Maui

Tuesday, October 9th
South Pacific
Day 10
ms Westerdam
Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii
Arriving:  10:00 AM
Departing:  11:00 PM
Partly Cloudy - 78 Degrees

Aloha!!!

After four long, but happy days at sea, we have finally arrived in the Hawaiian Islands, and Maui no ka 'oi - Maui is the best!!!  It is the "Valley Isle," the second-largest, and third-most populous, island of the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Maui is not to be done in a day.  It takes time for Maui to work its magic, to ease your life, slow your heart, calm your thoughts.  But we only have today.

The VOG lingered (Volcanic Originated Gas), the day not yet what it would become, when Westerdam anchored off the dry, leeward, West coast of Maui at Lahaina this morning.

King Kamehameha the Great united rule of the Hawaiian islands in 1810 and established Lahaina as the seat of the throne.  It was the homeport of the Pacific whaling fleet, reaching a peak of more than 400 ships in the 1840s.  Herman Melville worked the whaling ships, and jumped ship to stay in Lahaina, the inspiration for Moby Dick.  By the 1860s, sugarcane started to surpass whaling as the dominant industry.  By the 1960s, sugarcane gave way to tourism.  And here we are.

We spent the afternoon up the coast from Lahaina in Ka'anapali, a mile-long arc of spectacular public beach, and luxe private resorts.

We started at Whalers Village in the heart of Ka'anipali, an open-air mall Hawaiian style, and lunch at the Hula Grill, where cement meets sand under thatched roofs and tiki torches with live music and views of the water.  It was an authentic tourist lunch of mai tais, pupus, and locally-sourced meats and fish.

A landscaped walk runs the length of the beach fronting the resorts.  We walked North to the end and the sprawling Sheraton that climbs the rocks.  We toured the hotel, walked in the sand, and dipped toes in the water.  The shade of the Beachwalk was all but gone and the sun intense for the walk back down the beach.

Back in Lahaina, we took a walk down Front Street.  It still has the look of an 1840s whaling village, with a ramshackle grittiness that lends a little local authenticity to the upscale boutiques and art galleries, bars and chain restaurants, curio and T-shirt shops, but the best of Front Street is the view to the water from the spaces in between.

Still hot and humid in the late afternoon, we sat in plastic chairs in front of a street-side jewelry stand, and had a shave ice.  Ululani's Hawaiian Shave Ice is the best on Maui, and if you've never had the real thing, you have no idea.  This isn't crushed ice, it's soft as first snow.  The small is huge, the large must be the size of your head.  We had extra smalls.  Ice cream lines the bottom of the cup, a soft landing for the fluffy snow shaved from a single block of ice.  It's trimmed, compacted, molded, perfected.  Holes are drilled through to the bottom and then this soft white snowball of love is saturated in sweet, fruity, vibrant color.  Dozens of flavors, hundreds of combinations, a rainbow in your cup.  It starts with a spoon and ends in a straw, and it is so good.

Back to the ship for a rest and a shower, and then back into Lahaina for a late dinner.  The Lahaina Grill is by far the nicest room in town, and the iconic locally-inspired cuisine has earned the highest island food score in Zagat.  Signature dishes, and our favorites of the evening, include a trio of seafood cakes called "The Cake Walk," and a Kona coffee crusted rack of lamb.

The last tender back to the ship leaves at 10:30.  On the dock at 10:00, they pulled up gangway behind us.

Next Stop:  Honolulu, Oahu, Hawaii