Today is our fifty-first anniversary. We had planned this trip for our fiftieth, but covid interfered and put the plans on hold.
Last night’s sunset was very different. There were more clouds than on previous nights, which added greatly to the colors. This morning was clear and bright, but clouds and rain are predicted for today.
The last two days have been snorkeling days. Friday we visited Kahalu’u Beach where we had gone with Michael. The water was full of yellow tangs, black triggerfish (humuhumu’ele’ele), which is a black, blimp-shaped fish with white or blue lines, almost neon in brightness along its dorsal fins.There was also the other type of triggerfish, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a, which was not as abundant. We had to be careful because the coral was recently spawning. We saw new dollar-sized coral, which the beach volunteer said were probably a year old.
After the snorkel trip we went to the farmer’s market down the road for avocados, tomatoes, bananas, lychee, and papaya. I had forgotten how great locally grown Hawaiian bananas taste. So much better than chiquita bananas. We stopped at Costco and picked up some huge Kaua’i shrimp, which we grilled with shoyu, wine vinegar, lemon juice, and garlic powder. Gas at Costco was fifty cents cheaper per gallon than in Kona.
Yesterday, we took a snorkeling cruise to Keaulekekua Bay. The boat left the harbor at 8:00. There were 23 aboard. We stopped partway to the bay when the captain spotted a pod of dolphins. We tried to get in the water to float near them (we are not allowed to chase of swim with them, be we can float). However, I couldn’t see any. the irony is that we were just offshore from our condo. Had we been sitting on the lanai, we’d have had a better view of them. Th image below was taken from the boat. If you expand it, our condo is in the center.
Kealakekua Bay is where Cook arrived on his third voyage. The legend is that the Hawaiians were celebrating the god Lono and Cook’s arrival with his sailing vessels was seen as an omen and possibly a manifestation of Lono. Other’s think he was simply revered as a great chief. He had already been to Kaua’i and Maui, so he could have already been known. After departing Kealakekua, he ran into a storm, which damaged his ship, so he returned. The Hawaiian’s were suspicious of his reasoning. Then a Hawaiian stole one of his longboats, which they burned (or planned to burn) to retrieve the iron nails. Cook went to take a chief prisoner to hold as hostage for the return of the boat. On the way back to the ship, a British solder killed a Hawaiian. The Hawaiians fought back and Cook was killed in the melee. Some of Cooks remains were returned to the sailors, but some of his bones are supposedly buried above the bay.
The bay has the most extensive coral formations we have seen in Hawai’i. The reef is long and el-shaped. Lots of tang, triggerfish, angel fist, parrot fish, and a bunch of other amazingly colorful fishes. We also saw three spotted-eagle rays, which are smaller than manta rays, and which feed on shrimp and crabs. Mary Fran spotted the rays from the boat after we had left the water.
The plan for today is to to have brunch at Magic Sands Grill. Later, Anne and Mike will do the manta ray swim.
Hawaiian Noir 