Sapphire Princess South Pacific Cruise Day 9 - Kahului and Pāʻia, on the Island of Maui, Hawai'i
Ahh, Maui. Another island in Hawai'i. We awoke to temps in the low 70s, overcast skies, and rain. By the time we were ready to go, the rain had passed so we were good for the day, weather-wise.
We've been here before, in 2013 on a Vancouver to Hawai'i to Long Beach repositioning cruise on the Carnival Miracle, celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. We rented a Ford Mustang and drove the infamous Road to Hana. The Road to Hana runs for 64 miles between Kahului and Hana and contains many switchbacks and 50 bridges, many one-way at a time. It isn't for the faint of heart.
Cruise ships typically dock in Lahaina, on the west side of the island. The recent fires that devastated Lahaina have all but closed everything down there, so cruise ships now dock in Kahului, directly east of Lahaina on the north side of Maui. Since we have driven to Hana before, at the recommendation of yesterday's tour guide, Kiko, we opted to take a leisurely day strolling through Pāʻia, a modern-day hippie surf town per the online descriptions.
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| I have highlighted Lahaina on the west, Kahului in the crook at the top, and Pāʻia, just east of there |
We walked off the ship and through the terminal to catch an Uber.
The taxi lobby is strong here and they have blocked rideshare companies from picking up at the port. Therefore, we had to walk about a half mile to exit the port and then cross the road to a shopping center where rideshares could stop. We met our driver, Janel, in front of Baskin & Robbins and were off for the short drive to Pāʻia.
The town is quaint with several small, locally-owned shops featuring local goods.
There is also a small selection of local restaurants featuring a variety of foods. It is all very low-key and welcoming.
We did a little "exercise" and supported the local economy by picking up a few small items. Arlona likes to get small jewelry items as they invoke travel memories each time she wears each piece. Plus, there's nothing to dust.
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| I checked out some new shades but decided to stick with my current pair |
After walking for a bit, we decided to eat lunch while in town. One restaurant gets a lot of buzz, Paia Fish Market, so we decided to give it a try.
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| This was the shortest line we saw all day so we hopped in |
You stand in line to order. You are then given a number and find a seat. A short time later they bring out your food.
We wound up sharing a table with a nice young couple from Alberta, Canada, and that made for a nice lunch conversation.
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| Arlona had the fish quesadilla and said it was terrific |
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| At their recommendation, I had the fish and chips and was a little underwhelmed |
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| The onion rings were just OK too |
It was still a fun experience and we enjoyed it. After lunch, we continued with our wanderings and browsing, taking in the sights.
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| A sign spinner, steering people to a shave ice shop |
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| This guy was more flamboyant but way less enthusiastic |
Here is a guy that pretty much perfectly summed up Pāʻia.
- Scooter ✔
- Baggy pants ✔
- Slides ✔
- Man purse ✔
- Fanny pack ✔
- Boombox ✔
- Man bun ✔
- Beard ✔
- Aloha bumper sticker ✔
We enjoyed the time wandering around the city but we were ready to head back to the ship. A quick request for an Uber brought Charlotte to us. She whisked us back to port. Uber can drop off in port, so the walk was much better in this direction.
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| Sapphire Princess |
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| Our room is right under that side extension of the Bridge |
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| ♫ Love, exciting, and new. Come aboard. we're expecting you. ♬ |
This afternoon, the skies cleared a bit, revealing some blue, making for a nice afternoon on the veranda, even given the industrial sounds in this working port.
Since we were back on the ship, we were able to meet up with our team for afternoon trivia. We missed one question where we had to guess the movie based on the soundtrack. It was Home Alone and we had no idea. The only other question we missed was to name the Beatle who was barefoot in the Abby Road photo. I thought it was Paul McCartney, but was outgunned by the team using solid logic that John Lennon was the most "hippie" and therefore barefoot. It was McCartney. We've done well the last couple of outings, but another team has always managed one more correct answer, or beaten us in a tie-breaker.
Here is the most interesting question:
1 + 1 = 6
2 + 5 = 7
3 + 4 = 9
6 + 8 = 8
7 + 9 = ???
See if you can figure it out.
We got ready for dinner and headed to the Explorers Bar for a cocktail and conversation.
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| Conversations are hard to photograph so I'll stick to cocktails |
Then it was off to the International Dining Room for dinner. Our regular waiter, Rhandy, was out for the second day, feeling under the weather. It's never a good sign when crewmembers get sick. We're hoping he will be back tomorrow and that it was something isolated.
Tonight's performer was Steven Ragatz and he was billed as a comedian. He wasn't. Well, he did work a couple of jokes into his act, but in reality, he was a multi-talented performer who performed in circuses. He juggled, he tossed boomerangs, he jumped rope on a unicycle, he tossed multiple blocks, catching them in rows, and so on. He was entertaining to watch, but "comedian" was a poor explanation of what he did.
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| Juggling pins |
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| Manipulating an umbrella with sticks like a devil sticks act |
One thing we didn't like is that we went to the 7:30 show early, it was nearly full. We got there at about 7:10 and this is what we saw:
The place was packed fully 20 minutes ahead of showtime. This is an older cruise crowd and it appears that nobody wants to go to the 9:30 show so the 7:30 show is getting packed earlier every night.
After that, it was back to Explorers for a nightcap and to watch a Generation Gap gameshow. Basically, it was a bit of a trivia game between two teams of four players since nearly everyone on this ship is Gen X or Baby Boomers. It was silly and fun to watch.
We were ready to head to the room so we called it a night. The next five days are sea days as we sail south to Samoa. We will have an equator crossing in a few days and it sounds like it will be a full-blown shindig with King Neptune and all the rituals required for pollywogs (those who have never sailed across the equator) to become shellbacks (those who have). We have sailed across the equator four times so we're what you'd call veterans at it all. It should be fun to see.
Oh yeah, that trivia question. Did you get the answer?
1 + 1 = 6
2 + 5 = 7
3 + 4 = 9
6 + 8 = 8
7 + 9 = ???
What if I write it this way:
one + one = 6
two + five = 7
three + four = 9
six + eight = 8
Count the number of letters in each word to get the total on each line. So...
seven (5) + nine (4) = 9
Some argued that since 2 + 5 = 7 and 3 + 4 = 9, substituting that got you:
2 + 5 (7) + 3 + 4 (9) = 2 + 5 + 3 + 4 = 14
I don't agree with that answer, especially since it ignores the other two equations, but they allowed it as well. Oh well, it's only a game and we're playing for crap. :-)
The seas are a little rough so we'll be rocked to sleep tonight.
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