Doze for a sec and miss a day!

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I made it safe and sound to Australia and have just been taking it easy these last few days. Since I'm going to stay around here for a bit, not going all gung hoe into the tourist stuff and just soaking in the atmosphere. the internet was pretty expensive in Hawaii so am a little behind in the updates so this is the rest of Hawaii and I will talk more about Aus. later.

I did a Luau the second night I was in Hawaii followed by a tour around the island the next day and then went to pearl harbor the next. I was going to see about visiting pearl harbour and the punchbowl cemetary on Nov. 11th but found out that it is all closed for ceremonies and it is invite only to attend. I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking for this segment so open them up to see the full description.

If you don't mind a little walking, about 30 minutes from the Waikiki area is a bakery called Leonards on Kapahulu drive. They make malasadas which are a Portuguese donut without the hole. They are made fresh to order and have a cripy outside and are light and fluffy on the inside. Very tasty and well worht the trip. Also along that road is a restaurant called Ono Hawaiian Foods which is a little red shop that we were told makes the best Hawaiian food. I stopped in and the food was fantastic. Make sure to try some Haupia which is sort of a coconut pudding but firm enough to each with your hands.

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Photos

Performers at Luau
After a short bus ride out of town to our traditional Luau (they have cheap ones that take place in doors but outside on the beach is the only way it should be done) we got photos taken with the sunset, lei'd with a sea shell lei, and then could get pictures with the performers.

Uncovering the Imu
Once all the people had arrived, it was time for the ceremony to uncover the imu. The imu is a pit dung in the beach in which the pig for the evenings supper has been cooking for 14 hours or so with hot lava rocks. They had a guy blowing through a sea shell which another lights the torches around the pit to start the ceremony.

Our main course
The 2 guys uncover the pit then shake the pig and the meat literally falls off the bones. They then remove the lava rocks by hand and then display it for us to see.

Pre dinner entertainment
Dancers and singers entertain us with the traditional ways while our feast is being prepared.

Male Volunteers
They get a couple male volunteers to get up on stage and dress them in grass skirts and coconut bras. They have to show off their best Hawaian dance and loudest applause wins.

...and the women
all the women then get up and are taught how to hula. After they dance to a song on their own, all the men line up at the side of the stage to get some hone-hone which is a kiss on the cheak.

Tahiti
While we are enjoying the feast, we are shown the different dances from polynesia. Here is a traditional dance from Tahiti.

Hawaii
Traditional outfits and dance from Hawaii

New Zealand
Here the women are doing a dance from new zealand. As the dance progresses, they continue to pull the white balls from around their waste and twirl them around. Each set they pull is basically a while ball on either end of a string and by time the song was done, they each had 2 sets in each hand moving in different directions.

Samoa
The 4th style they showed us was from Samoa.

Fire Dance
They finished it off with a fire dance. Here he holds the fire in his mouth from one end and then lights the other end.

Fire Dance x2
The encore was a second batton to twirl around.

Another Tahiti dance
A couple more traditional dances to finish off the evening.

Map of Hawaii
Here is a map they gave us which highlights the main points to see around the island.

Koko Crater
This picture is towards the area with million dollar estates.

Hanauma Bay
A very nice spot for swimming and snorkeling. Not open for commercial use anymore so you need to bus it out yourself or drive. For any who have seen Elvis' Blue Hawaii, several scenes were shot at this beach.

Blowhole
Due to a colapse of a lava tunnel, the waves crashing into shore cause water to shoot from a hole in the rock. Every so often, the water will shoot about 30 feet or so high.

Pali Lookout Point
A great view over the island from this very windy lookout.

Pali Lookout
Another shot from the lookout showing the steep side of the volcano that the east side of the island sees. It was created when this side of the volcano collapsed.

Pineapple Fields
A shot of the pineapple fields that cover much of the center of the island. The planting and harvesting of pineapples is done solely by hand.