Tag Archives: Oosterdam

January 19, 2015 · 5:35 am

Reaching Oahu after Five Days at Sea

Pier 9 Honolulu Harbor and Aloha Tower

MS Oosterdam departed Pago Pago Harbor on Friday, April 25. We spent the next five days at sea, crossing the equator on that Sunday and finally sailing into Oahu, Hawaii on Thursday, May 1.

Oahu Flowers

Alas Ursula and I did not spend a whole lot of time in Honolulu as we’ve been here many times in the past, including our honeymoon over 35 years ago. At any rate we had another excursion in mind. We hurriedly left the ship for something we’d never done before — a food tour of the island.

Kāneʻohe Bay

So on this trip we got to see much more than just Honolulu, and we tasted much more than the standard tourist fare.

Oahu Flowers

This week I’ll be presenting photos of Oahu Island sights, but next week I’ll take you on a culinary tour that will end with a special Fun Food Friday rather than the usual Fun Photo Friday. On that day, a week from this Friday, I’ll present my recipe for one of Hawaii’s most tempting street foods — Hawaiian Garlic Shrimp just as it tastes coming off an island food truck.

But for this week we’ll concentrate on the Oahu scenery.

Honolulu at night

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Filed under Photography, R. Doug Wicker, travel

Tagged as Hawaii, Honolulu, Oahu, Oosterdam, photography, R. Doug Wicker, transpacific cruise, travel, travel photography, Ursula Wicker

January 14, 2015 · 5:35 am

Going Batty for the National Park of American Samoa

Samoan Flying Fox

I’ve seen bigger bats, but not in a long time. These are the Samoan Flying Foxes with wingspans approaching nearly three feet. The Samoan Flying Fox is a medium-sized (if you can believe that) member of the megabat family.

But don’t worry — these are fruit bats.

Samoan Flying Fox out on a limb

So how did we come across this colony of megabats? We asked to see them on our taxi trip back from the western-most U.S. National Park — The National Park of American Samoa. The Visitor Center for this park is located in Pago Pago. It’s on the second floor of the MHJ Building, and the Visitor Center alone is well worth a visit. At any rate we let pass the first couple of taxis when the driver asked for far too much for a round trip excursion, but we eventually found someone willing to drive us there at a reasonable rate.