Oahu - Hawaii

After a relaxing short flight and a much longer bus ride, we arrived in Waikiki, probably the most famous district of Honolulu. Our apartment was on the 28th floor and offered us a great view over the high-rise buildings and out to the sea. In the evening we met with Nicole and André, whom we had met in Costa Rica, and spent cozy hours in the in-house whirlpool - a great start to the second week here in Hawaii!

The two were staying in the same high-rise building and have also been enthusiastic divers since the beginning of their journey. That's why we decided to explore Oahu together and go diving for the next few days. But first it was time to refresh our history lessons and we took the bus - which has the creative name “TheBus” - to Pearl Harbor. Many people certainly know this port, because in December 1941 there was a major air offensive by the Japanese in which the American navy was attacked. Some ships sank and many soldiers died. This was the moment for the USA to actively enter the Second World War. Today there is still a large US Army naval base here, which is of course not so easy to visit. However, there are some information boards at the site and you can take a free ferry to the USS Arizona Memorial, where the ship in question lies sunk just below the surface of the water. Most of the other ships were salvaged and restored at that time. We spent the afternoon on the beautiful beach next to the famous - and much more crowded - Waikiki Beach on our beach chairs and with a glass or two of wine. We saw two turtles while snorkeling and a beautiful sunset in the evening.

The next day we had to get out of bed at 5:30 a.m. because if you want to dive you have to get up early (usually and unfortunately). There were four of us in a group and the first thing we went to was an old shipwreck called “Sea Tiger”, which is over 30m deep. We were greeted by two whitetip reef sharks and a sandbar shark that looked pretty big from a distance, as well as two turtles that lay around like sailors, once at the front of the bow and once in the captain's cabin. We also got to dive into and through the wreck at various locations, which was a first for us and pretty cool! The second dive took us to a cleaning station for turtles, who scrubbed their shells clean on rocks and swam around us - beautiful as always. At the end we saw a red-orange octopus! In the morning we were already back on land and everyone was a bit tired, so we spent the rest of the day by the pool and let the sun shine on our stomachs.

Nicole had picked out a hike in eastern Honolulu for the following day. All four of us collectively managed to miss all the signs that would have led us to the actual path and, chatting happily, ran deeper and deeper into the jungle. At some point the path became steeper and so densely green that we began to wonder whether we were really in the right place - spoiler: no. Philip, our scout, then found a rope that another wanderer had probably installed there and we were able to abseil down again. We went back through the dry riverbed together with millions of mosquitoes who were probably happy about the rare visit. Back at the beginning of the trail we found the error in the form of the back of a sign that showed us the end of the trail and asked us afterwards to please not walk there. A little later we also found the numerous signs for the correct hiking trail, which we walked part of and enjoyed the view we had originally intended. In any case, it was a cool adventure and much more exciting than the actual route. In the evening we sat down again at our usual spot on the beach with a view of the sunset over the sea.

The motto of the fifth day on Oahu was: beach, sun and waves. We went to the beautiful Sandy Beach, where you can have a great sizzle and then cool off in the high waves. When the photo shoot of a wedding couple next to us took place, we knew, yes, this must really be a beautiful beach 😄. It felt really good to have a “lazy” day like that! Since it was unfortunately Nicole and André's last evening, we celebrated properly and didn't go to bed until late at night.

After saying goodbye to the two of them with a heavy heart the next day and having a great time together, we walked to the rental car. We had booked the smallest car and a brand new BMW X5 was brought to us. If we thought the SUV in Los Angeles was a spaceship, this was an entire space station. Well, you take what you get and so we set off very comfortably. First we went north, where everything looked a little wilder and rougher and where “Baywatch” was also filmed. With our heads a bit thick from last evening, we first took a nap on the beach. Afterwards we drove further along the coast, watched some surfers and then headed back to Waikiki via the beautiful green east of the island, where “Jurrassic Park” was filmed. There we checked into our new accommodation, our first apartment had not been available for the entire time and so we were able to enjoy a really chic star hotel.

The next day started similarly to the last, we had booked a rental car again and instead of the small car it was a fat SUV again 😁. We decided to go diving again and headed back to the east of the island. After the equipment was tried on and stowed away, we set off. Our first target was another sunken wreck. This time, however, it wasn't a ship but a plane called "Corsair", which was also just over 30m deep. The visibility was amazing, the sea was as deep blue as on Easter Island and we were allowed to swim around the wreck surrounded by schools of fish. Since you can never stay in the depths for long, after just over 20 minutes we slowly headed towards the surface. The second dive was less spectacular, but again we saw a reef shark, several turtles and an octopus! Back on land we drove a little further to Lanikai Beach and went for a hike with a beautiful view of the surrounding green mountains and the deep blue sea. Oh Hawaii, we're a little in love with you! 🥰 In the evening we relaxed with a cocktail in the jacuzzi and did a few laps around the pool.

And then our last day in paradise began. Since we had hardly used the beautiful hotel, we set our alarm clock early in the morning and did a short exercise session in the cute gym. Afterwards we took a taxi to the mountain “Diamond Head”, which is the landmark of Honolulu. We walked briskly up the many steps and enjoyed the view of this beautiful island one last time. After we drove back to the hotel we packed everything up and headed to the airport. For lunch we had a delicious poke bowl, a cold mixture of sushi rice, vegetables, various toppings and mayo that is typical of Hawaii.

Hawaii really blew us away, especially the time we spent with Nicole and André was really nice and we definitely won't be here for the last time! Mahalo Hawaii 🌺

We're now heading to cold Buffalo, from where we want to see Niagara Falls!