It was a later start today, which was awesome. The coffee shop at the base of the hotel is starting to know exactly how I like my morning beverages and have given us the frequent flyer card to boot. Maybe this is becoming a habit. They can even make me a delicious London Fog. But because of my habit, I still managed to nearly miss the bus. I made it by the skin of my teeth. The buses wait for no one, especially if they are on time. In fact, as we pulled out of Aloha Landing on time, I was rather puzzled as every other thing has been late. All became clear when we realized our tour guide was in fact from New Zealand. He knew what a clock was.
The bus ride to the Polynesian Cultural Center takes about an hour. During this hour trip, the tour guide (Germaine) didn't stop talking. We saw scenes from movies like 50 first dates, and scenes from Lost. Ocean views, tunnels and the Chinese Hat. He was humerous and informative. Anyway, we had the advantage of being the first tour bus into the parking lot. So, we departed the bus.
Now, he had strongly recommended upgrading to the guided tour. We did that as it included lunch. The buffet lunch was amazing, I have to say. Then, we were led to demonstration after demonstration. Now, for the family visiting you need to know that all the shows are fabulous and with the guide, you see as much as possible. The downside is that there is no time (by which I mean zero time) to explore things on your own. Unless of course, you are me. I cocked a wary eye at the guide and gauged my time to slip off to the tattooing stations, explored a couple of buildings, took my eldest to climb a coconut tree and so on. But those were NOT scheduled into the program and it was only by my determination to get my girls a more hands on experience that it worked.
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| Music demonstration...banging da bamboo |
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| Tahiti |
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| Escaping for a tattoo |
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| Men do the cooking...he's making coconut bread (so delicious!) |
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| Canoe Parade |
By the end of the day, we had seen the Canoe Parade, and shows at Tahiti, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and Hawaii stations. We had wandered all over the map. I should also note that there were no refreshment breaks or bathroom breaks on the tours for kids. I had smuggled some stuff out of the buffet and purchased a bottle of water for $3.13. Then, we went for a canoe ride and to the luau show. Very cool and yummy. After that, we went to wander the market place and then to the main show. Breath of Life is absolutely incredible to watch and is a kalediscope of music, color, water and fire, song and dance. It is a magnificent production that would give Disney a run for their money.
One other reason that I liked this so much was that every cent that you spend is put towards the students that are working at the site. They come from all over Polynesia to come to the site to work. They get free room and board, $2500 off their tuition. In return, they put in 19 hours a week into the site. You get authentic culture through a win win program. I was impressed and the graduates that are still employed there are truly happy with their experience.
The bus ride home was long and quiet. The worst part was having to carry a sleeping child off the bus. When did she get so freaking lanky and heavy? That is a problem to be considered tomorrow. I could rave some more about today, but hopefully the pictures will demonstrate. The lighting today was odd with the mixture of sun and cloud so I tried. Have a great night...as I mentioned before...I am sooooo tired.
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