Hi everyone

Last week was one of the best weeks so far. I got to go to Hawaii with a huge group of foreigners from all over the world!
Friday the 6th I went to a friend's house so we could go to the airport together. We had to get up at 3am because our flight left at 6.30. We flew over Denver, LA and from there to Honolulu. In LA I finally saw my friend from Switzerland again. 

DAY 1

So after almost 10 hours in the airplane we arrived in beautiful Hawaii. We got to our hotel around 5 and checked into our rooms. I was super tired! I think the time difference was 4 hours. After dinner they gave us some information about the following day. Sunday we were supposed to go surfing but sadly the waves weren't high enough so they replaced it with stand-up paddling.

DAY 2

At 9am we departed from our hotel and walked to the near by beach. The plan for today was going on a 45 minute catamaran tour and surfing. I even saw some seeturtles on our catamaran tour. That was amazing. The other group spotted some dolphins. Later in the afternoon we got some freetime to walk around in Waikiki and do stuff on our own.

DAY 3

Today we will get to know the city and visit one of the only two palaces in the US territory. We will visit the Iolani Palace.'Iolani Palace, the official residence of Hawaii's monarchy, is a marvel of opulence, innovation, and political intrigue. Meticulously restored to its former grandeur, this National Historic Landmark in downtown Honolulu tells of a time when their Majesties, King Kalakaua, who built it in 1882, and his sister and successor, Queen Lili'uokalani, walked its celebrated halls.

After that we went to the North Shore Beach which is famous for it's high waves and one of the best surf competitions in the world. The waves get up to 50 feet during the surfing season. Next to this beach there's a little surfer town where we had our lunch. We drank out of coconuts had some of Hawaii's original shave ice and a pineapple burger.
The next stop was the Polynesian Culture Center. They showed us how to dance the Hula, or teached us how to play the Ukulele. I went on a canoe trip through the Polynesian Culture Center and after that we had some traditional food. Before we departed we watched a movie about the polynesian culture and saw a show.

DAY 4

Today we visited the east side of the island. We headed to the pali lookout. The Nuuanu Pali Lookout ("Cool Height Cliff") overlooks the 985 foot cliffs of the Koolau Mountain Range and is one of the best views on Oahu. It was here in 1795 that King Kamehameha and his warriors defeated the O'ahu armies and united the Hawaiian Islands. It was pretty windy up there but totally worth it.

Then we went to the Kailua Beach. On of the best beaches in the whole world. We had to get our own pirvate life guard because it's more like a private beach. It's also home of worldclass wind-surfing championships. It was absolutly beautiful. No stones, no trash and stunning blue, clear water!

We stayed there the whole afternoon and returned to the hotel around 5pm. We went out for dinner with the whole group and had some free time after that.

DAY 5

Today was a really exciting day. We hiked up the Diamond Head!Diamond Head has been extinct for 150,000 years! It even served as an early Naval Defense Base in the United States Military. We hiked up on sunny trails and unique spiraling staircases. Super exhausted we arrived at the top. And wow you could see over whole Oahu and even catch a glimpse on Molokai and Lanai in the distance. Two of the other islands that belong to Hawai'i. I didn't have too much time on top of the Diamond Head because I had to catch the bus to go kayaking.

So after they showed us the basics of paddling in a kayak we carried our boats to the ocean and hopped in. 4 kilometers were ahead of us till we reached our final destination. We had to make sure our boat wouldn't turn on our way. Especially with the waves being pretty high. While we were paddling we spotted several seaturtles which was amazing. After probably half an hour or more we arrived on the island. We ate lunch and relaxed a little bit. Paddling was pretty tiring!

So the island we were on was a protected one which meant many rare animals! This island was the home of an endangered bird our tourguide told us. We hiked to the so-called "Bath of the Queen". During stormy weather the waves are pretty high and fill this little natural bathtub. It even had some fish in there. I also saw a see urchin. From the "Bath of the Queen" we spotted some whales. Pretty fare away but that was really cool! After we made our way back we had to get ready super quick because the rest of the group was ready before we even came home.

This evening we went to one of the biggest shopping malls in Hawai'i, Ala Moana. We had some free time to shop around and meet with the other people in the group. Around 7 we met at Bubba Gump. You probably heard that before. The restaurant is inspired by the film "Forrest Gump". It's a seafood restaurant and famous for its really good shrimp!

This night I went to bed half dead. I was super exhausted from the hiking and the paddling!

DAY 6

For this day I was really excited. We toured Hawaii's famous Pearl Harbor, home of the USS Arizona, which serves as the final resting place for many of the American battleship's 1,177 crew members who lost their lives on December 7, 1941 after the Japanese attack. I got to talk to two Pearl Harbor Survivor who are coming back to Pearl Harbor 3 days a week to tell their stories. We saw a little movie about this attack before we went on a boat to visit the USS Arizona Memorial. It was absolutly quiet on the boat and the memorial. It was a really sad place. You could still see pieces of the USS Arizona battleship. At the end of the memorial was a big white wall which had all the names of the fallen soldiers. You were still able to smell the oil from the boat. We had a little bit of time to walk around before we left Pearl Harbor. Our next stop took us to the National Cemetery. I've never seen something like this before. White monuments evenely lined up as far as you could see.

We made a citytour before we returned to the hotel and had some beachtime. I don't know if any of you watches Hawaii-Five-O but we made a quick stop at the statue they show.

DAY 7

The plan for today was snorkling. I went out with a friend and we spotted some pretty cool fish!

We also saw an eel who was sticking its head out of a rock. The beach we snorkled at was an old volcano. It was kinda hard sometimes because the rocks were so close to the surface. I got some scratches on my bellie and one of my friend got a really bad cut on her leg. So this was our last day. Unbelievable how fast this week went by! Because it was the last day we went to a Luau at Paradise Cove. A luau is a traditional Hawaiian Party which is accompanied with entertainement like the Hula. The main dish of a luau is pig. We just enjoyed our last evening we were able to spend together. I met such amazing people from all over the world this week!

We got home around 10pm and everyone pulled out their shirts they received here or their flag they bought so everyone can leave a nice little message. It was really sad to leave the whole group. I was in the first shuttle to the airport at 4am. We traveled the whole day and finally made it back to KC at 11pm.

At the airport waited and amazing surprise for me. Two of my bestfriends actually came to the airport with banners. I was so happy to see them!

Well, that was basically pretty much all about Hawaii. I'm really happy that I got to do this awesome trip and see a whole different way of living in the same country.

Bye, Sandra

Shave Ice

our daily meal ;)