After 5 days at sea, we finally made it all together as the MV Explorer slowed down into port. Our first week has gone by. And I think every single person on the ship was so eager and so motivated to get to dry land and experience everything that Hilo has to offer. Unfortunately, it did take us a little while longer than expected to get to the gangway and leave the ship. You have to go through customs and immigration (passport check), security, line waiting, and all that good stuff. But I don’t think 2 or 3 hours of delay could rain on the Hilo parade. I literally gave the ground a kiss when I got off the ship.

Day 1 of Hilo: Chelsea, Angela, Bea, and I took a minute to decide what we really wanted to see. A lot of students were just eager to head to the beach. But being the SoCal girl that I am, beaches can wait because Hilo definitely has a lot of sites and culture to breathe in. We first toured the Kupaianaha Lava Shield. This area lied at the edge of the Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. We could see the Volcano Pu’u’O’o as her smoke would rise from the distance. There was also more smoke as her lava would flow down into the ocean. I would say that Kupaianaha Lava Shield is a time capsule that preserves the history of when the volcanoes erupted and completely wiped out a highway. Instead of a highway, you could only see acres and acres of melted lava flow from decades ago when the volcano erupted. There are some trailer houses in the middle of the land of melted lava flow and rocks. But the entire area is empty, haunting yet beautiful. In Hawaiian religion, Pele is the goddess of fire, lightning, wind and volcanoes. And if you take away any of the rocks from the volcano eruption, you would be cursed with terrible luck with the rest of your life. I’m a pretty superstitious person, but I didn’t want to take away a part of the land. Everything is there to keep a balance I feel. Afterwards we headed to a very nice and sweet tide pool beach. It was definitely the first I’ve ever seen. You could see the waves of the beach washing into the pool, where locals would swim in it. There was an area of rocks where you could see the ocean horizon to take great pictures. Chelsea found a coconut on the ground but we weren’t able to crack it open. I really wish I did because I would’ve completed a Cast Away bucket list moment where he successfully cracks up a coconut for the first time hehe. Before our last destination, we stopped by this very small and quiet Thai Cuisine place for lunch. So so so so good. I think eating ship food for a while gives value and appreciation to port food a lot more. Granted it wasn’t authentic Hawaiian food, but it was so damn good haha. Just a broth and pad thai can make an explorer very very happy :D. Last stop was Rainbow Falls, a waterfall located in Hilo, Hawaii. It is about 80 feet tall and almost 100 feet in diameter. It’s definitely a point of interest in Hawaii. The fall is absolutely gorgeous. I had a fantasy at that moment, being Pocahontas and going around the river bend hehe. The waterfall also flows over a natural lava cave. Rainbow Falls derives its name from the fact that, on sunny mornings, rainbows can be seen in the mist thrown up by the waterfall. Angela and I hiked up to the very top edge of the waterfall. A little dangerous, but very worth the trip up. And very last but not least, a Wal-Mart run with some voyagers as well as Starbucks Internet Café time was pretty much the perfect calm way to end a very long but thrilling day. Every time I talk to people back home, it just gives me that much more energy to give it my all when I’m here. Thank you for all your love and support, my (home)ies. <3.

Day 2 of Hilo: The second morning of Hilo was just as beautiful as the first. Cindy and I really wanted to go to downtown Hilo’s Farmer’s Market. So we spent about an hour walking a few miles to it haha. It would have been a little easier to take a 5 minute ride there. But when you’re walking in a small town like Hilo, you’re so much more aware of your surroundings than if you were in a car. The streets are busy but don’t look too developed and neat, which made me really fascinated as the feeling of “small homey town” kicked in. The Farmer’s Market had so many great qualities to it. It opens as early as 6am and at 10am when we arrived there, it was still as busy. There was this man selling coconut drinks out of the fruit for about seven dollars each. You could see him chopping them like a freakin’ pro for a show haha. Hilo’s Farmer’s Market had so much custom and homemade food. And the handicrafts and trinkets were nothing short of amazing as well. Hilo’s Farmer’s Market is so small and powerful. Even though this wasn’t a point of interest for some visitors, you could get so much of Hawaiian culture from this one market than you would if you went to all the volcanoes, waterfalls, and beaches combined. Afterwards Cassie, Bridget, Cindy and I decided to walk to nearby beaches and shorelines. Encountered a shoreline near the port our very own MV Explorer was docked at. We walked, basically hiked, on the rocks of the shoreline to take great pictures and to have some time to ourselves, staring at the ocean on land. This is a tangent, but a very very cute local passed by us as we walked on the rocks.. :3. I think the best thing I learned from Day 2 was how much good walking can do. Walking around Hilo with a destination or not, made it so much more relaxing, enjoyable, and laid back. All these qualities are instilled in the culture and people of Hilo, Hawai’i. It was just a privilege to be surrounding by such richness and genuine souls for these two days.

After everything was said and done, everyone was checked into the ship on time, there was a post-port reflection in The Union. Some voyagers discussed about expectations and experiences. How it was almost disappointing to see maybe a KFC or a Wal-Mart in the city because they believed “development” was detracting from the culture of Hilo. But my take on this first port experience was a little different. Even though there were some of these globalized areas in Hilo, I think it’s the job of an explorer to look beyond his or her expectations of a port and to look beyond his or her checklist of certain points of interest. I think it’s the responsibility of us voyagers to define the boundaries between who is an “explorer,” and who is a “tourist.” It’s not about how many places you see, it’s about how many places you learn from.

Today, we stopped in the port of Honolulu, Hawai’i for fuel. Unfortunately we couldn’t get into port. And therefore will spend the night here to bypass as much stormy weather we possibly can. This part of the voyage, we will embark on the next 9 days at sea until our next port, Yokohama, Japan. It’s gonna be rough, but every journey to the next port is an experience to gain.  Thank you for reading my blog!

Your friendly explorer,

Kimmy