Wow, really far behind here.
We came home from White Beach on Friday, March 14th. After a weekend relaxing from all that vacation, we headed to a harbor in Naha. We had signed up for a whale watching tour about a month before, and I had been anticipating it even since. Humpback whales spend about two months every spring around the island, and I had heard great things about taking a boat tour to see them. We were not disappointed. We boarded a two-level boat, along with Japanese, French, and German passengers. We spent about an hour out on the water, watching schools of dolphins. At last we spotted a whale, or possibly several different ones, as I could not tell them apart. It was breathtaking, being so close to such a large creature.
This was a long and slightly sunburning day, but very rewarding. After this, we went to a Japanese McDonalds for the first time. And yes, they are different, evidenced by the fact that I got a shrimp burger and melon soda. Also that the burgers look exactly as pictured. None of those squashed meals here!
dolphin midair
a humpback breaching
and the tail
Wednesday, March 19th, we went two places. The first was Pineapple Park, a tourist attraction set up to show you around a pineapple farm and give you a chance to view the many pineapple products made on the island. We got to walk around and ride a small cart through the fields, and also sampled fresh pineapple and pineapple pound cake. Okinawan pineapples are simply amazing. The flavor of the pineapples shipped in to the commissaries doesn't begin to compare!
one of the fields
a baby pineapple
The next stop was Neo Park, which was an open-style zoo. We wandered along trails and through large enclosures, watching, photographing, and petting many types of animals, mostly birds. There are lots of pictures from this day, so email me or look at the Facebook album to see more.
we took a train ride around the facility before touring it on foot
mama and baby lemur
turtles, as always
there were lots of different birds, all kept together, that we could walk right up to. this shot is from about two feet away.
they were easily fooled into thinking leaves were food. this bird's bill was wider at the bottom than the top.
for the life of me, I can't remember what these are called. they roamed freely with the peacocks and liked cabbage.
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