Day 3

Day 3 started off with an amazing hike. We went to Diamond Head, which is an extinct volcanic crater located south east of Waikiki. It was about a 20 minute drive from Hye Jung’s place. The trail is 1.6 miles round trip and climbs 560 feet from the crater floor to an elevation of 761 feet (stole this from a website). We got there around 8:30, and I am very thankful that it was that early. The sun is right on top of you during the hike, making it very hot and allowing your skin to fry very quickly. The hike itself was pretty amazing, starts with paved road which turns into crushed rock as you incline. Once you get 3/4^ths the way there you have clime stairs. It is a phenomenal workout. Once you reach the top, all the hard work of reaching it is quickly recognized. The view on top is absolutely amazing. You have a full 360 view of Waikiki and the surrounding areas.

After we spent some time up there, we hiked down. On the way down, I was finally hit with jet-lag. Since I reached Hawaii, I really didn’t feel any different and thought I had adjusted to the time zone switch extremely well, I was wrong. Once we got back into the car, I felt like I hadn’t slept in 3 or 4 days. So I went with Hye Jung to do some errands quickly, and then went home. Once we got back to the apartment, I took a shower and passed out for about 4 hours. It was enough time for Hye Jung to go to school and teach and be back before I knew it.

In the evening, we took a boat cruise. The boat was a Catamaran that could fit about 35 people comfortably. The boat set sail and took us out on the coastline of Waikiki. There were about 20 people on board total and was a nice experience. We saw a nice sunset and the highlight was seeing a dolphin swim next to the boat. John picked us up and took us to a local burger shop and after dinner, we went back to the apartment and crashed.

On a side note, I am begging to see why locals don’t really care for tourist. They put up with them because they know they are vital for their economy, but in all honesty would be much happier if they weren’t around. People that visit this island simply don’t respect it as much as the locals do. They come to the island thinking they can do what they want and not respect any rules. I saw/ heard of events like this several times yesterday. I wish humanity would just open their eyes in general.

The other thing I wanted to bring up is the native Polynesian people. When I first arrived, I thought I was going to see a ton of them, but I have been wrong big time. Finding a pure Polynesian is the same as finding a pure Native American. There simply is not any left. The customs and traditions have been preserved, but the race has slowly been integrated with others.

 

The very top of the mountain is where we hiked to

Finally reached the top and the view of the ocean

View of the north east on top of Diamond Head

View of the south coastline on top of Diamond Head

View of Waikiki from Diamond Head

On the Boat ride, there were a couple just married

Some cool pictures of the sunset and coastline

My favorite