Hawaii, episode 11. In which we coast Kauai.

Mari and I were thrilled when our cruise ship finally reached the westernmost stop on our Hawaiian voyage. Although not the westernmost island in the Hawaiian archipelago (that honor goes to the "Forbidden Isle" of Niihau), Kauai would mark the furthest point west NCL's Pride of America would travel during our week as well as the furthest west Mari and I had ever traveled.

Like our Sunday-Monday shipboard stay in Maui, we would dock overnight in Nawiliwili, where we would enjoy two days of shore excursions before sailing back to Honolulu.

Our Thursday "Jewels of Hawaii" excursion saw us tour busing to McBryde and Allerton Gardens in Spouting Horn Park on the south coast of Kauai. The lush nature preserves and bountiful botanical gardens will forever make my barely green thumb even greener with envy when I chance a glance at our own South Texas excuse for a back yard. My parents' agricultural genes missed my generation altogether I'm afraid, but Mari does her level best to keep the yard inviting for our neighborhood wildlife.

Visit the National Tropical Botanical Garden's appropriately lush site to help plan your own outing.
ntbg.org/gardens/mcbryde

So we had reached the final full day of our cruise and Mari and I finally decided to be a little adventurous...

Faced with excursion options that would have us in the water and in the air, we opted for a quiet day on our own exploring the local environs.


You didn't think I had lost my mind (or a bet) and boarded a helicopter, did you?!

Sometimes, NCL will offer an excursion to simply take you into town, allowing you to return on your own at designated times throughout the day. Compared to excursions which involve extended driving and tour guiding, the cost is minimal (but not free).

This was our first cruise, so every day and every port was a learning experience and we quickly learned that in many ports there is free local transportation typically sponsored by local businesses to get you to their shopping centers.

In Nawiliwili there were several such transports available including a nostalgic novelty trolley to Harbor Mall and a more streamlined pedestrian van sponsored by Ross at a massive outdoor retail center anchored by CostCo and The Home Depot just two miles away along Kaumualii Highway.

harbormall.net

Strutting above are some (very) "free range" locals we came across at the shopping center. For some reason, feral chickens are fairly common throughout the islands, so be on the lookout as you are driving or you may get your feathers ruffled.

Sorry, but I just had to.

There was an early sail time of 2:00 PM that afternoon, so we spent just a few hours doing our best to stimulate the local economy that morning and we were excited to find a shop sponsored by an art guild which featured crafts by local artists.

I think my one and only souvenir from the Garden Island is the intricately inlaid wooden dish (about 8 inches square) pictured above left. While it is crafted and hand-inlaid of local wood, I realize it is not koa wood since I didn't stimulate the economy much beyond the $39 price tag.

My little souvenir porcelain plate was all of 49 cents (thanks to a 50% off red tag sale) at my favorite Salvation Army thrift store in South Austin a few years after our cruise and I like to display it with our Hawaiian souvenirs even though I am technically not its original purchaser nor did I bubblewrap nor transport the delicately diminutive (3.5 inch diameter) remembrancer to the mainland.

Back on the ship for our final cruise day (always a melancholy occasion for this sentimental souvenir hunter-gatherer and fleamarket explorer-envoy), I asked Mari to snap me with one of my shipboard meal mainstays.

I know.

I am a fiend for cheese (also for most things cheesy) and the dining room's daily "Cheese Tray" offerings did nothing to shed me of that nom de fromage. Pride of America's daily offerings of smoked salmon for breakfast and jumbo shrimp cocktail at dinner also provided prerequisite protein for enjoying spectacular views like these Friday afternoon sights off Kauai's Nā Pali Coast.

The early sail time that afternoon allowed us to cruise casually along the northern coast of Kauai, home to Nā Pali Coast State Park, before turning back around and setting a final eastern course for Honolulu. The cliffs on Kauai reach 4,000 feet and are set off spectacularly in Mari's souvenir photos by blues brimming their best hues from above and below.

We were not quite ready to leave our floating tropical paradise the next morning, but we did manage to carry away an unintentional souvenir. More on shaking off our sea legs next time.