Well today was our last day full day and last snorkel. We leave our beloved Maui at 11:00AM tomorrow. :-( We headed north early and got to Honolua at 8:30. As soon as I hit the water I turned on my camera. Nothing. Since there was no way for it to flood that quick and not even turn on. So I took it back to shore. As I was going back out to join Karen I remembered that the charger had been acting funny when I took out the battery and I din't check it when I put it in. Well good news, Karen said she had to reset the GFIC button on the plug so it never charged over night. Whew!
As it turned out nothing was lost. We went all the way out past the boat mooring and there was a whole lot nothing out there. The reef just had not waken up yet. The sun was still low enough that all along the north side that the water was way too dark to snorkel in. So we headed in and decided to go to Kapalua.
We went back and got a good battery, re-applied sunscreen and were about to leave when Karen hollered "Turtles" from the lanai. It ended up there was 5 out there. And well we'll just say they were working the next generation of Hawaiian honu's. LOL She got a few pics But I think I'll leave them out. Don't want to offend anyone.
So after the class in turtle biology we went to Kapalua. It was busy but we found a parking spot right next to the bathroom so the good luck was back. It was rolling pretty good but it was fairly clear once we got out and to the north side of the bay. Got some nice pics and even found another new fish for my collection. Another Scorpionfish. 11 years of snorkeling and never saw one then this trip I see two different varieties. Even caught a few good shots of a small octopus. I told him I knew Rena the octopus whisperer and he came out and did a lap around his rock stopping a couple times then back under his ledge. What's even funnier is that's not a joke. Anyway the eels were sleeping today. Only saw one small one. Well' on with the pics.
I did have another first today. As we were coming in I saw something on the bottom waving around. I have to say this is the first snorkel I ever got paid for. Seed money for the next trip. LOL
We also caught a beautiful sunset on the way back from Lahaina. It was a nice farwell. Until next time Maui, a hui hou.
Another great day snorkeling. Started out back at Honolua. Thankfully conditions had improved and clarity was a little better and water much calmer. Found at least 3 new species we hadn't seen before. A very cool Scorpionfish, well okay, really ugly. LOL Also a new Squirrelfish and a Gurnard. The size of the eels we have found this trip has been amazing. There was a huge Yellowmargined I saw early on then a big Whitemouthed when we were heading back in and both were out hunting when I came across them. On with the pics.
When we were done snorkeling at Honolua I ended up talking with the land owner there for quite a while. He showed me the story of the property what's gone on there over the years. He was really a nice guy and had a very respectful son there who I got to talk with also. It was a really nice morning.
We headed out and were staving and Karen saw the sign at the light in Napili for Mama's BBQ so I pulled in and gave them a try. So glad we did. They will be getting a 5 star rating on TripAdvisor when we get home. Karen's chicken and my BBQ pork were both great.
We went back to the room to re-apply sunscreen and headed out for the small park just North of Kahekili. It was rolling a bit but out off the beach a little it cleared pretty good. The temps were up and down so much there today though. You could feel a good 10 degree change in just a few feet. I think the fresh water from the rains earlier in the week were flowing in like crazy. There was bubbles coming up in areas as well as the oily look when the fresh and salt water blend.
The evening was capped off with a very nice dinner with a friend of Karen's from Relay For Life state council and her husband a a friend of theirs from here on Maui. We didn't even know they were here until yesterday and found out just feet away from them on Sunday when we were doing the beach cleanup. Great sunset and great company. Oh and dinner wasn't too bad at Hula Grill either. LOL
