[pirilin]

Hello my fellow bipolars and bipolarians:

If you like mountains and flowers, by all means, visit Hawaii.

I was not impressed with Waikiki beach at all. Cold water, high waves and dark sand. Not my ideal beach.

I was born in The Pearl of the Caribbean. Cuba.
"The most beautiful land that human eyes have seen". According to Chris Colombus.
So it's hard to impress me with a beach. I have also been to a few in other countries. Including the trilogy in Rio. Nothing like Varadero or Cayo Largo del Sur.

Also hard to be impressed by coffee grown on the ground, and picked by machines.
Cuban coffee is grown in the mountains. Coffee needs shadow. And is picked by hand when it's ripe, and is all Arabica roasted to perfection.

Sugar, well, the little they have, they burn it. We only burn the one used for rum. The rest is cut by hand with a Mocha. A special machete to cut sugar cane.

The arrival side at the Honolulu airport is a house of horror. The ride to the hotel will give you the creeps. You'll think you are been kidnapped.

Then there is the Hilton Hawaiians Villages. The biggest hotel in the world outside of Vegas.
Elvis residence while proving he was no movie actor for the first time. Filming Blue Hawaii.
He rented the whole 14th floor of the Agaji Hotel, a hotel within the Hilton.
Superman was in the next tower. One floor below.

We had to stay an extra day on land, because of hurricane Lane. Which did nothing in Honolulu. But the ship, The Patriot of America, I think is the name, remained outside of port, just in case.
I tried to persuade La Bruja to fly in a helicopter, or on top of me (I'm way faster) to no avail. So we missed the lava flowing, since the National Park is closed due to Kilawea.
But still managed to see the big island, Hawaii. Nothing spectacular here but the volcanos.
We also lost a day of being at sea, and the visit to Kona. Which they say is nice, because is by land from Hilo, which we visited, and by sea coming back.

The ship is outdated compared to the monsters we have in Miami, but it was cozy by today's standards. I think 2000 passengers only.
I was having my habitual five meals a day, only in larger portions. And extra desserts. No seafood in this ship, but a few mixed shrimps, but excellent meats.

When I go on a cruise, I delete the elevators. No matter how far I have to climb the stairs. Or how drunk or tired I am. BTW, I fell twice. Because of the ship's movement, of course.
Even so, I brought an extra ten pounds around my belly as an extra souvenir.

If you dared to read up to this point, you're in for a treat.
It's called Kauai. The most distant of them all. And, by far, the most beautiful.
BTW, the Hawaiian Islands are the most isolated in the world. 1300 miles to California. 2300 miles to China.

It's late and I'm ommiting important details due to sleepness. I'm continue this soon.
Ciao.

[Skeezyks]

Thanks for sharing this. I'll never get to Hawaii (or anyplace else of any consequence for that matter.) But it was interesting to read.

[ObiRonKenobi]

Interesting to hear your experience. I have been to Oahu quite a few times since being married to my wife. Her father was born there and his mom's family still live there. We also have a couple of friends that live on Oahu. We stayed in Waikiki each time. Please do not judge Oahu by Waikiki beach, as there are many areas that are beautiful and natural. The Pali outlook and the Pillbox hike are just a couple. We went to one of the most softest beaches there on the North shore. I wish I had been to Kauai as I hear it is one of the most beautiful places.

[Nammu]

Thanks it's always interesting to hear about places I'll never get to.