Hawaii, episode 10. In which we explore the life aquatic.

On the flip side of the Big Island of Hawaii, Mari and I chose to do a little (not so) deep sea exploration when we arrived in Kona on Wednesday. As I have previously mentioned and alluded to heavily throughout our "adventurous" travel tales of fleamarketing, filming, and photographing, we aren't exactly ardent explorers in the physical sense. Scuba and snorkel shenanigans are not our wheelhouse.

While Mari has experienced the (insane) thrill of a tandem skydive (remember, I was waiting back on terra firma (the firma the better) with video camera and insurance policy close at hand), she has yet to wheedle me onto a helicopter tour although I will admit I have been tempted by the immense beauty of natural wonders during our travels. A twin-engine flight over the Hoover Dam to the Grand Canyon skywalk is probably my most adventurous vacation stunt, if you don't count braving the elevator to our 22nd floor Rainbow Tower room in Waikiki.


There are several helicopter tours in the shore excursion offerings during NCL's Hawaiian cruise and I am sure the views are spectacular, but that's just not for me. Among the week's gerundial offerings are canoeing, zip-lining, parasailing, kayaking, horseback-riding, and waterfall-walking not to mention biking and hiking.

With apologies to Mari, we settled on an excursion that took us in the opposite direction of her much-wished-for helicopter tour, a submarine exploration of the surf near our port of Kona. In fact, you can see our ship in the background of the Atlantis sub.

While there was no tour bus that Wednesday morning to take us to our destination, the location of the port and the size of our ship forced us to travel ashore via tender boat. There are occasions when your cruise ship will be unable to dock in port for an easy walk-off disembarkation and in these instances you will board a small boat that usually accommodates between 50 and 100 passengers and you will be safely whisked away to port. That's a tender at right, below our Atlantis submarine.

At right is one of the best views Mari was able to capture that morning. The incredibly clear crystal blue waters of Kealakekua Bay allowed stunning views of the extensive coral reef along the shore.

The sub excursion was a fun learning experience, but it was no substitute for a deep sea scuba exploration or even a casual snorkel. Despite diving 100 meters below the surface, we didn't see many exotic tropical fish, but we did have wonderfully clear views through the large windows surrounding the tourist sub's perimeter.

That Wednesday was also the designated day for my one and only (at the time) authentic aloha shirt (purchased for all of $10 at the Aloha Stadium flea). To this day, it is probably my favorite shirt. I'll have to go back and see how often it has made a blog appearance before I retire it from our travels, but I think it would look amazing in front of the Sydney Opera House, right? Just saying. Until then, it will likely live on.

Not for nothin' but if you've ever cruised, then you have probably met our little friends here, or some of their terry-sculpted kin. For some odd reason, these origami offerings are commonly encountered on cruises and we have often been delighted and amazed at the artistry displayed by cruise staff during turndown service. Our snuggling swans have been betrothed with both Mari's homemade lei and my souvenir shell lei purchased during our excursion to Hana.

I'll model that a little better for you next time as we finish up our first cruise with some simply spectacular views.