We arrived at the little harbor in Waimea and found Micah who led us to our boat. Junior was there to help us all get onto the boat. It was a small craft with huge rubber tubing around all the sides. The center was covered with a wooden top with life preservers under this roof. The captains wheel and chair were elevated in the middle under this roof. There was a bench behind and in front of the Captains seat that you could sit on either side of. There was seating over the engines in the back part of the boat. Claude and I sat there. Everyone left over sat onto the huge rubber sides and held on. We slathered ourselves in sun screen with me forgetting the back of my neck might need a little sun screen. After Captain Billy arrived we were on our way.
Speeding along in a boat on the ocean with the shoreline in the distance and an ocean breeze in your face and every now and then a spray of water hitting you is just great fun. It felt good to be back with an ocean. We were all on the lookout for dolphins, turtles and the possibility of a whale. It was just getting to be the beginning of the whale watching season.
We got down the coast a bit and then the Captain turned the boat around and slowed down. He talked with Junior and Micah and then Junior told us that there was a problem with one of the engines and they needed return to port to have it fixed. They had called a repair person they knew and told him what they suspected the problem was. This repair person would have the correct part to replace and then we would be on our way only losing a little of our day.
When we got back to the harbor, Claude and I got out of the boat and headed for some shade. Claude does not do well in the sun and has had skin cancers removed this year. I love the sun but understand well the ability it has to wreck havoc with our bodies, so Claude and looked for a bit of shade in which to wait. We found a nice tree with a place to sit and that is where we perched ourselves. We could see the boat and know when it was time to return.
I took the opportunity to wander around and see the vegetation. There was a little bit of a hill as you entered the harbor area. On this hill was a nice bit of purple bougainvillea. This plant was all over just like it was when we visited Israel. It comes in many colors and just grows into hedges and bushes.
There was a cute little 'yacht club' next to the harbor. This is the view of the open area in the harbor through a palm tree.
As it turned out, they needed an additional part to fix the boat. They decided to serve lunch while we were waiting. Claude and I strolled back over to the boat. Claude sat in the shade on the rubber tubing around the edge of the boat. I took a seat beside him where I was mostly covered by the shade from the little roof in the middle. The back of my neck was exposed and that was the one portion of me I didn't cover with sunscreen. I didn't realize until we got back to our ship that evening how badly that little part of my neck was burned. After lunch I took the picture at the top of this blog entry of them repairing the engine to the boat. The repair guy is bent over on the right side of the picture and inside the engine box is Captain Billy. I kept thinking of the movie "Sand Pebbles" where the guy climbs into the ship engines to repair it and the engines go off and he is squished. It's been years since I saw that movie and that scene still gives me chills. Captain Billy was not squished, thank goodness.
Eventually the boat was repaired and we headed back into the Pacific Ocean. We saw wonderful bits of coastline.
This is the coast that served as the backdrop for the TV show 'Fantasy Island'. You can see the mountain in the background and the white building in the center and a bit to the right. This is now an arboretum and extends way back behind what you can see from the boat.
Even though we were on the east and south portions of Kauai, there were some wonderful scenes of waves hitting the shores. One of these was a 'blow hole' where the water is forced up a hole in the rocks and it just shoots way high in the air.
We passed the resort area of Kauai. The Marriott has a red tile roof. A bit further down the shore is the Grand Hyatt. They have a green roof and spread out for a good distance. Now that is important because Michael, our son-in-law, works for Hyatt. We have assured him that he should seek a sales position at this Hyatt and we would follow him there. The picture below is of the Grand Hyatt.
As we traveled south along the coastline we repeatedly saw huge schools of Spinner Dolphins. They are great fun to watch zip through the water and jump and dive into the water. Getting a picture of that is not so easy. I did get one picture that you can see their fins out of the water. The picture below is of the southern tip of Kauai. Captain Billy would not take us around the end because then we would be back where our ship was.
Because of the time it took to do repairs, we missed our time on the beach. There was one really nice section of white sand beach with absolutely no one on it. This was owned by the plantation owner and was strictly private to them. You could only use it if you had permission from these owners. How would that be to have your own private beach on Kauai???
We had a delightful ride back to our port. We saw several ocean turtles on the way back. This poor little guy came close enough for me to get a pretty close picture of him. I just love turtles. When we visited the Cayman Islands we went to a turtle farm that raises sea turtles, tags them, and then sends them back into the ocean. Their numbers are decreasing and they are trying to repopulate them.
Our first day in Kauai was about over. It was a good day even with the need to repair a motor. On the bus ride back, Claude told me he could see why I felt so strongly about Kauai. I think he could even spend a whole week there some time.
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