February 21: Hilo, Hawai'i

We approached Hilo's port under overcast skies with the threat of rain. What we saw of the shoreline from the starboard side was relatively uninteresting.

We were off the ship and on the bus with only sixteen other people, rolling towards our first destination at 9:00 a.m.

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Today's Tour: Hilo's Wonders: Gardens, Falls & Stars

Take a panoramic drive to learn about the Big Island of Hawaii and about the Hilo area as you make your way to Liliuokalani Gardens. A short drive through this serene paradise allows you to see the beautiful foliage.

Head to Rainbow Falls to witness the resounding and deafening sound of this 80-foot waterfall as it rushes into a large pool below. The striking gorge is blanketed by lush, dense tropical foliage.

Head to the Imiloa Astronomy Center to experience a full-dome planetarium show. Take an amazing space "voyage" with a Hawaiian sound and light show. On a self-guided tour of the exhibits, learn all about Hawaiian culture in the context of astronomy, wayfinding, and science.

With a stop at Big Island Candies, reward yourself with handmade Hawaiian treats and 100% Kona coffee before returning to your waiting ship.

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In the rain, we drove past an attractive Japanese garden and down a road lined with banyan trees planted by celebrities ranging from Louis Armstrong to Richard Nixon.

These are not those trees, or even banyan trees

According to our guide, Hilo is the wettest city in the US with an average rainfall of 150 inches per year. Kona, on the other side of the island, experiences far less. This is due to the prevailing wind, with Hilo on the windward side of the island, causing clouds to drop moisture that rises over the mountains.

At the Imiloa Astronomy Center, we first watched a show in the planetarium. The One Sky Project was actually five short shows, each depicting how a different culture viewed and utilized the stars. The presentation was quite good. Thanks to the planetarium being almost empty, I was able take some lap shots without disturbing anyone.

After the show, we toured the exhibits, being reminded that because of Mauna Kea's height (13,803 feet) and the lack of light pollution, Hawaii (the Big Island) was home to thirteen observatories.

Noticing that the sun had made an appearance, Pam and I wandered around outside looking at the plantings.

Our next stop was Rainbow Falls. This was one of only two falls on the island accessible by vehicle. Accessibility trumped awesomeness; the water dropped only 80 feet, but we enjoyed exploring the park.

Our final stop was a candy store. Snore. This was a "buying opportunity" so common to tours all over the world. And I confess, we did leave with some of their products to enhance our stateroom experience in the coming weeks.

The tour was going to return to the Japanese garden so that we could stroll around it, but the rain reappeared, so that stop was aborted.

Having driven through Hilo twice and not seen anything that made us want to take a taxi back there, we walked down the pier in the rain and boarded the ship. 

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, catching up on emails, having a nice dinner, and other such strenuous activities.

At 5:30, the ship sailed for Honolulu on the island of Oahu, but not before the captain announced that due to forecasted sea conditions at the entrance to Nawiliwili on the island of Kauai, that port call was canceled. Nieuw Amsterdam would extend the port call in Honolulu to two days.

A rain squall passed through as the ship was getting underway. Nieuw Amsterdam went north to pass over the top of the island on its way to Oahu. Throughout dinner, we could see sheet lightning through the stern windows of the main dining room. 

After dinner, on our way back to our stateroom, we briefly stepped out on the lifeboat deck. It was too damp to linger there.