Sunday evening was Mike's last full day in Hawaii. The previous evening we had gone to a 3 Doors Down concert at Bayfest, an Independence Day festival. The concert was great, the fireworks spectacular...and the three hour hike at 2:00am after missing the last bus quite enjoyable as well. To conclude that story we managed to get picked up by a taxi on one of the highways back to Honolulu, and the driver promptly informed us about the ghosts on the road and the aliens he had seen on his last trip to Canada...
One thing to note before talking about the Luau is just how patriotic Americans really are. Friday was a crazy day with people everywhere, flags at most beach sites, and the fireworks at the end of the day all coloured in red, white, and blue.
Getting back to the focus of this entry, a luau is a traditional party that used to be held to celebrate births, royal visits, etc. These days it is more an event to celebrate drinking and fine food, but there were some traditional aspects to it as well. We went to the Paradise Cove Luau, one of the biggest on Oahu. Upon arriving we were greeted with terrific Mai Tais, a shell lei, and a picture with one of the dancers. We spend the late afternoon part of the event throwing spears and completing other traditional Hawaiian activities. We were then taken to a ceremony to demonstrate the royal court, and finally they set us down for dinner. The food was a buffet, and it was absolutely terrific. They had a variety of traditional Hawaiian foods, as well as come conventional meals. For anyone going there, try the pork. It is cooked underground for 8 hours following traditional Hawaiian recipes, and is fantastic. Also, for anyone going to Hawaii, try the poi. It is a blue paste created from ground up taro roots. Its taste and texture are...unique.
The final event of the evening was a series of dances and hulas from the dance crew, as well as some crowd participation. All in all it was a lot of fun and a great way to conclude Mike's trip out to Hawaii. More thumbnails ...
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