GOPRO Hero 10 – f/2.5 , ISO 131

Loooooong day. Just got back a bit ago. I’ll try to come back and fill in the blanks with the other pics but suffice to say that these are all about the Polynesian Cultural Center luau we attended. I try at times to tell a story with my Photo of the Day. Here we have a variety of emotions going on. We are in a large outrigger type canoe going for a ride down a canal. Roxie and Nima are talking and laughing. It was really hot and sweaty and Beave’s face reflects that. I’m with Beave in that I’m soaking wet with sweat but trying to put on a good face. Besides the heat, it really was a fun day!

The building behind us is the bure kalou or “spirit house” in the Fijian Village. It is the tallest in the Polynesian Cultural Center and is on a platform. Fiji is the only culture to place a 6 story building on a platform. They believed that the taller the place of worship, the closer the people would be to their gods.

The below pic is of our two guides. The one on the left we called ‘Jr’ and he is from Tahiti. He was also a performer in the show ‘Ha – Breath of Life’. The one on the right is from Indonesia and his name is Giovanni. Both are students at Brigham Young University – Hawaii.

This is a small village that was on the canoe trip.

This is a double-hulled voyaging canoe and it is the largest in Hawaii. It is called ‘Iosepa‘. Ancient voyagers traveled 2400 miles across the open Pacific in these double-hulled canoes. This thing is bigger than a lot of catamarans.

It wouldn’t be proper if we didn’t receive some initial instruction in the art of Hula Dancing.

This was a short show where they pulled two audience members out and had them play the drums. Very funny!

We received some instruction on weaving techniques. This is a not-quite-finished toy where it is a fish. I don’t have the fins done yet, and I haven’t added the fishing pole.

The Luau Feast was in this area. If you look close, in the lower center, two individuals are carrying a pig that was smoked and cooked underground. They are bringing it up to the carving station. It was fall off the bone tender, and oh so good (but not quite as good as mine).

They did not allow photography during the ‘Ha – Breath of Life’ show, so, alas, no pics of that.

This is a close up of the lei I was given when we entered the Feast area. I believe the flowers are orchids.