We arrived in Hilo today and when I looked out the window and saw only an industrial port, I won’t lie - I was disappointed, not to mention there were no hula dancers and where was my flower lei? Surely paradise was beyond the port… I admit we didn’t see the entire island. We headed for Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park passing Walmart, chain restaurants and car dealerships along the way until we finally reached lava land. While it is an intriguing landscape, it is not the prettiest. Still we enjoyed hiking around the huge crater and having a picnic with our group. Our guide was really terrific with explaining all things geological and the plant life. He took us to view a few waterfalls as well which were really very nice. At the end of the ... read more

It was a one hour rocky speed boat ride to our destination but so worth it. We saw a real atoll (a ring-shaped reef, island, or chain of islands formed of coral) and the beauty cannot be described. Learned that the Indo-Australian plate and the Pacific Plate are crashing into each other and in some places lifting the earth up. Our stop today showed coral that used to be in the water and is now a wall. Incredible scene! The snorkeling today was wonderful and we saw so many colorful fish. After our picnic, our guide asked if we would like to make a basket and I said I would. He was a patient guy and it turned out to be a lot of fun. Meanwhile, the other guide made hats for all of us out ... read more

Always wondered about Tahiti but don’t have to anymore - it wasn’t as pretty as the other islands. It is a larger and has other cities but the port is industrial and as we walked to our destination today it continued to be industrial and commercial. Our goal was to see a waterfall up in the hills so we stopped at the Information Center and they told us that we needed a permit from City Hall. Okay, we got to city hall and finally found the right department where we plunked $12.00 to get our permit. We received a map and directions to get to Fautaua Valley and we were on our way. We estimate it was about 3 miles before we got to the gate in the noon day sun. At the gate they told ... read more

Woke up in heaven today. Bora Bora is a beautiful island with many surrounding small islands encircled by a coral reef. The color of the water is the real gem here and hard to capture but we did try and try. Patrick, our guide, picked us up in his outrigger wearing, as he stated, his tuxedo (please see photo). He was the full package. He not only looked the part but played his ukulele and sang for us but got in the water with bait to attract the sting rays and sharks, as well as other fish. The snorkeling was really great as the water was calm. After three snorkeling stops we docked at Patrick’s private motu and had drinks and lunch. Grilled mahi mahi and tuna were on the menu along with suckling pig, plantain, ... read more

It rained today in Pango Pango, American Samoa…seems we have hit a weather pattern that won’t end. Perhaps two days at sea will change everything. We walked along the coast and visited the US post office to mail a package home. It was nice to deal in US dollars again and the post office employees are the same everywhere. After lunch we walked to the Sadie Thompson Inn where Somerset Maugham wrote his short story “Rain” which was made into a movie. Going to have to see if I can get that one when we get home. Met a couple from the ship at the Inn and drank some local beer before heading back. Did a little shopping along the way and then it was time to leave. Nice island but wish it had been sunny ... read more