A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While Visiting Hawaii, French Polynesia and San Diego

Bottom line: Build great memories; expand yourself to fit our glorious world; connect to others (animals included); gain greater appreciation for famous adventurers of our past.

Sea Turtle feeding in shallow water of Hilo, Hawaii.

Janet, my wife, and I recently returned from a 32-day ocean cruise from Los Angeles to parts of the South Pacific.

1) Our cruise stopped first at Hilo on Hawaii (the island). We enjoyed our one day on terra firma after five sea-days, despite some early morning light rain.

Looking across Hilo, Hawaii towards

Mauna Kea's snow-cap and telescopes.

2) Hilo is reputed to be one of the rainiest cities in the US, if not the most, averaging 15 feet of rainfall per year. Whereas, the leeward Kona Coast, on the other side of the island, receives 15 inches per year.

3) With all that rain, and the rocky lava landscape of Hilo, waterfalls are abundant. Rainbow Falls is one such example, though a rainbow isn't always visible.

Here's Rainbow Falls?!

4) We visited the Pana'ewa Rainforest Zoo and Gardens where I discovered some useful information in the men's bathroom (I guess, we men and boys need to know this!), which I share here for your edification, as well.

5) Somewhere along the way I heard that Hawaii, the island, has three colors of sand beaches: black, white and green. Imagine a green beach! We didn't see it, however.

6) The following day, we arrived at Maui. During a bus tour, we learned that the pineapple and sugar cane industries of old were decimated by international competition. The islands now depend upon tourism. Of note: Lahaina is making a recovery, though slowly. Tourist traffic is not allowed in the historic downtown, though we did see portions of "greater" Lahaina.

Sunshine on Kahulua as we depart Maui.

7) On to Honolulu, Oahu, we toured the USS Arizona Memorial, where 1,777 crewmen died. A second battleship memorial, USS Utah, lies on the opposite of Ford Island, where 64 crew died. The Missouri faces the memorial to symbolize standing guard over the Arizona, as well as creating bookends of our war with Japan (beginning and end), since the Japanese surrender was signed on Missouri's deck.

USS Arizona Memorial (right); USS

Missouri (left) faces the Arizona.

8) The following day, we arrived in Kauai, and visited the Kilohaha Plantation. Established in 1986, it now is an elegant tourist destination with a historic railroad, a collection of local animals, restaurant and performance pavilion.

Hawaiian dance performance

at Kilohana Plantation, Kauai.

We "sailed" southward toward French Polynesia later that day, and over the following six sea-days we crossed the equator.

9) The "shellback" of the ship's crew (those previously having crossing the equator) judged the "polliwogs" (those crossing the first time) during a King Neptune Ceremony. All, as you might expect were told, "Bow to, or kiss, the fish. Then, jump in the pool."

The Cruise Director (far side) officiates as the

Assistant Cruise Director, polliwog, kisses the

fish before heading into the pool.

Janet and I dove into a variety of activities on board during our sea days, wanting to make the most of our time aboard, which passed quickly. We listened to numerous lectures of interest, joined in Team Trivia Quizzes and Baggo competitions, and attended the evening musical performances, aside from binging on food and drink, of course.

From the various lectures, we learned some interesting tidbits.

10) The Tahitian alphabet contains thirteen letters (five vowels and eight consonants), though uses glottal stops and macrons for long vowels.

11) The vanilla plant in Tahiti requires pollination by hand, since its pollinator bee no longer lives there. That pollinator still lives in Mexico, however, but I doubt the bees made a conscious choice in that matter!

12) Polynesia contains a diverse collection of more than 1,000 islands within an imaginary triangle bounded on the southwest by New Zealand, on the north by Hawaii, and the southeast by Easter Island. French Polynesia lies within triangle.

13) More than 800 species of fish live around the French Polynesian Islands.

14) Parrot fish do not have a fixed gender.

15) The Tahitian black oyster produces the famous black pearl after being seeded with a small Mississippi River stone.

Unfortunately for us, we arrived at Bora Bora simultaneously with a storm. Needless to say, that threw a bucket of water on the proceedings!

