Be sure to wear a frangipani in your hair.

Once the shipyard tasks were completed, O2 splashed back into the water (“rubber good, no sink“) and we ourselves splashed head over heels into the heart of Honolulu and surroundings. First Evan took us for a scenic drive to his home on the Waimanalo coast past amazing beaches and Obama’s new mansion. Although the latter is still under construction, it was already looking quite promising. My Captain/Architect could totally approve. Evan and his family also taught us how to discretely “pool crash” in the Honolulu hotels near Ala Wai harbor where O2 is docked again. Pools don’t have life-threatening undertow.

Our Hawaiian family took us to Costco where we could provision in bulk for the passage to come (and where My Captain went overboard in the wine section) while profiting from the serious discount granted by their membership card. Afterwards they regaled us with a fiery teppanyaki show at Tanaka Of Tokyo where the shogun knives flew through the air and the angus steak melted on our tongues. 

Honolulu is a feast for foodies: all cultures – with a distinct emphasis on Asian cuisine- mix and mingle and everybody takes an enthusiastic bite out of everybody’s signature dishes: from Korean BBQ and Vietnamese Pho to Japanese delights and Hawaiian poke bowls

Another delight is the climate and the fragrance in the air. “Balmy” is the word. Balmy with a strong scent of frangipani (or Plumeria as the flowering trees are called here.) occasionally mingled with whiffs of weed rising from the sidewalks. In this kind of climate, both humans and plants prosper. Of which the towering trees and international shrubbery – brought together to amaze the visitors of Foster Botanical Garden – are living proof. 

What also amazed us was the POW!WOW! street art in the Kaka’ako industrial district. We consider it an auspicious sign from the universe, that pow wows have crossed our path just when we are planning our rendezvous with the First Nation People way up North. In the old days, a pow wow was a sacred gathering of North American and Canadian Indigenous people. The modern pow wow is a yearly event for Native Americans & Canadians to celebrate their culture together. And since 2010 it is also the name of a global network of artists who yearly gather in big cities to brighten up industrial neighborhoods. Their murals in Honolulu blew our minds. Every time we turned a corner an entirely different kind of powerful image “powwowed” our socks off in an explosion of creativity.

The fact that the micro brewery “Honolulu Beerworks” was located in the same neighborhood topped it all off. The beer they brew they also serve on the spot. We were tempted to taste the beer named “Pussy grabs back“, but we went for the white beers after all: My Captain had Kristalweizen and I tasted Cocoweizen. Mine was the better choice, we both agreed.

And all of this tropical exuberance we are about to trade in for fog, rain and 15 degrees Celsius. It’s a comfort to know that our brand-new AC is ready to be fired up in our moments of need. Yes indeed, today we have reached our jumping off point on the island of Kauai where we are anchored in the glorious Hanalei Bay. We bashed up the coast in the typical Hawaiian fashion of current against wind with O2 snorting like a mustang. But boy, did we get rewarded! Nature in all its grandeur waved us out with one majestic show. It’s called the Na Pali Coast.

In the meantime Officer Ray down in Hilo took care of our departure papers in a most gentlemanly fashion. (He signs his e-mails with the words: “Ka ikaika a me ka hanohano”, which means “strength & dignity“.) And today we have digitally informed Canada of our (hopefully)imminent arrival. We now have tomorrow left to top up the jerry cans and to get the fresh produce on board. And to wear a frangipani in our hair (and keep it there) as we hit the town in Hanalei Bay. One last Cocoweizen before we go.

By the end of June, we will be having a cider instead.