Ireland day 0974. Wednesday 29 May 2024- Honolulu 2

Today’s summary	Got up early and had breakfast at Denny’s. Walked down to Waikiki Beach and I went for a swim while Val looked on. Caught the bus to the Foster Botanic Garden and had a good look at the tree trail. Excellent. Went from there to the Liliʻuokalani Botanical Garden, which was much less impressive. Caught the bus back to the hotel as it was too hot to walk. Another swim in the evening – from the Kuhio beach – and this time both of us managed to get in. Watched the sun set then beers on our balcony and dinner back at Denny’s.
Today’s weather	Sunny and warm with occasional very light drizzle. Moderate easterly wind. Appx 28c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Waikiki Beach

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

We had the dubious benefit of a three hour time difference with Vancouver to contend with this morning, which meant we were both bright eyed and bushy tailed by 5 am. So as soon as it was light, we got up and headed next door to Denny’s for breakfast.

After our all-American start to the day, we decided to head out and enjoy the tropical sunshine and buzz of Honolulu.

We started our day with a walk down Waikiki Beach, which is only a few yards from the Queen Kapi’olani hotel, where we are staying. It was a beautiful warm day and it didn’t take long before the allure of the Pacific Ocean became too much to resist. So I pulled on my swimming shorts and jumped in for a splash, while Val kept guard on my clothes. Fantastic! You can’t beat swimming in seawater that’s decently warm.

Once dressed again, we sought out the nearest bus stop and caught a number 20A towards the Foster Botanical Gardens. It’s a beautiful spot, full of interesting plants, and we spent a couple of hours having a snack lunch and wandering around, seeking out the 21 specimens on the tree trail. Perhaps the most impressive were the kapok tree, shedding its seeds in clouds of fluff, and the cannonball tree – which produces peculiar large spherical fruit directly out of its trunk.

Once we had finished looking round, we walked a few meters round the block to take a look at the Liliʻuokalani Botanical Garden. It’s more of a park, really, than a botanical garden, and it wasn’t that interesting, to be frank. So we didn’t hang around too long, and as it was quite hot by this stage, we decided to catch a bus back to the hotel rather than walk.

Once back, we grabbed a cup of tea then headed back to the nearby Kuhio beach where, this time, we both managed to get in for a dip. By the time we got out, the sun was setting in typical spectacular but brief tropical form, so we hung around to watch it then retired to the hotel.

After a quick beer in our balcony, dinner tonight was back at Denny’s (it’s cheap and good) then an early night – by local time standards that is – though it was still after midnight for our Vancouverian body-clocks.

Another warm sunny day beckons tomorrow, and I can’t wait!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The view from our hotel room balcony on the 19th floor	Here we are on Waikiki Beach

In the Foster Botanical Gardens	Cannonball Tree

Iconic Waikiki	Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about the man who invented surfing

Sharp coral – not one of the more usual hiking hazards I’m acquainted with