A less-than-ideal view of Bora Bora!

Our planned Bora Bora shore excursion cancelled, Janet and I rode to shore on a ship shuttle, though she returned to the ship immediately, when learning additional shuttle service had been suspended.

Local musicians perform at the welcoming

point/shuttle dock, while Janet poses

moments before abandoning ship, err, land?

I, however, being more adventurous, ambled along the main street over the next hour-and-a-half as the rain slackened, chatted with several shop owners, mostly selling pearl jewelry, perused the local grocery, paused at the protestant church to listen to the parishioners sing a Polynesian hymn. (The church provided the lyrics on an elevated screen!)

Finished with my foreshortened investigation of the local culture, I meandered back to the shuttle landing and listened to the live local music, until another shuttle arrived. (I knew the ship's crew wouldn't abandon those of us still ashore!)

That evening, we proceeded to Papeete, Tahiti, by-passing Moorea, which would also require shuttle service ... in the storm.

16) The first of our three days in Papeete, Janet and I hired a tour around Tahiti Nui, which is the larger of two conjoined land masses comprising Tahiti. Locals call the smaller, Tahiti Iti.

Janet poses on Matavia's black sand beach.

Note her improved disposition since Bora Bora!

17) Captain J. Cook made his 1769 observations of Venus's transit of the sun just yards from the beach.

Marker to Cook's Venus transit observations.

Further along, we stopped at Fa'aruma'i Valley, where three watersheds each have a falls.

We, intrepid travelers, pose at one such falls.

Here's a second falls.

We took a local walking tour of parts of Papeete during our second day in port.

Pepeete Town Hall.

Back on the ship that evening, Janet and I attended a local Polynesian dance group performance.

"O Tahiti E" performs.

I loved their costumes!

A solo performance. I admired

her commitment to the tattoo!

With an additional, unplanned day in Papeete, Janet and I took a ferry to Moorea, then hired a tour guide to sightsee.

Belvedere Lookout, 820 feet elevation, provides a spectacular view of Cook's Bay (right) and Opunahu Bay (left) with the sacred Mont Rotui between.

Janet and I pose at Belvedere Lookout.

We crossed into the mountainous interior—all "newer" volcanic islands have that distinction—through shallow, following streams, lush rainforest, cultivated fields, past sacred sites to Opunohu Bay.

Back at beach front in Opunoha Bay, Fare Tutava (restaurant) served up two great smoothies. Afterward, we ate the flower blossom garnishes!

Loving my fruit smoothie

with flower blossom garnish!

The restaurant also had a number of colorful, Tahitian themed women's bathing wraps for sale.

Women's bathing wrap with manta ray design.

Then, we drove the narrow, winding concrete "road" to Magic Mountain Overlook. (No, not related to the Magic Mountain in southern California!)

A pano of Opunohu Bay from

Magic Mountain Overlook. Note

the azure colors of the lagoon.

Viking Neptune docked in Papeete, Tahiti.

That evening we sailed for Nuku Hiva, Marquesas Islands, and after two sea-days, we anchored in Taioha'e Bay.

A pano of Taioha'e Bay, Nuku Hiva.

(No, our ship hadn't gotten bent!)

Janet and I arranged for a tour of the island. We stopped at numerous locations, including scenic overlooks and sacred ruins.

Our local guide, Ma'u, with our ship

anchored in the harbor. Note her leg tattoo.

18) We drove to Taipivai Bay, and visited the village where Herman Melville was a "guest-captive," according to his fictionalized account in Typee. (Quite inspirational for me, the visit and the book!)

A pano of Taipivai Bay.

Plaque commemorating

Melville's "visit" and writings.

After Janet and I bid Ma'u goodbye, and before we returned to our ship, we hiked a short distance to the "Tiki Tuhiva" sculpture overlooking the village and bay.

The "Tiki Tuhiva" sculpture.

That evening, we sailed away from Nuku Hiva, headed for San Diego.

Nuku Hiva during sunset.

