Molokini

The last time I snorkeled at Molokini was back in 1984. Brad and I were newlyweds on our honeymoon. My uncle, who lived on Maui back then, hooked us up with some friends of his who owed him a favor. They took us there for free. We enjoyed our sail on the catamaran that took us to the tiny dive spot that is situated between the islands of Maui and Kaho'olawe, but it was obvious that these folks hadn't been there very often because our trip back in the afternoon was a bit treacherous. It was an adventure, to say the vey least. In back of my mind I thought it a little dangerous, and so had not been inspired to revisit the place again. 

Not wanting to miss out on a chartered snorkel trip this year, I decided to make it a priority. I did a lot of research and solicited recommendations from friends and family. I ended up booking our trip before we left home. The company I chose, Pride of Maui, was recommended by a friend of mine who works at the Maui Ocean Center.  I don't have many friends who dive, but she was so positive we would not only make it to Molokini safely, but also enjoy this particular company's snorkel trip, I just HAD to try it. Boy am I glad I did.

According to the people who worked for Pride of Maui, Molokini is one of the top ten dive locations in the world. They say it's because of the crystal clear visibility, the diversity of the coral reefs and marine wildlife that live on or around the island, and because the water is warm like bath water. I found all of this to be true. The snorkeling (and visibility) was spectacular. I saw the largest variety of marine wildlife there than I've ever seen in a singular snorkel (no Honu though). It goes without saying that the water lived up to its tropical temperature.

What I didn't expect was how much we would enjoy the boat ride to and from Molokini. It was safe, handled the swells and wind well, and again we saw numerous flying fish. The other participants were very friendly, and we befriended a sweet newlywed couple which brought back lovely memories. The crew was filled with kind hearted local people who were all to happy to share their knowledge as well as spread the aloha spirit. A great time was had by all, and I would recommend the trip to young and old. It was a bucket list kind of trip that even those who didn't snorkel seemed to enjoy. 

While it doesn't do the place justice, Brad snapped the picture below of Molokini as we were approaching. Note all the boats inside the semicircle. One might think it would be too populated to enjoy, but not so. All the boats stagger in an out in 15 minute increments and so it was one boat group at a time in the water. 

Flying Fish

When I worked as a second grade teacher, I had to come up with many positive ways to motivate my students. Among these were a couple of silly daily and weekly awards. For example, I gave the "bracelet" award for good behavior... two stretchy wrist bracelets that I wore prior to first recess in beads of our school colors. I gave one of them off each wrist to the boy and girl who exhibited the best behavior for the morning to wear during recess. It was my way of keeping those seven year old minds focused on what I was teaching early in the morning. I still marvel at how or why it was so highly coveted, but as any elementary school teacher will tell you, when something works, you go with it. 

One day I decided I needed to give another award on a weekly basis to identify a student who had achieved academic excellence. Because I love the ocean, and my classroom was decked out as if you were there, I decided the award should also have an ocean theme. Hence the creation of the "flying fish award." It all began as a ploy to motivate my students to do better with their research and weekly writing assignment. The students bought into it like fish to water (pun intended). Meanwhile, what became the Flying Fish Award evolved into a beautifully laminated, brief article about the flying fish, which my students helped to create, and was also highly coveted when they won it. 

I like to believe I was motivating them to to read appropriate and interesting non-fiction about a subject to which they (or I) knew little. The year I created the award, I learned a lot about flying fish. There are over 60 different species, and they are often found in the tropical waters of Barbados. In my wildest dreams, I never thought I would ever SEE one, but I can attest that not only did I see one, I saw many of them off the coast of Maui. The flying fish I saw were predominantly off the coast of Wailea, and they flew/swam in small schools in and out of the water as we sailed by. What surprised me the most was the noise they make. They sound like a humming bird and the flapping of a homing pigeon at the same time. The effect is jaw dropping. 

Wishing to learn even more about this spectacular fish this morning, I found an excellent video that captures their magic. Try as I might, I was not able to snap a good photo of them. Shout out to David Attenborough, who (based on my recollection) sounds like the person who performs the narration. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/SKNjUQgQHPI

Setting Sail

It was a hot, humid, sunny day on Maui when we met up with a few sailors at the Lahaina Harbor for a sail in a 30' Olsen. What a beauty she was, newer and sleeker than the 29 footer we sail in Santa Cruz with the community boating club. She was clean, her sails were crisp, and she was obviously well taken care of. 

I fell immediately in love with the beautiful cerulean blue of the ocean, and although it was hot and humid, I felt comfortable in my dive shirt and bike shorts. In the beginning we were all quiet as we maneuvered her the hull of the sailboat through the warm water, watching the sights and sounds of Lahaina town pass behind us. As we got further out, several schools of flying fish would evade our advances. Molokini loomed farther out than we would like to travel. It felt like we were participants in a magical dream watching our boat pass through an ocean so blue it looked like someone had poured blue paint in it, along with the lush green fauna on the land nearby.

By the time we returned to the slip, we were chatting jovially and we all decided to head to the Yacht Club for a bite to eat. A great time was had by all, and I snapped a picture of the gorgeous view. Once again, the aloha spirit and the island life on Maui warmed my soul. 

The Cove

I was sitting on a Boeing airplane heading due west to our annual tropical vacation destination, and the excitement was almost tangible. I put down my book, Bird of Another Heaven, by James Houston, and pondered why I love to visit the Hawaiian islands every year. It has a lot to do with the place we stay, which just might be one of the most beautiful places on earth, but it's more than that. It's the music, the colors of the ocean, the temperate climate, the snorkeling and the general aloha spirit that brings us back again and again. This place is our own private paradise in the Hawaiian islands.

When we are here, everything just seems to fall into place. After our plane gently touched down, we leisurely walked to the rental car area, passing the line of tourists that stand in line for the deals at Dollar and Alamo car rental, having spent too much time during prior years in their long lines, and on to our Enterprise shuttle that awaited our arrival. I barely had enough time to visit the ladies room, and we were in our rental car on our way to the cove. 

We decided to stop on our way to pick up a few groceries, rent our snorkel gear, and then we made our way to the condo we frequent each year. We were in for a lovely welcome from the woman who has been working at the reception area for over 15 years, and I noticed that it feels like we are visiting ohana (family), when we say our alohas. When we finally opened the door to our unit, what lies before us is the incredible view, and we know that we have arrived. 

The sun isn't yet moving towards the horizon, so we decided to get in the warm ocean water and swim with the turtles. They are there, just like always, hiding in the coral reefs, slowly coming up for air. We are the only ones in the cove and they come out and lead us around as if to welcome us back. When we are done, we relax on the grassy ocean edge and bask in the warm sunshine. That's when I pull put the camera and snap this photo. All I can think is, Maui no ka hoi, which when translated means Maui is the best.