Dear Conch-Lers,
The first part of my trip report to Hawaii and Samoa doesn't seem to emotion
any of you, but I'll continue with it.
DAY 4: We woke up late and REALLY tired. After 3 days we were feeling all
the jet lag in our bodies. We started the day with the Punchbowl Crater
(just interesting) and from there we went to the Bishop Museum. The Bishop
Museum is a must and I long waited for this visit. If you go to Honolulu and
miss the Museum, you are going to loose, IMHO, one of the most interesting
place. There you'll find the most important collection of item from the
Polynesian and Hawaiian culture, but... I had a huge expectation to see the
shell collection of the Museum and it was a real deception. Maybe some of
you may want to kill me, maybe I went to the wrong place, but the shell
collection is confined to a small place in the back of a non-important
building, sharing the space with some ladies that were learning some
handicraft work. Maybe some of our Hawaiian friends may explain why it is so
small and lacks all the richness of information that is presented with the
other items of the Museum.
The Waikiki Aquarium was our next stop. Please don't expect to find
something like the Monterey Aquarium, but what you'll see will give you back
three times each cent you paid for the ticket. And you will not only see
beautiful tropical fishes but also some live shells, including some
beautiful Tridacnas.
Again the day ended in the Ala Moana Center.
DAY 5: The East coast just after the Hanauma Bay is, for me, the most
beautiful scenic in Oahu. The road follows the mountains, with lots of
curves, with the sea breaking wildly below the hill. It remembers somewhat
the California State Route 1 in the Big Sur. Heading to the North around the
coast we stopped in three beaches for shell collecting: Kahana, Punaluu and
Hauula. When you arrive in Kaaawa, go up to the Kahana Stream. After the
stream you will see several rock and sand areas to your right. It is not a
very good shell collecting point but you'll find a good number of Cerithidae
and Terebridae
A little bit further, you'll find Punaluu. Almost the same type of shells
can be found there.
Going straight ahead a little bit more you will find the Hauula Beach Park.
There is a reef that goes from the front of the beach to the right side and
I collected there. You will find the same shells of the previous areas and a
lot more. I can't tell you precisely what I found since those shells are
still frozen. I started cleaning the Samoan shells and the Hawaiian were
left to be cleaned after.
Our next stop was the Polynesian Cultural Center. There you'll see little
pieces and shows representing each of the Polynesian islands: Hawaii, New
Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Tahiti and Marquesas. Paying 70 bucks for a
ticket may seem a little expensive, but if you consider that you'll see
shows in each "island", you'll have an "all-you-can-eat" luau (with a show)
as a dinner and will end your day with a Broadway like show, it can be
considered a profitable investment. Just don't commit our two sins: arrive
late in the afternoon and loose the luau. Aaaarghhhh!!!! Gee, I get mad each
time I remember it.
We arrived around 3:30 PM and that is too late. We learned by the worst way
that it is not enough to see all the attractions in all the islands... and
in a hurry to see everything in such a short time, I forgot that you
Americans have dinner when all the rest of the world is still remembering
the lunch time and not even thinking that dinner will be an event in that
day. It is obvious that we lost the luau and I can't forgive myself even
now!!! Thanks God, THE SHOW (yes, with capital letters) was really special
and my traditional good humor mood came back.
DAY 6: Last day in Oahu and we returned to the Waianae Beach Park for more
shelling. Even without finding another Conus leopardus, the shell collecting
was as good as in Day 3.
But we couldn't end our stay in Oahu missing one of the top famous sites:
Hanauma Bay. It is not easy, but if you have well trained eyes, you can see
there lots of shells resting in the crevices. Don't even think to collect
them. Hanauma Bay is a natural reserve area and shell collecting is not
allowed.
Guess where we went after a good shower in the hotel. Yeah, the Ala Moana
Center. As you already know, more "cheese pizza slices". Not bad after some
good days of shell collecting. If you like shopping and have lots of bucks
to spend, that is one of THE places in Oahu. Since this is not our case,
only our "eyes" did shopping, not our pockets.
Some additional and final comments for this second part of the report:
1) If you fly Hawaiian Airlines and have a connection flight close to your
arrival, I bet you'll loose it. Always remember that, for them, 30 minutes
of delay is considered "on time". One hour of delay is quite a good average.
Don't get stressed and smile! ;-))
2) It rained at least once a day during our stay in Hawaii, but it didn't
interfere in our programs. Most of the rain is concentrated in the mountains
of the East side. Even more interesting is the "one cloud rain". It is funny
to be suntanning on the beach and then arrives a single cloud with some
rain, that goes away as fast as it arrived.
3) As some of you know, my passion for scuba diving was the reason that made
my "close encounter of the third kind" with shell collecting. Now I have
passion for scuba and addiction for shell collecting. Anyway, we are ending
day 6 in one of the meccas of the scuba diving and no dive up to now!!!
Thinking in diving I brought almost all my scuba gear, needing just to rent
a BC. Even with that, all three diving operators gave me prices above US$
100 for a two-tank diving trip. It is THE MOST EXPENSIVE diving trip I've
ever heard. Here in Brazil we NEVER pay more than US$ 50, for the same kind
of dive. Ok, it is obvious that the water here is not as pristine and you
won't see all that amazing sea life of Hawaii... but as far as I know the
animals are not receiving any salary for their show and the maintenance of
the "filter" that keeps the Hawaiian waters so clean is made by God and not
included in the price. ;-))
All the best,
Eduardo Moreira
Brasilia, Brazil