27 April 2004
Snorkeling!
Finally I got to snorkel! The weather was perfect and we had our rented masks and fins ready. Sonic picked up her friend Emily; they volunteer together at the Kilauea Point Wildlife Refuge.
We went to Kee Beach, also known as "the end of the road". Beyond Kee is the Na Pali Coast, a vertical wilderness, impassable except on foot. At Kee Beach, the waves break far from shore, past coral reefs laced with beautiful fish.
Sonic and Emily snorkeled only briefly, but since it was my first time, I lingered in the water, fascinated. I didn't get to see a sea turtle, but I did see an angelfish and a dozen other colorful species. I quickly overcame the anxiety of breathing through a narrow tube, and learned to cope with my leaky rented mask. The fish seemed to regard me as no particular threat, though of course none of them let me pet them. There were bottom-feeders, lone fish, schools, fish that hid in the shadows, and fish that preferred the sunlight. Many seemed happy to hang out and let me tag along on their travels around the reef. I took pictures with a disposable underwater camera—hopefully some of them turned out well!
Eventually, I tore myself away from the cute fish and joined Sonic and Emily on the sand, where we all developed "Polynesian paralysis" and lay limply in the sun. Wild chickens milled about, hoping for crumbs from tourists' sandwiches. I applied more sunscreen, knowing that I'll be very sorry indeed if I burn my pale pink skin. We lay there some more, and roused ourselves slowly.
At the farmers' market in Waipa, we sipped ice-cold coconut milk straight from the nut and bought salad, goat cheese, zucchini, avocado, papaya, apple bananas, and a pineapple. Back at Sonic's house, we made salads from the greens and goat cheese. Soon it was time to take Emily home, return our gear to Snorkel Bob's, and visit Safeway for a few dinner items. There's a Cold Stone Creamery next to the Safeway, where I scratched an itch with a healthy helping of Peanut Butter Cup Perfection. Yum!
Now it's a quiet evening at home as we prepare to shift our scene to the Big Island tomorrow. Short ribs and zucchini for dinner, along with blended-fruit cocktails. Laundry. Planning. And now to bed.