Sea Turtle Lore

Did you know that the Hawaiian people thought of the Sea Turtles as family guardians? The Hawaiian word is 'aumakua. The 'amakua were not thought of as simply family protectors, they were also believed to be family ancestors. Wouldn't that be cool if Hardy was one of my special protectors, here on Maui as a Sea Turtle?

Yesterday we had a "chill" day. We just sat around and read, swam, and relaxed. It was really nice. We sat for hours watching the snorkelers, waves, and turtles in the cove. I took several photos, but they didn't capture the turtles as they floated in the surf. It's so cute when they pop their heads out of the water, and in every picture I took, they did that. I guess they are too small, or special, to capture with a camera. Instead I uploaded a golden sculpture of one - artist unknown. Guess where from?  The Maui Ocean Center, of course.


The Maui Ocean Center is involved in a hatchery program that began in 1970 out of Oahu.  There they raise the turtles and loan them as educational ambassadors in their loan program. The Ocean Center keeps the turtles for three to four years while educating the public about Sea Turtles. At the end of their term with the people at the Center, the turtles are released into the wild. I believe that is why the turtle numbers at Honokeana Cove are increasing.