Honolulu and Oahu

So, now that I’ve written the frustration about the bureaucracy out of my system, here’s a “cosy” update again. We’re moored between a boat made of driftwood and a 50-year-old little ship with an enormous history, which someone is now “looking after” and therefore living on with his girlfriend and cat. Almost the entire pontoon is like that; it’s a floating trailer park. Lured by the low berthing fees, it’s full of old sea dogs and freeloaders, plus young folk. Even a lady with a small child. All very friendly and perfectly OK, but not your usual marina “vibe”. We’ve already had lunch with our neighbour Damian, and as neighbours go he’s a great guy.

We’re on the outermost pontoon, with a full view of the famous waves of Waikiki Beach. It starts “at our place” and then runs a few kilometres east. Right on the beach there are about 30 high-rise hotels, each with its own shops and restaurants. Packed with Americans who (we think) are only here for a few days and never stray far from their hotel. No need to, after all. They might just make it as far as the first shopping mall, Ala Moana. Something like 300+ shops, I reckon.

On the first day we’d already found the “Harbor Pub”, a pub close by, half below ground, with great food and drink, and still very reasonably priced for the location. We also ate in one of those hotel restaurants once, but that was all very slick and expensive.

Since Rudolf was leaving again soon, a visit to Pearl Harbor was of course on the programme. We made a selection and visited two museums: the battleship Missouri and the military aviation museum. It really is a special place, of course, because you know how the Japanese caught the entire fleet by surprise here in December 1941 and caused massive damage. The Arizona sank back then, and she’s actually still lying there with a memorial built on top of her. That’s hugely popular, so popular that there were no tickets left for us. Not a big deal in hindsight; the Missouri is more impressive. Battleships were really already obsolete – luckily for the Americans, the aircraft carriers were out on exercise when the attack happened, so they could strike back quickly. You can see that in the history of the Missouri, too. She was only completed halfway through the war and didn’t actually do a great deal apart from shore bombardment, yet everyone has seen a photo of her at some point. That’s because Japan’s surrender to the Allies was signed on the deck of the Missouri. A special spot, and now we’ve been there. Admiral Helfrich signed there on behalf of the Netherlands, which is interesting in its own right, because Helfrich is a well-known name in Harlingen.

After that we visited the aviation museum, which had a nice collection from the Second World War indoors. But the newer aircraft were left outside to rot. The air museum in New York or the military museum in Soesterberg are much nicer and better looked after. The battleship could be better too; on the USS New Jersey, which you can also visit as a museum, you get to see a lot more. Still, it was an impressive day. We rounded it off with a visit to the old town, where we happened to stumble into a surprisingly nice pub, the EP bar, which was playing great 60s and 70s music on vinyl LPs and served Japanese-inspired drinks. Then dinner at a fine restaurant, all very American of course, so huge portions and you’re back out on the street within the hour! This was the last evening with Rudolf, so he treated us!

Before Maarten arrived, Arnold and I had a few days to ourselves. Nice and quiet for a bit, and a chance to recover from everything. Did the necessary boat jobs, and decided to leave the Hoyt boom until Japan. The cylinder rod is damaged, so a quick fix is out of the question. A new one has been ordered and will hopefully arrive in time for the ladies to bring it along on KLM in July. We’re baking bread again, because the bread here isn’t up to much. But we usually have lunch out anyway, and dinner too. They have good beers here; Arnold has taken a shine to the Longboard, and there are decent IPAs for Kees. That, plus the service-mindedness in the restaurants and bars, makes eating out really “easy”. Yesterday was our last day “together”, and we had a car. Saw a lot of the island, including the famous “North Shore”. That was a more relaxed environment than Honolulu, but still extremely commercial, with eateries and food trucks everywhere, so many that you wonder where all those people come from. Beautiful, very steep beaches, though. If you’re into surfing, this is a seriously cool place. We went on a hike, somewhat unprepared, that was so muddy we turned back halfway.

Via a big Walmart, where we stocked up on soft drinks, crisps, pasta and other basics, on to a funny restaurant near Pearl Harbor, 604. Not a tourist in sight, only (we think) military personnel and their families. Delicious “Ahi”, which is what bluefin tuna is called in Hawaiian, for me and a hamburger for Arnold. He’s in his element here; the hamburger is of course the staple food.

This morning Maarten finally arrived, 8 hours late. Our new crew member had been travelling for 36 hours. To make sure he gets into the rhythm quickly – it’s a 12-hour time difference, after all – we kept him awake all day. We started with a coffee at a little business up north where they grow and roast their own coffee. Very good. Unfortunately the road was closed, so we turned around and explored the south side instead. Another hike, which we abandoned halfway because it got really steeeeep. Only the very fanatical or young, slim types came tramping past us. But we’d already had a lovely view anyway. Maarten did “wake up” at the sight of the beautiful beaches and especially the mountains, which are very impressive on this side. Via a gorgeous botanical garden at Hoʻomaluhia back to Honolulu for the second round of provisioning. Now everything except “fresh” and “washing-up liquid” is on board, and we’re (almost) ready to go again.

By the way, we don’t understand how Hawaiian manages with only twelve letters (5 vowels and 7 consonants). All ke wol’o look alike.

Right, the third post in two days is done. Another day or so and we’re off again. Check out with Joey and CBP, see whether the harbour master wants our money, take on 600 litres of diesel, and then on our way to Osaka (or maybe Hiroshima).