DAY 11!

Hello adventure trackers! I am back on the seas once more, the lights of Honolulu fading in the distance. As I posted previously I promised to share with you my highlights from the wonderful islands of Hawaii. What a past few days it has been!
        We arrived at our first port of Hilo, HI (located on the Big Island) at 5:00am on the morning of the 25th. It was refreshing to see and feel land once again after eight straight days on the rolling Pacific. After waiting a few hours to clear all 900 of us through customs (we had just come from Mexico) we were free to disembark, and disembark we did! A few friends and me packed our bags and ran off inland to explore our first stop. We all couldn’t have been happier to be there and just to be off the ship. We came across a nice little local café for some breakfast and got some good exploring tips from a few of the locals. Our group went different ways and eventually it was just my buddy Eric and I with nothing but the whole day ahead of us. We moseyed along the streets of downtown checking out some cool spots until we got a call from a friend who had just rented a car with a group of girls and offered to join them on their adventures. We drove about 45 minutes to the southeastern tip of the Big Island to a private little community and came across this amazing “beach” right by the ocean shore. I say “beach” because there was actually no sand at all but rather these heaps and heaps of an old solidified lava flow from the nearby volcano of Mauna Lea. The lava had settled and formed dozens of little tidal pools that were teeming with all sorts of colorful marine life. Some areas were as deep as 10-12 feet allowing for some worthwhile snorkeling.
        After a few hours in the sun we packed up our minivan and headed about 45 minutes back inland to the Volcano National Park. We pulled up to this incredible look out spot right above a massive caldera billowing steam and sulfur. A dozen photos later and the overwhelming stench of eggs and we were in the van on our way back to Hilo, stopping at some steam vents along the way.
        We checked in to a hostel, got in our finest attire and hit up a local restaurant for some amazing food. By the time we finished stuffing our faces we were all running on fumes from a great day of traveling and hit they hay at the hostel.
        The following morning we were up and recharged early and ventured off to the Akaka Waterfalls. It was beautiful. The falls spilled from over 100 feet high in to this water carved cove below. A little stone path led us deep in to thick Hawaiian vegetation until a little clearing revealed this incredible waterfall. On the way back in to town we took a few scenic routes along the coast and found some neat little spots tucked in the shore. We got back to town, tried some Kava (google it), relaxed in a park and headed back to the ship. At 8:00pm (or 20:00, I’m such a sea chap now), we sailed off for Honolulu and by the time I awoke the next morning we were already docked.
        Honolulu was a big change from the Big Island. It’s a pretty large and busy city with skyscrapers towering all over. A fine group of us made our way up to Waikiki and hit the beach, which is where, I am quite proud to say, I caught my first wave! I know I know hold the applause please. It was such a blast (and pretty tiring) but I definitely plan to surf again soon. I’d like to take this time to give dear brother Colin a shout out and a heartfelt thank you for helping me out with a gracious discount for a room at the Marriott right in there in Waikiki (Tyler and Justin, time to step it up). We had a great time exploring the nightlife and all that fun stuff. This morning we got up, hit the beaches once more then cruised on over to Wal-Mart…so Hawaiian! We loaded our carts with much needed supplies- cheezits, shampoo and Aleve- got some lunch and hopped back on the Explorer.
        And now here I sit, on the top deck sailing along the coast of Oahu bound for Yokohama, Japan! A long 12 day sail lies in front of us but thankfully we’ll keep our sanity by having 12 straight days of class. Again, a long 12 days. I am quite excited to be leaving America for the few months ahead as I am sure they’re going to be life changing. No plans for Japan yet but knowing this trip and the people I’ve met it’s going to be incredible. I got to talk to some of you before I left so it was great hearing friendly hometown voices! Unless you’re my mom or dad I’ll be off the cell phone pretty much until May 5th but I am always reachable by email at cjconstantine@semesteratsea.net. Drop me a line!
        Okay. That’s it. My fingers hurt and I’m sure if you’re reading this by now you’re bored to hell. Thanks for tuning on in this lengthy post! I send my best across the ocean to everyone on land and hope all is well. Take care and check back soon for more mid-Pacific updates.

-       Christopher Constantine

PS I have tons and tons of great photos from Hawaii however I cannot post them through our on ship Internet so as soon as we hit Japan I’ll pop in an Internet café and post a few favorites.