Here's the thing about most vacations. You're either exploring or relaxing. It's very hard to juggle between the two. On our last day, we wanted to use our time productively, without overtiring ourselves out.
The surf was much calmer on this Sunday morning. A dream to awake to rolling waves and mostly blue skies. We quickly called the concierge to schedule some whale watching, and got ourselves prepped for another perfect day at the beach. The whaling boat was set for 12:45, which gave us a couple hours to enjoy the sun and surf before the trip out. We packed up lunches, and went back to the beach. Laying out in our lounge chairs, just enjoying the awestriking beauty surrounding us on all sides. As described previously, across the water, Lanai island, and over on the left, Molokini, the small bird sanctuary crater.
12:45, my friends’ (I opted out of a boat trip), ride appeared, in the form of a small motor boat (I’m not sure of the type, look at the pic and let me know), which pulls up about 30 feet from shore, and you need to dodge the waves to hop onto the ladder while holding your belongings above your head to ensure their dry arrival on the boat. It’s quite comical to see the people trying to hop onto the ladder of the boat while big waves pull the boat back out to sea. It’s all part of the fun J. I videoed them jumping up and getting soaked.
I rented some binoculars to enjoy the whales from shore. You can actually see them spout, and then jump out of the water while splashing their tails back into water. These are Humpback whales, they live near Alaska, but come out to the warmer waters of Hawai’i to mate and have their babies, they do not eat out here, and lose about a 1/3rd of their body weight, and then they go back to Alaska to feed and continue the cycle. Amazing how they know where to go, and find their way back every year. Whaling season is Dec-May. During whaling season, jetskies are not allowed out into the ocean, and it’s illegal to approach within 100 yards (about a football stadium) of the enormous creatures. However, they are allowed to approach you. No one will ticket them for that. My friends were out for about 2 hours, and enjoyed the views from Molokini, and further out in the waters. They described the experience as pretty unforgettable as you truly do see the majesty of these whales up close. They were even lucky enough to see 2 breeching whales one on top of the other, jump out of the water, pretty close to their boat. Wow. I mean, you can’t even see a whale in an aquarium, so excluding the Discovery Channel, seeing them up close is really special. Right before their boat started heading back, I was able to see the same whale they saw from the binoculars. I think it was right next to their boat and made a huge splash with it’s tail. Awesome! The captain put a microphone into the water and they even heard the whales singing.
When they came back they regaled me with their whale tales on the boat. I’m happy they had a good time, and of course, what’s a boat ride without free drinks J
Clock was ticking and we had a big Hawai’ian evening planned, what better way to end a perfect Hawai’ian vacation than with a Luau!!! Booked at 5:15 for the Old Lahaina Luau, we quickly dressed, grabbed our things, and got into the Jeep for our 45 minute drive out to Lahaina for our Luau. Unfortunately, the weather was clouding up and it started to drizzle. The scenery on the way to Lahaina was breathtaking. We did this trip Saturday night in the dark, but there is absolutely no way to even describe the views. How can one put words to Paradise?? On one side towering cliffs and green hills, similar to how I imagine Ireland looks, on the other, crashing waves, and lava cliffs with bright blue water. On the highway, we saw a boat not far from shore and seeing the familiar splash we now know to look out for, all looked towards the water to see an gigantic tail jump out of the water and splash back in! A whale show, right there from the Lahaina Highway!!
The rain was getting heavier, and we started to worry about our outdoor Luau. Arriving, we many people standing outside thatched huts, waiting for the Luau doors to open. They handed us programs, a special ingredient list as we said we are on a special diet, (yes please, I would like the Pohole salad without the Octopus please), and white orchids for our hair. Remember, flower over right ear for single, left ear for married. Wedding bands, Hawai’i style. They handed out ponchos to protect us from the medium drizzle, it really wasn’t so bad, but the chairs did get wet. The Luau was set up with lots of tables and chairs around a round grass platform stage. The food was buffet style, with servers looking very native, ushering people to their seats so the show can get started. After all, due to the rain, we were already delayed. As we walked in, we were handed Mai Tais, or punch (our choice). We took the punch as a cool prop for our pictures, but knew that we couldn’t drink any of the mixed drinks. Of course, as soon as we walked in, the moment we were most awaiting, the Leis!!!! You can’t go to Hawai’i and not get lei’d!!! The flowers are gorgeous purple orchids hanging on a string, and look so cool, oh so cool!!! Now we are really Hawai’ian!! This does not compare with our plastic Safeway Leis we wore for Shabbos. !!
I didn’t see the pig roasting on a spit, but as this Luau is known to be more traditional, I’m pretty sure it must have been there. I did see lots and lots of food. Sadly, they were all out of Glatt Kosher pig, so we were unable to partake in those gluttonous festivities. I did see lots and lots and lots of food, and lots and lots and lots of people eating their hearts and cholesterol out. Tons of buffets, all set up tastefully, Hawai’ian style. The bar was in another thatched hut, but even though I asked about the ingredients of the juices, there was no way to confirm how they were made, so we had to stick to Vodka and Rum. I’m not much of a drinker, I find the alcohol taste bitter and unpleasant, but my friends enjoyed the Coke and Sprite with a kick. The frozen Pina Colada slush looked sooooo good L
The servers kept trying to convince us to check out the food, thinking we had some kind of allergy, yet will find something we can eat, so a couple of us went to look. On the way, we ran into the manager, and so eager to please, after all this Luau was NOT cheap, he found us some whole pineapples, bananas and cantaloupe. Armed with our plastic knives, we cut into it and enjoyed the delicious, juicy, sweet and succulent fruit, glatt kosher style. The situation was quite comical, after all, we knew what we would be getting into, none of this was a surprise at all. Due to the rain, the small Hula and craft stations on the side were canceled, so we didn’t have the opportunity to learn Hula dancing from the experts.
Who cares about food, the authentic Hawai’ian Luau was about to begin!! We moved our chairs up closer to see the dancing and shrieking. They came marching in with fire torches, and acted out the story of Polynesian settlers who originally found and settled the island. Interesting, how the native Hawai’ians/Polynesians pronounced the name Ha vI, which sounds like Hebrew- Ha Iyy (the island). I wonder if there is some sort of connection or its an uncanny coincidence. Who knows??
We really enjoyed the dancing, those hula and grass skirts are awesome. They shake their hips while barely moving any other part of their body, and it’s really cool. After the show, they were all thrilled to take pics with us, acting all goofy and silly. So much fun. Someone stole our cantaloupe, he claimed that he found it on his table, yeah right.
We unfortunately didn’t have time for a quick swim on our last night in the Makena resort. The pool was really lame anyway. They had one round 6 foot pool, one round shallow baby pool, and an above ground Jacuzzi, the kind someone would have in their backyard. We got back, packed up, (cleaned Oreos off everything, don’t ask) and set our alarms for 3:45 AM.
Tipsy and silly, and drunk on vacation, we fell into bed for a few hours.
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