The Wandering Tattler

Our last day in Hawaii was pleasantly uncomplicated. We took a shuttle from our hotel to Hanauma Bay and spent the first part of the day snorkeling and lying in the sand. Conditions were not ideal for snorkeling due to cloudy water and low tide, which left little space to swim over some of the coral heads. The coral itself was not very impressive, and much of the reef seemed to consist of rock or dead coral. We did see numerous fish browsing on the algal coating of the reef but nothing to match the enormous diversity and large populations we witnessed in north Kona. In the late afternoon we wandered through the Honolulu Zoo in Kapiolani Park, enjoying several close views of a cheetah and of a pair of meerkats, to cite just a few highlights. In the early evening we watched another of the city-sponsored hula performances in the Waikiki beach park; these are very informative and describe the meaning of many of the gestures used in hula. The dances this evening were performed by a group of young children. While waiting for our name to be called at a restaurant on Kalakua Avenue, we wandered into the Waikiki City Center behind the International Market Place for what had been billed as a Polynesian Dance performance. We were treated to a remarkably kitschy demonstration of “hula” elements applied to pop music. Try to imagine a hula interpretation of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”! We left as soon as we could. Kalakua Avenue remains very busy with pedestrians and street performers until the early morning hours, but it is mostly devoid of the seamy activities we witnessed here fifteen years ago.

The Waikiki hotel we stayed in March 7 and March 8 was very dilapidated. After enjoying a posh condo in Poipu Kai, we found conditions at the Aqua Coral Reef Hotel surreal. We knew things were going to be different when we found we had to carry our heavy luggage (6 pieces) up 10 stairs to reach the hotel registration desk. Once in our room, we discovered that the carpet was threadbare in places, that the luan doors had warped badly and were very difficult to close. We had to run the hot water for about 10 minutes before the water coming from the shower head was room. This is just the beginning of a long list of complaints about this hotel room…