Day 7 in Hawaii: Kona

Kona is a tendered port, meaning that the cruise ship does NOT just dock at a pier and you walk off. There is a lifeboat that takes you from the cruise ship to the pier.

The cruise is ready at 7:00am. We got up and ate breakfast at the buffet again before heading down to get in line to get on a lifeboat. I have heard horror stories about long waits. We waited maybe 5 minutes to get onto the lifeboat. My advice is if you get sea sick to try to time your spot in line to get on last. We were one of the first ones on and the lifeboat rocks A LOT, I actually started to get a little queasy. The ride from the cruise to the pier is about 2-3minutes. Once the lifeboat is moving, it is smooth.

Tender boat

The view from the lifeboat

We had reserved a tour today, with a company ran by a local husband & wife: Ken and Marylou Smet. The tour company is called Marylou's Tours. We had heard about their tour in Cruise Critic and they had great reviews... and the price was PERFECT! Their website is: http://www.marylousbigislandguidedtours.com/default.html They do tours on both sides of the Big Island.

Marylou was at the pier waiting for us with a sign. We were a group of 6 today, 4 others off of the POA were waiting. Marylou has a minivan and we were comfortable. The tour is low key and based on YOUR WANTS! She does not have a schedule in her mind. She will give you options and suggestions. She was very down to earth and it was well worth the $50 a person for the tour.

Marylou picked us up at the pier and off we went touring Kona. She was great at pointing out things along our drive, even pulling to the shoulder of the road to description the flower that was seen, the road that was missing, etc. We had many stops that day.... She was GREAT!!

Someone's front gate

The other side of their front gate

Hawaii's Palace

The tree grew into and through their roof, they NEVER fixed it

Crazy Palm trunk

The "top" of this crazy palm tree

A fruit that Marylou gave us to try

Peel away like an orange

Tastes like a grape

Marylou showing us how to eat it

First we passed by Magic Sand Beach. It is called Magic Sand Beach because some days there is sand there and some days there is black rocks. Depending on the ocean, the sand is completely gone or the beach is completely filled, like magic.

The sand was there during our day in Kona

Next, we stopped at Kona Joe Coffee plantation. Marylou toured us around the plantation. The owner Joe, was a doctor and came to Hawaii... met a local woman and fell in love! He started the plantation and became the first trellised coffee plantation. Joe grows his coffee like people grow grapes! We sampled some coffee and had some chocolate covered coffee beans. Marylou also explained that Joe's wife niece is in Hula competitions. In Hula competitions in Hawaii, you must MAKE your own costumes and they can ever only been worn ONCE! Her costumes were displayed on the walls.

Picking Coffee Beans

The view of the coffee plantation

Sampling Coffee and Chocolate covered coffee beans

Shrimp Flower

Beautiful Orchids

Coffee for EVERYONE

Competition Outfits

More outfits

Kona Joe Coffee Plantation

The view from the plantation

Hawaiian Snowman... something I definitely could get used to

Next we went to Kealakekua Bay, the bay were Captain Cook was murdered. It was a beautiful location, but not a safe swimming area. Across the way you can see the memorial set up by the British in honor of Captain Cook. The only way to the memorial is to kayak over, swim over or book a snorkeling excursion with a catamaran.

The White Memorial is in the background of this picture

Our next stop was the Painted Church. It is a Roman Catholic Church and it was beautiful to see the artwork.

Next we went and toured around The National Park (City of Refuge). Marylou told us EVERYTHING about the park. She explained that back in the old times, when someone disobeyed the rules, they would retreat to the City of Refuge, because there was no bloodshed allowed. Once a person went here, they became cleanse of their wrongdoings and were safe to go back to their home. 

Beautiful Views at the City of Refuge

Wood Carvings

How you can get sea salt

City of Refuge

Palms

Hona

Madagascar 

Notice the green holey object that looks like a pineapple...

When the green "pineapple object" falls down and dries out. Each pieces comes out like this. They used to use this object to paint and brush their teeth in the old days

"Walking Palm Tree"

We met Charlie, a local who does the repairs of wood cravings for the park. We learned about the wall that was build by hand without any mortar or cement to hold it together. The park is beautiful.

After the City of Refuge we went to the Kona Brewery. They had 21 coffee flavors to sample. They were delicious. We were all hungry by now and they had some sandwiches available for purchase. I had a ham and cheese. It was tasty and quick.

After snorkeling we headed to the Farmer's Market, which is an outdoor market. They had souvenirs, fruits, vegetables, etc. Prices were low. This is where Marylou's tour ended. But by the end of the day we had became friends with the other four POA guests and we headed to Bubba Gump's Restaurant for some appetizers and drinks. We asked to sit outside on the deck to enjoy our beautiful day in Kona. It was a covered deck and a beautiful view!

We walked back to the pier, which was only about 5 minutes down the road. Along the road were stops and we stopped in to look around. We bought a few things and were back to the pier with plenty of time. We got in line, went through security and got on a tender boat quickly.

Streets of Kona

Where the Ironman triathlon begins

Once back on board, we headed upstairs to shower and change. We received a swan towel animal today.

We ate dinner at the Cadillac Diner, around 8:00pm because we had those appetizers at 3:00pm. The food was good, simple & quick. The brownie sundae was AMAZING!! While eating dinner here, we learned that you can get coffee in a TOGO cup 24 hours a day!

Tonight was the White Out Night on the ship. We did not attend. We went to the Gold Rush Saloon. We had made friends with the bartender and cocktail server there who were both from Philadelphia and around our age. It was a nice relaxing night. We headed to bed around 10pm.