We left from out hotel in San Diego drive to Ensenada by
bus. The bus ride consisted of two hours of driving through Mexico. To the
right there was beautiful ocean and beaches on the left was the hills and
mountains in Mexico. When we arrived, the ship was just waiting for us to
explore. The MV explorer has seven decks consisting of two dining rooms,
classrooms, the Union, swimming pool, tanning decks, workout facilities, and more.
I thought that since the ship is huge that I would not get
sea sick….definitely not true. I was nauseous for two days and finally got the
sea sickness patch and Dramamine. So far buying the patch is the best
investment I have ever made! For such a large ship we seem to be getting tossed
around by the waves easily. But those
waves also lull me to sleep every night.
We made it to our first stop in Hilo, Hawaii. It seemed like
the whole ship woke up together at 6:30 to see the sun rise and our first
sights of land. The sunrise was partnered with glimpses of whale tales. It was picturesque
morning which ended with me kissing the ground the second I walked off the MV
Explorer. Once we got off the trip a few of us took a taxi to Rainbow Falls. Rainbow
falls is a large waterfall inland about ninety feet tall. Once there we climbed
to the top of the fall and took touristy pictures looking very American. All
the natives asked if we were “straight off the ship”, they knew Semester at Sea
was coming. We had a quick lunch and continued our adventures to Coconut
Island, where the locals jump off lava rock. We had to try it out, so we jumped
and plummeted down then twenty foot jump. It was a great first day in Hawaii
and back on land.
For the second and final day in Hilo I had a mandatory field
lab for my Global Management class. At first I was bummed that I had to give up
my day off in the Hawaiian sun to go on a field trip with my class. But oh I
was wrong. Our day consisted of a traditional Hawaii an welcome including music
and dancing by experts and natives at the University of Hawaii. We then met
with a group of Hawaiian elders who taught us to make leis, play the ukulele,
and how to hula. The elders were so sweet and adorable, they were so happy to
be able to meet us and teach us about their culture. Our next activity was to
attend an authentic Hawaiian luau. All the elders joined us and cooked
traditional Hawaiian food for us. Before we could eat we had to perform the
hula dance we had learned for them. Obviously we made fools of ourselves but
the elders were so happy that we couldn’t help having fun. Lastly before the
dinner we did the hokey pokey, Hawaiian style, to stretch our stomachs. We at purple sweet potatoes, taro root, pork,
rice, coconut custard, and the sweetest most delicious pineapple I have ever
tasted. The day ended after that and by the time I made it back to the ship I
was exhausted. I feel asleep at 9:30 wishing I had more time in beautiful
Hawaii.
Now
we are in route to Japan and will be cruising for nine days. One strange
happening in these nine days is we will be crossing the international date line and will lose the day January
21. It will never exist!!