Seven sea-days later, we arrived in San Diego Harbor, renowned for US Naval presence.

19) We toured Balboa Park, which contains numerous beautiful buildings, including eighteen museums, all within easy walking distance.

This elegant building serves as the park's

Visitor Center and the Prado Restaurant.

20) Returned to our ship, I walked a short distance to, and toured, the USS Midway, the last diesel powered US aircraft carrier.

21) Here's the "Unconditional Surrender Statue," aka "Kissing Statue." Incorrectly, the sailor reputedly kissed a nurse, though she was a dental hygienist in actuality!

The oversized statue with USS

Midway (background).

That evening, we sailed away to Los Angeles, where Janet and I disembarked the Neptune the following morning.

We'd sailed 8,885 nautical miles (10,225 statue miles) during our trip, and experienced twenty-one days at sea. As a result, I gained a deeper appreciation, if only a hint, of by-gone sailing in the South Pacific, and the experiences of the likes of James Cook, Herman Melville and Paul Gauguin, to name only a few. Plus, I took advantage of a loaner copy of Melville's Typee, which I thoroughly enjoyed, though his complex sentence structures make it a difficult read.

Of course, wouldn't you know, I developed severe cold symptoms upon our return home, though Janet's course of infection preceded mine by a few days.

I thoroughly encourage you to travel, travel, travel! Consider spending your money and time traveling and building memories, rather than on material goods. I yearn to return to the South Pacific even as I complete writing this.

Walk in beauty.

(PS - your feedback is welcomed.)

A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While "River Cruising" Budapest to Amsterdam (+England)

Bottom line: Though the best laid plans often go astray, the travel remains a worthwhile learning adventure.

Panoramic view from the Fisherman's

Bastion in Buda looking towards

Pest at nightfall. (Note the well-lite

Hungarian Parliament building across

the Danube.)

Janet, my wife, and I still enjoyed our recent trip to Europe, including England, primarily through central Europe despite Danube flood levels. Janet and I spent time in Budapest before we boarded our river cruise ship. The itinerary called for a river cruise up the Danube from Budapest on the Viking Bragi, transition to and sail along the Main (pronounced Mine), then the Rhine to Amsterdam. However, heavy rain in the upper Danube region prevented cruising upstream beyond Bratislava, where our ship moored alongside eight other river cruise ships in safe anchorage. From that stationary point, we were bused to cities on the itinerary upstream along the Danube, spent two nights in Bad Griesbach at the Hotel Maximilian, then transitioned to a sister ship, Viking Skadi, for the downstream leg along the Main and Rhine rivers. Despite the Danube's condition, we visited every city on the itinerary! After spending two additional days in Amsterdam, we flew to England, where we drove to Highley to visit a friend.

1) Budapest (Hungary) is two cities. Buda meaning water (for the hot springs) and Pest, pronounced Pesht, meaning flat.

2) Learning Hungarian for an English speaker proves quite difficult, we were told. The language has forty-four letters with 14 vowels. Just pronouncing Hungarian names provided ample challenge for me.

3) As usual I enjoyed viewing the fine art in the museums, pinching myself at times, though growing overwhelmed by the sheer volume of art work. Talk about the immensity and complexity of history!

"The Great London Fire" (1666)

by Lieve Pietersz Verschuier in

Budapest's Museum of Fine Arts!

3) My memory of Bratislava (Slovakia) is over-shadowed by our mooring situation, crossing and re-crossing eight river cruise ships, and the bus drives in and out of the cargo facility past shipping containers.

Disembarking the Bragi for a bus ride.

(Thankfully, the water level here never

got higher and had disappeared when

we returned later that day.)

4) We attended a classic music concert in Vienna (Austria). What could be more apropos? Johann Strauss I (the Elder), a native Viennese had three sons. He and his sons wrote music and conducted! One grandson, Johann Strauss III, also became a famous musician. Together, they wrote over one-thousand pieces. (No photos allowed of the performance.)

5) In Melk (Austria), we toured the abbey. Originally a royal palace, it was presented to Benedictine monks in the 11th century. Ninety pounds of gold has been used on the church statuary, etc. We didn't get inside the church, however.

