Aloha to the Kilo Moana

I am writing this post from my dorm room in North Carolina! I cannot believe that I am finally on solid ground! This will be my last post for a while. The next few weeks won’t be that interesting and I will be available to talk on the phone, unlike when I am travelling. I wanted to mention the amazing things that happened in the past few days before I signed off.

Our hammocks under the stairs!

The story left off at sunset on the night before we pulled back into Honolulu. Jennifer and I decided that we wanted to have an adventure that night. The stars were absolutely beautiful and it was pretty warm outside. We decided to spend the night outside in a pair of hammocks. We wandered around looking for a good spot to tie them up. Unfortunately, the darkest and quietest places were in the most dangerous areas. We decided to put them up under a set of stairs, far from the edge so that we would have no way of falling overboard. Before we got into the hammocks, Carlos took us on a stargazing tour. He knew so many constellations! He informed us that later at night we would be able to see the Southern Cross, which can only be seen below 25 degrees North latitude. By the time we went to bed, it was 1:30. It was extremely difficult trying to fall asleep in the hammocks because it was bright, cold, and windy. Eventually we fell asleep, but Carlos woke us up again at 2:30. I was really happy that he did because he showed us even more constellations, including the Southern Cross! It was absolutely beautiful! We tried to sleep again, but it was really difficult and uncomfortable. We probably slept less than two hours, but it was completely worth it!

Sunrise above the harbor

We eventually gave up and got breakfast at 5:30. By then, we could see the lights of Honolulu and it was beautiful, but scary. I didn’t want to go back to land! We grabbed our cameras and took hundreds of pictures as the Kilo Moana pulled into port. I had imagined my first steps on land to be momentous, but we were busy unloading, so I was carrying a box on my first venture on land. The stillness was unnerving and very noticeable. Unloading was lots of work, but with everyone participating, it didn’t take too long. In the afternoon, we went to explore Honolulu and go shopping! All of the girls wanted cute Hawaiian dresses for the farewell dinner that night. After shopping, we had a chance to go the beach and relax. Even though we had been at sea for weeks, we never had a chance to go swimming. It was wonderful to immerse ourselves in the saltwater. Of course, everyone joked about how many Prochlorococcus (the phytoplankton we were studying) we were swimming in. We are such nerds!

Dinner was a wonderful affair. The scientists and the crew were invited, but only two of the crew members came along, Ken and Tony. Tony even brought along some of his friends, Damien (a local Hawaiian) and Robby (a German guy). The entire night, Robby called me Lily because he though I looked identical to the actress who plays Lily in How I Met Your Mother. He even wanted to take a picture with me so that he could go back to Germany and tell all his friends that he had met Lily. The dinner was very different than the dinner we had before the cruise, even though it was at the same venue. We had grown so close over the past month and we were all much more comfortable around each other. It was also nice to see everyone so dressed up. After so many days of wearing T-shirts and looking gross, it was nice to dress up and look nice. The dinner was bittersweet because we knew we would have to say goodbye to everyone soon.

It was pretty late by the time we got back to the boat. I stayed even later because I still had to pack! Add another night of very little sleep to my repertoire! In the morning we had to say "Aloha" to the Kilo Moana. The undergrads had mixed reactions. Some said “good riddance.” It was really hard to say goodbye for me. If they asked me to go on another month long cruise right then, I would have said yes, without hesitating. I loved this adventure and I will never forget it.

Me, Jennifer and Miss Hawaii

The rest of the day was also absolutely incredible! We went hiking with Miss Hawaii. No lie. She is a friend of Sam’s from Missouri, but now lives in Hawaii. Her name was Anna and she took us on an exciting hike. The hike itself was muddy and fun. The best part was just walking amongst the trees and earthy smells. The ocean is wonderful, but it’s just blue. I missed green plants and mud between my toes. 

Super muddy hike!

Maunawilli Falls

The hike ended in a beautiful waterfall with a swimming pond beneath it. There are four ways to enter the pond. 1. You can just walk in from the side. 2. You can jump from a ledge about 10 feet above the water. 3. You can rock climb up the side of the rock face to a ledge and jump in from 30 feet above the water. 4. You can climb up a hill and jump in from 50 feet! Stupidly, I tried to jump in from the 50-foot ledge first. Bad idea. I panicked at the top of ledge and tried to jump for 30 minutes. I couldn’t do it. It was so embarrassing to climb back down the hill. No one else decided to jump from there, so it wasn’t too bad. At least I tried to do it. I knew that I wasn’t going to leave that place until I had jumped. When would I have another chance to go to Hawaii?! Everyone was jumping from the 10-foot drop and it was a blast. I was the only one from our group to venture up the rock face and jump from the second ledge. It was scarier just trying to get to the ledge than it was actually jumping off. 

Sam and Anna, about to jump from the lower ledge

Me, jumping from the second ledge

I jumped off the lower and middle ledges several times and then noticed that Tony, Damien, and Robby had joined us at the Falls. Damien, the Hawaiian, immediately went to the 50-foot drop and jumped in. He is insane! He then proceeded to rock climb up the face of the waterfall. I knew that I had to try! I swam over to the base of the waterfall and started climbing. I had to close my eyes and climb blindly because the water kept filling my eyes. It was scary, but I did it! All the way to the top! It wasn't very big, but it was really exciting!

Climbing up the waterfall

I jumped from the lower ledges a few more times and then decided to go for the 50-foot ledge. I told Damien not to let me back down the hill. The only way down would be to jump. He said that we needed to add war paint (mud) to psych ourselves up for the jump. At the top of the hill, I stood at the edge of the drop and looked down. After a moment’s hesitation, I did it! It was absolutely terrifying, but it was so exhilarating! I was so proud of myself jumping! I wish there had been time to jump again, but alas, it was time to go. 

Damien and I, rocking our war paint

This is a video of me jumping/climbing the waterfall, taken from my helmet camera!

This is a video of me jumping from the second ledge. 

The funniest part is what Robby is saying in the background.

This last video is the video of me falling from the 50-foot drop, taken by Jennifer. 

The hike back was wonderful and Tony shared some of his Hawaiian food with us. I ate Spam for the first time! We ate this tasty roll made of spam, egg, rice and seaweed. I loved it! He also gave us Mochi, a delicious gummy fruity snack! We said our goodbyes to all of our new friends at the bottom of the hike and then headed to the beach. We had a chance to relax for a few hours before catching the bus to the airport.

Jennifer and I right before we left the falls. 

Robby, Damien and Tony when we said goodbye to them

The bus ride to the airport!

The plane took off at 10 p.m. Hawaiian time and we passed through Los Angeles and Atlanta before arriving back in New Bern at 4 p.m. A long travel day, plus very little sleep in the nights leading up to it, made us extremely tired by the time we arrived back at the Marine Lab. It’s good to be back on familiar ground, but I will always miss the Kilo Moana, her crew and the amazing adventures I had this past month.