22/9 Maui and the disco

Saturday 22^nd Maui

We woke offshore from another volcanic island (moh-eee). The top was hidden in mist and other islands were nearby – apparently uninhabited? This is where Terry and Jane live (friends from our first cruise who had to be evacuated from the first night of their latest trip just off Brisbane during April.)

J had her 3^rd and final ionithermie session, followed by the sales pitch for $900 worth of lotions to take home with us. There is some obvious benefit from the treatments but we don’t know what exactly has happened and how long it will last. There would be little doubt that similar secret seaweed treatments will be available on dry land or that it would be very much cheaper.

We tendered ashore and had a stroll down the coastal shopping strip. The usual souvenir shops with interesting gems like the Bubba Gump Shrimp Shop (complete with a bus stop bench, chocolate box and daggy suitcase for tourists to pose) and an art gallery with extensive collections of the works of Anthony Quinn and Sir Anthony Hopkins, both better known as actors.

 

Right next to the tender jetty was the former courthouse building with wide grounds dominated by a huge Banyan tree with multiple trunks. It was hard to guess where it had begun because they were all of equal size – a network of sprawling trees connected by runners about 3 metres off the ground.

The main tree.  The 'babies' cover about an acre

Theatre

Shops street level - restaurants above

Todays view

We had lunch back on the boat and had some slack time in the sun at the pool and then in the solarium. No trivia today and very few activities – mainly movies at the pool, cinema and theatre. Or there is TV – they showed a fascinating but worrying report about the Costa Concordia grounding and what that reveals about the cruising industry, which is worth a stupendous amount of money (these boats cost hundreds of millions each) and is protected by highly-paid lobbyists.

Then there is the perennial coverage of the never-ending US election, the pillaging of the consulate in Libya, and the basic difference between Romney and Obama – Romney gets all his campaign funds from the mega-rich who want him to drop taxes while Obama is committed to Redistribution. His view is that Gubment is not simply about collecting money to provide needed services but also to redistribute wealth to the middle classes. Hmmmm does that sound familiar?

We discovered the Happy Hour which provides 3 “small” margaritas for $14 and sat on the open area at the back with assorted chilled drinks watching the lights ashore and on the bay. The weather here seems to be consistently a balmy warmth and we are looking forward to spending a week in Waikiki.

There was a small turnout for the only trivia event of the day, which we won and passed the wallet/moneybelts to the Aussie team. I retired to wash clothes, sort the booty collection and finish my library book, while J cranked up the honeymoon with the 70s disco and the topless boys. (J: Woohoo *wink*)