Melk Abbey church entrance.

5) We discovered Passau (Germany) flooding has been frequent, at least on a historical scale.

Passau flood levels marks. (And this

building stands some feet, maybe ten,

above the current Danube River level!)

6) We witnessed the art work of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Passau. Everywhere I looked, I saw exquisite craftsmanship as evidenced by extravagant artwork.

St. Stephen's Cathedral ceiling.

7) Regensburg (Switzerland) hosts the oldest sausage kitchen (likely in the world), it's building erected in 1135 CE.

Regensburg's Historische Wurstkuche.

8) Nuremberg (Germany), aka Nurnberg, known for the post WWII Nazis war crime trials, sports Kaiserburg Castle, dating to the Middle Ages.

Kaiser Castle visitor's ramp, which I

suspect didn't exist in the Middle Ages.

9) Here's the Kaiser Castle entrance during the Middle Ages. Imagine storming that door with you're back exposed to arrows!

Kaiserburg entrance during the Middle Ages.

10) Bamberg (Germany) is the home of rauchbier (smoked beer), made by drying malt over an open flame in a smoke kiln, which imparts a smoky character to the malt. (A more distinctive flavor than that of Guinness in comparison.)

Author savors a rauchbier with pretzel. (Yum!)

11) One of the more extravagant structures I've visited is the Wurzburg (Germany) Bishop's Residence, a baroque palace, built around 1730 CE. Opulent would be an understatement. Built for ONE person, the bishop at that time, to impress people of his power.

Ceiling of the "Grand Staircase

Entrance." (Impressed? I was.

Note the corner plaster statuary

which blends into the fresco.)

The Mirror Cabinet ceiling.

A panorama of "The Mirror Cabinet" at

floor level. (Cabinet? Somebody's definition

has changed!)

12) Occasionally, a builder/owner cheats a little to gain floor space, though I suppose it was legal to do! Such was this case in Wertheim (Germany).

A house in Wertheim, Germany.

13) We sailed past twenty-one castles along the middle Rhine, according to a map I'd received.

Mouse Tower, built on an island as a

shipping signal station. (Legend says

it's name derives from mice eating a

bishop imprisoned there.)

14) We toured the Marksburg Castle in Kolblenz (Germany). The dining room door opens to a privy and locks from the dining room side only. Left open during privy use, the door was closed and locked at night to prevent intruders entering through the hole.

The castle's dining room with attached privy.

15) Cologne (Germany), Koln in German, was all but destroyed by bombing during WWII. The cathedral remained mostly untouched, however.

Cologne Cathedral. (Note the dark

coloration, which can't be cleaned

as limestone is too soft.)

16) About ninety-five per cent of the windmills in Kinderdijk (Netherlands) pump water, don't grind grain. Netherlands has an extensive water management/control system.

Kinderdijk Windmills. (Note:

they're idle at the moment.)

17) Families live in the windmills in order to run and maintain them, much like lighthouse operators.

Windmill multi-purpose living room.

18) Everyone slept in a sitting position to prevent Satan mistaking them to be dead and take them.

Windmill bedchamber. (Note: there's

little opportunity for an adult to

stretch out prone to sleep.)

19) An early form of industrial footwear, wooden clogs were used to prevent injury to the feet while operating the windmill. Wood was easy to carve, offered good protection from crushing injuries, and, if the clogs wore out, they could be burned as fuel for heat!

20) Amsterdam (Netherlands) is twenty-one feet below sea level! Or so we were told. Canals crisscross the city, much like Venice (Italy). A local told us, "If you like rain, don't visit Amsterdam."

One Amsterdam canal on a rainy day.

21) While in Amsterdam, Janet and I toured the Anne Frank House, Van Gogh Museum and Rijksmuseum. Once more, I felt overwhelmed at the volume of artwork, the history and talent, far too much to absorb and appreciate in a short time. (Note: no photos allowed in the Anne Frank House.)

Vermeer's "The Milkmaid."

