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One of the obvious recommendations I’d been given for my time in Hawaii was to go to a Luau. During our 2 weeks in Hawaii, we have 4 overnights. However I’m working during the evenings for 3 of the 4. Seeing as the Luaus happen in the evenings, tonight was the night for my Luau. Like with everything else I’m doing in Hawaii, I did a lot of reading about where was the best place to go. My pick for the Luau - The Old Lahaina Luau in the South Shore town of Lahaina.
Earlier today, I’d driven a group of crew on the Road to Hana. Late this afternoon, we returned to the cruise pier to drop off people who had to get to work and pick up our little group who was Luau-bound. Then we made the 45 minute drive to Lahaina and found the Luau grounds.
As soon as we arrived, we were given fresh flower leis - purple, my favourite. Immediately after that, we were handed Mai Tais - sweet and tasty, but very strong Mai Tais! We were shown to our seats - traditional ground mats at a low seating table, right up near
the stage. Then we had some time to explore. I wandered around the grounds. It was beautiful there. The sun was sitting low in the sky over the water. Sailboats sat in the bay. In the other direction, against the rising green mountains, there was a rainbow. A band played music under a little hut. There were demonstrations about different types of art and Hawaiian traditions. We watched the sun set completely - took lots of pictures of that. It was all really nice.
One of the traditional main dishes at a Luau is Kalua Pua’a - a pig roasted in an “imu”, an underground oven. The pig had been roasting all day. We gathered around while some of the hosts spoke about the tradition and we watched them unearth the pig. It all reminded me of the pig roast fundraisers we had every summer in the village where I grew up.
Then it was time to eat! The food was great. I have lots of allergies - including pork and therefore the main dish - but there was still so much for me to choose from. Lots of different salads, stir-fried vegetables, locally grown sweet potatoes, rice
and noodles and chicken and fruits. I like a nice salad at home, but when I’m paying to eat out I rarely fill up on salad. However, that’s what I got for seconds! They had croutons made - or flavoured with? - taro and they were excellent. But it was the dressing that I couldn’t get enough of. I asked our server (Kyle) about it; the sign at the buffet only said that it was a Maui dressing. He told me that it was Maui Onion and you could get the dressing at any grocery store in Hawaii; he also said I should try papaya seed dressing. I’ll be on the lookout for both to bring home!
After the buffet, we had dessert brought to our table. We had samples of little sweets, coconut squares, triple fudge brownies, a passionfruit mousse chocolate and macadamia nut tarts. The tart was my favourite, so much like a butter tart from home - though not as good as mom’s!
We had time to just sip on our drinks and chat at the table. We were sitting with a family who were vacationing in Maui for a week. They told us about
what they’d been doing for their vacation and they asked us a lot about working on a cruise ship.
And then it was time for the show. The Old Lahaina Luau’s performance goes through the history of Hawaii and the hula - from the arrival of the Polynesians, through the Missionaries’ influence, to modern hula. Myths and legends, especially about Madam Pele the Fire Goddess, were told throughout. The dancing was great. Somewhere in the middle of it all, I tilted my head back to look up at the sky. There were a few clouds, but mostly it was clear, stars shining brightly, the moon overhead and my whole view was framed by palm trees. Such a perfect setting.
I’m so glad I went to the Luau. It was one of the pricier things I’d decided to do during my time here, but it was worth it. Lots of fun and just a great experience overall.
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swills82
Sarah Willett
So cool Netter! One of those "once-in-a-lifetime" things that you definitely needed to do while there. Too cool!