Hawaii 2007 - Day 11: Something Out Of A Dream

So after saying goodbye to Kristyn last night, I stayed up later than normal, neglecting to think about the fact that I had to be up at about 5:45 the next morning.

So after THAT startling awakening, Dad and I headed off to the pier where we were loaded on the Quick Silver (again!) for our snorkel cruise to Molokini and Turtle Town (and just in time to watch the sun rise over Haleakala!)

Even that early in the morning, we could tell that it was going to be a great day, with not a cloud in the sky, and the ocean resting unusually calm.

Our first stop was Turtle Town, a little area in front of some really swanky resorts, where there are supposedly supposed to be a surplus of turtles.

Entering the water from the boat is one of the best parts of the trip. As they said on the boat, there is the Type A Personality way (jumping off the side of the boat) or the Type B Personality way (a SLIDE (!) into the water.) I, of course, had to try both.

The water is great around Turtle Town, and within minutes, I had spotted something VERY exciting, an eagle ray (a member of the manta ray family!)

Anyway, I am swimming along, and I am not seeing any turtles (which, I assure you, is disappointing when in Turtle Town.) I am about to call it a day, when I swim over a large piece of coral and there is a turtle, happily resting on the top.

Have I mentioned how much I love these creatures? They are so peaceful, even when their home is being invaded by a whole ton of adequate swimmers in funny masks.

In any case, I was treated to a rare treat. Almost as soon as I spotted it, the turtle started to surface for air, moving so close to me I had to get out of the way (the sea turtle in Hawaii is a protected species, so there would have been a $10,000 fine had I touched it!)

While we were waiting for everyone to get back into the boat and be counted, we saw something moving not too far in the distance. As it approached us, we were stunned to discover that a group of spinner dolphins were heading our way!

Unfortunately anchored, we couldn't get any close to these amazing creatures. The cameraman on board even tried swimming closer to them, but they moved too fast for him to get a good shot.

After everyone was safely back in the boat, we headed for Molokini (which, if you hit the above link, you would now know is a bird sanctuary with protected waters.)

However, the captain decided to see if he could find the group of dolphins.

I sat anxiously on the edge of the boat (we had secured seats in the front by getting there REALLY early in the morning.)

All of a sudden, before I could even realize what was happening, dolphins started appearing from nowhere on all sides of the boat. They wanted to play!

I think at one point, we could see at least 25 in front of us. Even the crew hadn't seen anything like this. They were mesmerizing. They were totally putting on a show for us too; one was swimming upside down, and every so often, one would jump with a funky little spin (where they got their name.) Apparently, spinner dolphins often travel in large groups, even numbering in the 100's! There could have been dozens of more dolphins below the surface of the water where we couldn't see them!

I took some (soundless, and not the best quality) video with my digital camera to give you a perspective of how close I was to these creatures, and how many there were (the second video even features them playing around a bit!)

According to the captain, the dolphins were being lazy, and swimming along with the boat to avoid doing any work. When we started to speed up, they caught the current of the boat and road along with us, breeching the surface, and peeling away from the boat as we finally reached maximum speed. Brilliant!

After that amazing experience, we headed off to Molokini (beautiful, but not as exciting after what we had just seen...I could have stayed with the dolphins all day.) Like my title implies, it was very much something out of a dream. Even to this day, I have to look at my photos to remember that it happened, it was so surreal!

I think, it was at this moment, I realized that I truly was in paradise...and I was so happy.

Molokini is beautiful for snorkeling, and there is a surplus of amazing fish and coral. However, after snorkeling in Turtle Town (and at other various points throughout the week) I was ready to finish early, and head to the boat for lunch (and $1 Mai-Tai's...a drink sent down from God for me to enjoy!)

Afterwards we headed on to do some whale watching, and learned more about the islands in the area. For example, Kaho'olawe was used for many years by the U.S. Army (after the bombing of Pearl Harbour) to set off practice bombs for military training. You still can't get within 2 miles of the shore, because there are still active bombs in the waters surrounding. Lānaʻi, on the other hand, is very lush and has an amazing ability to grow 5-star hotels (I think I want to get married on Lānaʻi...)

Not too long into our whale watching journey, we started seeing some whales. We were treated to a calf whale breeching the surface and smacking his head on the water (in imitation of the adults, and eventually a few adult whales who came to the surface of the water.)

This was a definite improvement over the last whale watch I went on, and at this point, I was quite content to go home and lie by the pool for an afternoon of relaxation and peace before leaving to go home.

After eating dinner and finishing packing in the evening, my Grandmother drove my father and I to the airport, and left us to catch our flight to LA and then on to Toronto.

I remember, driving along, wishing for more time. It hurts to leave something that so special. What I didn't know, is I was about to get my wish.

The airport was a zoo! There were so many people, and for each person, there was probably at least 3 bags of luggage! It was a madhouse!

The odd thing was, when we got there, they relegated us to this line and made us stand there, with no information as to why we were in this line in the first place.

After some rumblings, it was discovered that our flight was delayed until the morning (due to the weather out east earlier that day), and they were currently trying to reroute people (or at least help them find a place to stay for the evening.) Eventually, after trying to put all the pieces together on our own, an agent came up and told us that if we had a place to stay for the evening, to go stay there, and arrive for our flight in the morning. Luckily, our Grandparents were staying in Hawaii for another week, so we called up Grandma and had her come back to pick us up, to enjoy one more sleep under the Hawaiian sky.

Now, at this point, I'm thinking:

1) I missed the Academy Awards for no good reason.

and

2) If we get back shortly, I can go in the hot tub again. Yes!

Long story short, we got back with enough time to enjoy a good solid half hour of hot tub happiness, and I crawled into bed, content with the fact that I partially got my wish. I could enjoy Maui a little more...