Van Gogh's "Blue Lillies."

22) To take fuller advantage of our time in Europe, we flew to London (England), then drove to Highley to visit a friend, David. The three of us visited The Engine House Museum and Education Center in Highley. (Eat your heart out, Sheldon Cooper!)

Janet and David pose next to one

of many locomotives in residence.

23) Janet and I couldn't pass up a London museum visit, of course.

Monet's "The Thames below

Westminster"at the National Gallery.

Thus, endth our trip!

Walk in beauty, fellow earthling.

A Few “Lesser Known and Obscure” Facts I Learned While Visiting Singapore, Indonesia & Australia

Bottom line: Nothing ventured ... nothing gained.

Janet, my wife, and I enjoyed our recent trip to these three countries and wished we could’ve continued on. Perhaps, these facts will encourage you to consider a visit to one or more of them.

1) Located at the southern tip on Malaysia, and only 85 miles north of the equator, Singapore, clean and modern, is a forested city and island nation (hot and humid while we were there).

A limited view of Singapore's waterfront from Gardens by the Bay.

2) Singapore is one of two cities, the other Rio de Janeiro, to have a rain forest within it’s city limits, though it is modern and clean.

Noah’s Ark found in Singapore?

3) The second largest exporter of used cars, behind Japan, Singapore heavily taxes vehicles after ten years, which encourages purchase of new cars. That’s one way to cut down on gas consumption and pollution!

4) Singapore hosts several great tourist attractions. We visited Gardens by the Bay and Botanical Gardens.

An elevated view of the Supertree

Grove at Singapore's Gardens

by the Bay.

We toured the Cloud Forest, also part of Gardens by the Bay, where we enjoyed the Avatar Experience.

Here’s the Pandoran Mountain Banshee

that greets visitors to the Cloud Forest.

5) Singapore wants to strengthening it’s position as the hub of shipping (commerce) between the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

6) The current largest super cargo ships can carry more than 24,000 TEUs (standard 20-foot shipping containers). Even larger ships are in planning or construction, and they’ll be able to load and unload in Singapore docks.

7) Street vendors of the past have been relocated to one of a number of Hawker Centers around the city, AKA food courts. We stayed in the heart of the financial district, where we discovered the nearby Hawker Center.

Hawker Center in the historic Lau Pa Sat

(wet market), reportedly housing 200

vendors! (I didn’t count them, however.)

8) With Asian food-selection galore, we enjoyed satay (BBQ skewers of shrimp, beef and chicken with peanut sauce) … and beer.

Janet takes a break from enjoying our

meal at the Lau Pa Sat Hawker Center.

9) Having grown up in Kentucky, I confess my skepticism of some food choices, however.

Dessert made from green beans?

Yeah ... no!

From Signapore, we flew to Bali, one of many of Indonesia’s islands.

10) Indonesia claims to have over 18,000 islands. Some may say more. Some may say less. But what’s a few thousand among friends?

11) Though other Indonesian islands are primarily Muslim, Bali is primarily Hindu.

12) The Balinese perform and enjoy magical and colorful reenactments of religious stories.

The gist? Two male gods fight over a female god!

13) The Indonesian currency exchange rate is approximately 15,000 Rupiahs to US$1. Though I felt rich, I couldn’t keep track of exact prices in dollars. What’s a few Rupiahs here or there?

14) Balinese roads were generally clogged with traffic as the island, about the size of Delaware, has about 4.2 million inhabitants.

15) While there we visited their Monkey Forest, a great source of curiosity … for humans.

I suspected this resident was brushing

up on his/her tool making skills.

A Shakespeare play coming soon?

We boarded a cruise ship in Bali and from there sailed east and south, destined for Sydney via Australia’s Sunshine Coast. However, still in Indonesian waters, we stopped at Lombok Island where we took a short bus ride to a beach, consumed a cocktail, then sailed onward to Rinca Island.

16) Komodo dragons currently occupy five islands, though only Komodo Island is inhabited by humans. Now and then, someone gets bitten. From 1972-2012 twenty-four attacks have been reported, five fatal.

