Kayaking and snorkeling in Hawaii

Our 3 friends left us for Honolulu this morning. We dropped them off at the airport and drove to Kona Boys, a kayak rental in Kealakekua where we rented an open top kayak. We strapped the kayak to the roof of the car and found our way to to wharf, from which we started the short paddle across the cove to the Captain Cook Monument.

Halfway, we were waylaid by a large pod of spinner dolphins. Jeff was ecstatic, having missed them during our dives. We watched in glee as a couple of livelier ones jumped out of the water and spun in the air.

The snorkeling at the bay was pretty relaxing. We simply tethered the kayak to ourselves and jumped into the chilly waters. There’s a long line of coral reef just off the shoreline, and it quickly ends in a steep drop off. We hung along the edge of the reef, admiring the play of light on the fishes. While we get to see a ton more marine life – and up close – diving, it’s fun to see the riot of colors that otherwised get washed out 15 feet below the surface. We saw Moorish Idols, Parrotfish, eels, Yellow Tangs, Spotted Pufferfish, Trumpetfish, Longnose Butterfly fish etc.

On our paddle back to the wharf, we came upon the dolphins again. This time, we had slipped into the water and had a blast watching them swim around us. It was an amazing experience to look down and see a whole pod gliding beneath us, and to track their swim upwards to the surface and to break the water into joyful jumps.

We played with the dolphins for maybe a half hour before they sunk back into the depths. Just in time too; the thick grey clouds were starting to roll in.

We were most fortunate. It started drizzling after we’d safely returned our kayak and checked into our B&B, which is on top of a lush hill overlooking the Kealakekua Bay. It’s in a coffee plantation and our hosts served us their homegrown and roasted coffee before we eased into the hot tub and watched the rain drop down the verdant ferns and coffee trees.

Hiking in Hawaii

We drove from the west coast of Hawaii this morning to Hilo. It’s fascinating how a short two hour drive across the mountains bring us from the arid desert landscape to lush rain forests.

We visited the Macadamia Nut Plantation for a quick look-see. For those who are thinking of visiting, my advice would be to just skip it, especially if you have been to a plantation before. You don’t get much of a plantation to tour, and the “factory” is but a shell, where they put up a sad show for the visitors on our self-guided tour. At the very least, they could have put up better placards and explanations of the harvesting process.

We stopped by Hilo after for lunch, and chanced upon a farmers market. S was in heaven, and bought a bag of fresh and sweet rambutans to share.

We’d called in to check the lava flow and sadly the new flows werent accessible by either car or foot. Nonetheless, we donned on our hiking boots and gamely started on the 4 mile hike of Kilauea Iki that circled the crater Pu’u Pua’i and then led us down to the floor of the crater itself. It was a cool hike. I didn’t realize that the lava rocks were so porous but I guess it makes sense since the hot rocks are bubbly.

Since there was no point staying till dusk to see flow – much to the disappointment of the group as we’d come armed with headlamps – we decided to head back towards Kona. Along the way, Eugene suggested visiting Punaluu, one of the black sand beaches on the island.

Lo and behold, we step onto the beach and there were a half dozen greenback turtles just laying near the edge of the waters. Like woah! That totally made our day.

Gorgeous sunset. Everytime I see a beautiful sunset, I can’t help but think: everything is right in the world. Everything will be ok.