Hilo Sunrise 2

Hilo Sunrise 3. They were so good I hated to leave one out. Amazing sunrises on this cruise.

Sailing into Hilo, our first port.

The ship's band played when we were sailing in.

Pushing into the dock as the thrusters kick up the silt.

Our first (and pretty much only) stop on Hilo was the Kilauea Volcano.

The Kilauea crater

Kathleen, Carol and Judy at the Kilauea Crater

Kilauea in panorama

Next up, a stop at the Lava Tube, a tube in the earth created by flowing lava.

Verdant (Kathleen likes my $5 word) foliage on the way in.

Just before the entrance.

The walls were an intereting shade of red

Kathleen in the lava tube

Bob & Judy in the lava tube.

At last we emerge.

Quite a tourist stop, but worth it.

Stopped on the way back to see the Lava fields.

The other side of the road

Nothing but lava.

Looking back into the crater.

See the smoke? Lava pools.

People walk through the crater on the path at left.

On the crater floor.

See the people on the left?

A couple hiking through the crater.

Our final stop at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut plantation.

Bob takes pics of the macadamia nut trees.

That night we had people (our Mates) to dinner. Mike wore his new earrings.

Our wonderful butler Walter and two of his fellow butlers treat us fabulously.

A complete 5 course meal on our verandah.

Everyone sits down.

Except those of taking pictures

And everyone wants to take pictures.

Dinner is waiting

Walter puts the final touches on the table.

Yummy! Escargot.

At midnight we sailed past the volcano and could see the lava lighting up the side of the mountain.