17) Though Komodos can climb trees while young, they loose that ability as they grow in size and weight.

Two smaller Komodos fled up a tree to avoid a larger one.

We sailed past East Timor before stopping in Darwin.

18) The name East Timor can be considered redundant, as Timor can be translated as “east.”

19) Aussies refer to Darwin, in Australia’s Northern Territory, as the “top end.”

20) Darwin was a frequent bombing target by the Japanese during World War II. As result, fuel storage tunnels were built underground, though not used a result of leakage.

This is one such storage tunnel accessible to tourists.

21) BTW, in case you’ve ever wondered, QANTAS (airlines) is an acronym of Queensland And Northern Territories Aerial Services.

22) Did you know that there are more camels in Australia than in Egypt? So many that Australia exports camels to Saudi Arabia. You might ask, how did camles get to Australia? Before the arrival of motorized vehicles, camels were used to haul cargo across Australia’s outback. When motorized vehicles replaced them, some camels were set free to roam. Since then, they've multiplied in the desert like rabbits, I take it.

We stopped at Thursday Island, an area of significant past pearl harvesting, before continuing eastward through the Torres Straits.

A WWII gun emplacement at Green Hill

Fort on Thursday Island. Never used, I believe.

23) Torres Strait is thought to have been a land bridge to Australia during previous ice ages when sea levels were lower. Hence, allowing the settlement of Australia by the Aboriginals. Now a shallow sea, its home to numerous corral reefs, which comprise the northern portion of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

A map of Torres Strait. Australia claims

the islands northward to the coast of PNG (Papua New Guinea).

24) The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living thing on earth, can be seen from space, and is comprised of some 3,000 individual reefs stretching 1,400 miles along Australia’s northeastern corner/coast.

We sailed on to Cairns,

24) pronounced without the R, as in cans!

Cairns serves as one of many jump-off point for reef snorkeling. However, since Janet and I snorkeled the reef a few years ago, we strolled around and sampled local beer within a few minutes walk from our docked ship.

Sampling "Mr. Wong," a traditionally

styled Hefeweizen at Hemingway’s Brewery.

Sunset as we leave Cairns. Yes, the

tug boat is traveling backwards!

Next came Townsville with its distinctive hill, which I wanted to ascend, though didn’t.

Leaving Townsville at sunset.

25) We anchored near Airlie Beach, located on one of the WhitSundays, a group of islands misnamed by Cook in 1770. The International Date Line not having been established yet, he unknowingly had arrived a day later! We cruised among a few of the white-sand-beach islands and pristine waters on a motorized catamaran.

Twas difficult to get a good selfie with

background on a fast moving boat!

One of the Whitsunday Islands.

Try looking at this island from the side.

Remind you of any relatives?

After our catamaran ride, we headed into Airlie Beach for some local fresh shrimp and assorted meats (you know, kangaroo, crocodile, wild boar and emu).

Next, when our ship stopped at Mooloolaba (Moo-loola-ba, pronounced /mululɑbə/ or moo-loo-lah-bah), we visited the Australian Zoo of Steve Irwin fame. Crikey!

26) We enjoyed the Australian Zoo’s “croc” show. I marvelled at crocodiles’ ability to hold their breath up to two hours, generally ... though as much as seven hours if inactive in cold water.

A demonstration of what a croc will do for food.

27) We walked among kangaroos at the zoo. They can travel at 44 miles-an-hour for short distances, though cannot walk backwards. Those we encountered preferred to move very little, however. I suspect that they were well fed by visitors … and it was the hot part of the day when we visited.

This one’s posture suggested,

Don’t dare touch my food!

From Airlie Beach we sailed to Newcastle, where we visited the Backbutt (pronounce black-but) Nature Preserve, which houses a number of indigenous animals.

A snoozing wombat.

The following morning, our cruise ship glided into Sydney Harbor before sunrise. Once docked, Janet and I disembarked, and headed home on a fourteen-hour flight.

A panoramic view of Sydney.

Walk in beauty, fellow earthling.