Our alarm went off at 6:30am as the ship was entering the small harbor of Naze, Amami. Today we shared a car with Alex and Barb to be able to independently tour the island. We exited the ship before 8am and walked into town to pick up our car. When we got there we learned that our car was at the port. So the rental agency had to send a representative back to the port to retrieve our and many other's cars. Anyone reading this blog and contemplating a car rental should get explicit instructions as to where to pick up their vehicle.
After a brief wait during which we finalized our list of attractions to visit, our car was delivered to us and we were off.
Our first and furthest stop was Cape Ayamaru Park where we enjoyed the natural beauty of the ocean and beach as well as some 5" spiders and hermit crabs. From there we drove to a lighthouse which had a unique dam at the bottom of a waterfall along with a giant turtle sculpture and a sign indicating the site of a lunar excludes in 2009. There were also a large number of fishing floats washed up in the beach, so we collected a sample.
Amami Crater forms a bay and was quite scenic. But the highlight of the day for me was the time we spent in the National Park observing butterflies, birds, bugs, and even a snake! On the drive back we found a store where we purchased a local postcard. Fortunately we were able to drop the car off at the port, and we made our way back on to the ship. For this port I'd highly recommend renting a car (do it in advance) as there is infrequent public transportation to pretty remote sites.
During the Captain's sail away announcement he made a special announcement that because of Typhoon Lingling, we would be arriving at 6 am and departing at noon with an all aboard time of 11:30am. And all HAL shore excursions would be cancelled and refunds made to shipboard accounts. I began to wonder if our friend would have sufficient time to make it to the American embassy to get a renewed passport.
After watching the sailaway and the appreciative small send off crowd, we ate a Lido dinner with Roger and Caroline before watching the comedian's, Tim Kaminski, perform his second show. We wrapped up our evening with a bedtime nite sky story by Greg Redfern. Given we needed to meet with our small group At 6:45am, It was going to be a short night.
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