Hawaii '09 -Day 2

Day 2 - Diamond Head Crater, Honolulu

After a fairly decent night's sleep and a room service breakfast on the balcony, Ian and I left the Millenium to meet our tour to Diamond Head Crater. Once we had arrived at the National Park, our group of 24 was split in two, with those wishing to do a more strenuous hike setting off with one guide and those wanting a milder hike staying with the other. Ian and I went with the more strenuous  hike, a decision I came to question at a couple of points in the excursion!

I had hiked to the summit of Diamond Head in October of 2004 and new that the views from the top were the reward for the exertion of getting there. We set out with our group and made it to the  summit in roughly half an hour with a couple of breaks for water and local information from our guide. The views from the summit are truly magnificent and all agreed it had been worth the struggle up the 500 foot elevation on the rocky meandering path, with its 2 sets of steps ( 74 and 99 if you wish to count them). We stayed for a bit to take photos and enjoy the scenery, then started the much faster descent, to wait at the bottom for the other group.

After we were delivered back to the ship, we decided to walk to the Aloha Tower Marketplace for sunglasses and souvenirs before heading back to the Millenium for lunch and a rest.
Muster drill was to be held at 5:30 , and we decided to relax in the stateroom until then. We were to meet some Cruise Critic friends in a Penthouse Suite for drinks at 7:30 , and then off to dinner at 8:30, with sailaway from Honolulu at 11 p.m.

Tomorrow : Nawiliwili, Kauai