Kona is on the leeward shore of Hawaii, the Big Island. A few days ago, we docked at Hilo, on the windward shore of the Big Island and got soaked. Today, we were treated to great weather!
 |
| Kona is famous for coffee! |
 |
| The ship rode at anchor - a fine looking ship, indeed! |
 |
| From our balcony, we could easily see the "main drag" of Kona including the Hulihe'e Palace |
 |
| This unusual tree branch caught our eye |
 |
| The main drag we walked a few blocks at the end of the day and paused to listen to some pretty good jazz! |
 |
| This reproduction heiau is part of the Kamakahonu National Historic Landmark |
 |
As is this reproduction hut |
 |
| This was our motor coach for the land part of the "Kona by Land and Sea" shore excursion |
 |
| This tiny Catholic Church, St Peter's by the Sea, was built in 1880 on the edge of an ancient Hawaiian heiau (temple). The Hawaiians believe the "sacredness"of the heiau is carried over to this tiny church |
 |
| Our first stop was at the Kona Coffee Cooperative. We were treated to free samples and most of us bought a small bit of the "good stuff" (peaberry) |
 |
| Coffee plants |
 |
| Up Close |
 |
| Our tasting coffee was pretty weak - not inducive to buying a large bag! |
 |
| Our busload of folks added to three busloads so for a while, the place was packed, but eventually, we were the only group there |
 |
| They grind and package your coffee if you wish |
 |
| They pointed out the monument to mark Capt Cook's final resting place. I shot this with a 20X zoom, not realizing the second part of our adventure would get up close! |
 |
Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park was our next stop. |
 |
The Natinal Parks building is adorned with art to put you in the spirit |
 |
But the grounds are the real McCoy! |
 |
These structures are fully restored to the condition they were in when this area was occupied by the Hawaiian Royal family |
 |
To even be on the grounds if you were not one of the royals, was death! |
 |
Even the restoration crew is dressed authentically |
 |
This bay is now home to sea turtles as they hatch |
 |
The grounds were well marked to match a very well done park guide |
 |
Games were popular with the royals |
 |
Large lava fields |
 |
A bench for royal use only! |
 |
The wall marked the line of death for a commoner |
 |
Storage sheds |
 |
Heiau |
 |
This commoner clearly did not get the word! |
 |
Janet Ewing |
 |
Right next to the turtle bay is a swimming beach. Hawaii, being the youngest of the islands, is almost completely volcanic lava, so the beaches are black |
 |
Our next stop was St Benedict Catholic Church - "The Painted Church" |
 |
The church is remarkable not just because the original pastor painted bible scenes on the inside (with ordinary house paint!) . . . |
 |
but it was completely disassembled, moved inland and reassembled! |
 |
The interior is small but lovely! |
 |
Not much of the interior is not painted . . . |
 |
including the ceiling! |
 |
The scenes depict things the priests wanted to drive home - here Hell and Satan! |
 |
Cain slew Able |
 |
St Francis receives the stigmata |
 |
Jesus's temptations - "Get thee behind me Satan!" |
 |
The handwriting on the wall |
 |
Outside is this shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes |
 |
A large cemetery |
 |
Pieta |
 |
A shrine in memory of Fr Damien of Molaki, the priest who tended the lepers |
 |
We soon traded in our motor coach for a motor launch! |
 |
Our guide called our session to begin with the ceremonial blowing of the conch shell |
 |
She was extremely knowledgeable and had a very pleasant demeanor |
 |
Some places we passed were heiau or other sacred or royal structures |
 |
One of the first luxury resorts on Hawaii. It's main luxury? Indoor plumbing! |
 |
lighthouse |
 |
Bring in enough dirt and you can make a pretty decent golf course even on top of lava beds! |
 |
Modern resorts |
 |
And luxury homes line the shore |
 |
mesquite trees were imported and now threaten to take over the island |
 |
A member of the Oosterdam events staff gets a (very) temporary promotion to Captain! |
 |
The stacked lava rocks give away the ancient Hawaiian sites |
 |
In this rock formation . . . |
 |
they saw Pele's face (the Goddess of fire, hence volcanoes were from her!) |
 |
We were treated to a nice lunch |
 |
And drinks were brought to us |
 |
Mike and Janet Ewing |
 |
I was fascinated by the line of gold color near the top of the cliffs here |
 |
Someone suggested this was the painted church but the roof is the wrong color. |
 |
Our guide pointed out the "crease" above the twin gabled building. Seems this was the upper part of a royal sled run that came all the way to the sea. The royals would come down in small canoe-like vessels and could reach speeds of 60 mph! The sled run was made of stone, so when they did have a spill, it was very memorable! |
 |
Another view |
 |
Our boat finally came around the point and we were at the Captain Cook memorial. This land was ceded to the United Kingdom and is a British Memorial |
 |
It is very popular among kayakers and now there are strict rules about ground the kayaks and what they are permitted to do while ashore |
 |
On the way back, we encountered some whales! |
 |
And dolphins |
 |
Late that evening, the ship sailed past the volcano national park |
 |
It was very dark and Bob was able to get a few decent shots from the ship's bow |
 |
Hard to believe our Hawaiian odyssey is coming to an end |
 |
Yoda agrees! |
