Kona, Hawaii. Excursion: Kona Highlights

St Benedict's Painted Church.

Kona is a tender port so once the Maasdam dropped her anchors the ship’s personnel set about getting guests off the ship.  It is no easy job as quite a few guests are on mobility buggies or wheelchairs, others use walking aids.  The process, therefore, was quite slow – much to the annoyance of some not-so-understanding guests.  Some tend to forget that disabled people also need to have a life.  Sadly some of the annoyed guests were also slow or had to be helped, forgetting that they themselves were holding up others behind them.  

Once on the pier an air-conditioned minibus awaited us and Kala, our guide/driver, soon had the tour group “Kona Highlights” on the road.  Our first stop was Royal Kona Coffee where guests could sample coffee and coffee blends, and purchase some if they wanted to.  The smell was heavenly but I didn’t try any.

Our next stop was St Benedicts Painted Church.  It looked like a simple building inside but it was beautifully painted inside.  Back in the late 1890’s/early 1990’s the biblical scenes helped tell a visual story to the illiterate locals.  Behind the Alter the back wall and corners of the church were painted in 3D.  This type of visual painting had never been seen before and soon word got around, resulting in the congregation pews being filled during the services.  One of lay priests gave our tour group a lovely talk about the history of the building, pointing out hidden messages in the paintings and how the church played a role in the lives of the islanders.  As we sat listening to him there was a sense of peace that fell over us and a few guests sat afterwards, for a few minutes, in reflective silence.

Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National History Park was the final destination for the day.  It is also known as a place of refuge.  Up until the early 19th century Hawaiians who broke a law could avoid death by fleeing to this place.  The offender would be absolved by a priest and free to leave.  If the offender committed a crime or sin again - there would be no second chance.  Unfortunately we couldn’t go into the refuge itself as the entrances were barricaded off with tape – perhaps some restoration work was being undertaken. The grounds just outside the wall that encloses the refuge were home to several generations of chiefs.  The grounds were pretty, along with old fish ponds.  We couldn’t get close to the beach area as it was a sanctuary for resting turtles.  We were glad when Kala arrived to pick us up in the minibus – we were hot from walking around!

Kala made sure we got a good dose of history about the island and answered any questions that guests had.  On the way back guests wanted to hear the story about Captain Cook so during the drive Kala obliged.

Once back in Kona most guests headed onto the pier to get a tender to the ship, others decided to explore the town a bit.  It is a picturesque place with interesting shops.  The ironman competition is held there every October and the town tends to be heaving at that time of year.  We were fortunate that it was a bit quieter.  I decided not to wander around Kona as there was only an hour left before the last tender.  Staff greeted us at the gangway with a nice chilled facecloth and water or lemonade.

The anchors are up and the Maasdam is now on her way, heading to Fanning Island, Kiribati.  Once Paul has finished his main duties for the day I’m hoping that we will have time for a swim before dinner.

You can see my photograph album on facebook:  Excursion: Kona Highlights

Next destination:  Fanning Island, Kiribati.