Awoke nice and early and had breakfast for a change before I headed off the ship to meet my tour. There were only 20 of us on the tour. We rode in two large vans up the mountain. It was quite the off-road experience, especially since we were in a van. (Almost as bumpy as the zodiac ride yesterday)
We stopped several times for some photos and then it was time to tube. We all donned the mandatory miner type hat with light and these gloves. You also had to wear water shoes. If you had none, they loaned you a pair of Crocs. Reason enough for me to wear my own shoes!
The water was brisk. Men were talking of shrinkage and women were commenting on the ability to cut diamonds! But we all settled into our inner tubes, they released the rope and off we began.
Our ride was about 2 1/2 miles and there were 5 tunnels. What?? That wasn't in the tour description. Oh yeah, the guide said about 80% of the ride was through tunnels. Great.... I have such a love of them. NOT! But now, the miner helmets with lights on them made more sense. EFFFFFF. But I'm in the water now, what can you do?
Off we floated with our 3 guides. (What a great job huh?) I had my trusty waterproof camera and took tons of pictures and a couple of videos. Not a care in the world...just floating through an abandoned sugar cane plantation. Placid waters soon gave way to mini-rapids and sent us all spinning and careening into each other and the walls.
Then BOOM, you were in a cave. I was trying to be all serious and imagine how awful it must have been to dig out these tunnels...in a jungle, with bugs everywhere, machete-ing their way through the growth. UGH. But I didn't think these thoughts for long because it was a wild ride and you hit the sides of the tunnel pretty hard, so you had to pay attention and push off with your feet.
The 3rd tunnel we went through was 3/4 of a mile long and we had to go down a little water slide type thing to get to it. Wheeeeeeeeee. Fun stuff. The tunnel was insane. This one had water dripping heavily from the ceiling and the water was super fast and seemed to go more downhill than we had been. We were all spinning so fast and bouncing back and forth like pinballs. I couldn't stop laughing. Out of one tunnel, right into the next one. Same kind of ride!
We floated some more and then it was time to enter the last tunnel and told us to keep our lights off. That was interesting. Still the same bouncy ride but no idea when a wall or another tube would be crashing into you. There were even a few mini-rapids inside the tunnel.
Oh and the guide told us, if you get flipped out of your tube, save yourself. Stand Up. The water is only 3 feet deep! LOL
Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. It was worth the money.
We made our way back to the ship after a short stop for snacks and drinks at another beautiful place in this plantation.
I made my way to the uncrowded Serenity area and pool. It was a beautiful day and I had a beautiful view from the aft of the lido deck. On one side a pretty harbor and on the other, brilliant green mountains. I did reapply sunscreen as my back is pretty burned from the snorkeling. I definitely got some sun the past few days.
As the ship set sail, I headed down to my cabin for a long shower. The dinner menu looked really good tonight, so I saved my appetite until 7:45. I ran into a couple in the Martini Bar, outside of the dining room, as I've done almost every night of this cruise and they invited me to their table for dinner. I jumped at the chance as my table mates continue to get on my one good nerve. I should have asked to be reassigned after the first night, but I told myself to give them a chance. HA Next time, I'll go with my first impression.
OK,I wasn't going to comment more on my table mates but just to give you an idea of what I am dealing with, I have my own names for these people.
1. Old Bald Crazy Lady
2. Mama's Boy'
3. The Spitter
I'm stopping right there. You can use your imagination.
After dinner, the casino called my name. This will be the last night it is open on this cruise.Tomorrow, they will change all the slots to take Australian currency. Plus, we are in Maui until 11pm. I am happy to report that the casino was very, very good to me tonight. So good, in fact, that I should be able to pay off my sign and sail charges!! I love three card poker.
And so ends another beautiful day in paradise!
I keep trying to add photos. Mostly having no luck. Be sure and check back in a few days. I am hoping for better internet speed in Honolulu.
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