27 September – Monday
Another busy day! We headed out early, with a McDonald’s biscuit, toward the North Shore again. This time we had reservations at the Polynesian Cultural Center. We left in time to stop at Pali Lookout which has the most beautiful view of North Shore. We were standing on the cliff of a volcano overlooking a small town on the ocean. BREATHTAKING! This point also has historical significance because the island was invaded by warriors and there was a major battle at this point. Over 400 warriors were forced off the cliff to their death. Dramatic!
From Pali Point we drove along the beach and saw the small island known as “Chinaman’s Hat.” Other views along the road were awesome (I am running out of words to describe the beauty.)
We arrived at the Cultural Center about 12:30 (we had wanted to be there at noon but we could not resist stopping and enjoying the view on the way.) The Cultural Center was built by Mormons and is on the site of BYU’s extension. They use a lot of exchange students to work in the Center and they provide numerous scholarships for those students. The Center’s purpose is to preserve and highlight the cultural of the seven Polynesian Islands. There is a “village” for each of the islands and guides explain things such as housing and activities. There are small “shows” in the villages and we were able to see three of the very best ones. We had purchased the Ambassador Package which gave us a small group (12) and a personal guide. Our guide was Kelsey. She is from the states and is a senior at BYU studying anthropology. The Center is so large that if you try to view it on your own and don’t know what you are doing, you will miss some great things. We got a backstage tour of the arena for the night show then we headed to a canoe ride that took us by each of the villages and the guide gave a quick overview. I have tried to annotate most pictures to explain what they are but I need to elaborate on a few. First there was a canoe parade. Each of the 7 Polynesian islands was featured on a canoe. They performed elaborate dances while on the canoes and, as you can see, sometimes they fall off. Also, we saw the “drum show” which was great. The drummers were extremely talented and there was a lot of comedy and audience involvement. GREAT! The “welcome hut” was a celebration of welcoming a visiting tribe to the current tribe. It was a beautiful rendition. We also saw a really unusual tree growing over the river and learned that the last scene of Blue Hawaii with Elvis showed him going under that tree – I have got to “re-watch” that movie. We saw a hut “under construction” which showed how they tried to build close to the ground to protect from the wind. Carolyn got a tattoo on her ankle and I am wondering how she is going to explain that to the sopranos! We saw unusual structures which represented the ancestors of the natives; the structures “watched over” the village. James just keeps making new friends as you can see from the photo. We learned that the natives built “houses” as a series of huts; each one designed for a specific reason. We went into the “sleeping” huts. Interesting concept. The last village we visited was Samoa with the “coconut” guy. He was hilarious and very educational at the same time. That is also where a younger guy QUICKLY climbed a coconut tree! Afterwards, Carolyn & I got our picture made attempting to KISS the guy – he was a great sport!
We had a wonderful meal. As part of the Ambassador package you can select the restaurant or a luau. James and I had tried to eat the food at the luau in a previous trip and we decided on the restaurant. GOOD CHOICE. Wonderful meal, good service, and relaxed atmosphere.
Then came the GRAND FINALE! The main show was named “The Breath of Life.” It is a new show and is designed to show how we pass life from generation to generation. Because we had the Ambassador Package, and I had ordered early on line, we had GREAT seats. We were on the second row in the center section. The show was wonderful and ended with a fire show. The pictures show some of guys twirling torches which were lit on each end. The show was over about 9 p.m. and we were back in the hotel about 10:30. Late night again but a WONDERFUL day.
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