Fin-tastic!
I'm bobbing in the Pacific Ocean, in front of Molokini Island. Below me is a volcanic reef, teeming with fish. I blow the air through my snorkel, and plunge my head underneath the water again. My eyes focus on the bottom, about 15 feet below, where the reef turns into flat sea floor. My eye catches the movement right at the seam, swimming below my feet: a tiger shark!
I pointed to my daughter Nicole, swimming beside me and then pointed back at the shark. We watched the shark swim silently below us, disappearing into the deep....
And how was your day?
OK, truth be told, at the time we didn't know it was a tiger shark. We thought it was just another large fish swimming by. We were told that later by other people on our snorkel cruise who also saw the tiger shark swim by. But I needed a dramatic opening to the blog....
That was our first stop on the Molokini Island cruise tour, which saw us show up at the dock at 7 a.m. for check in and continental breakfast before being taken by boat to the south end of Maui to the little, crescent shaped island of Molokini. The snorkeling was great - a colorful reef, lots of fish and a tiger shark.
After about 90 minutes in the water it was back on the boat for lunch (they BBQ'd burgers for everyone) and we went back to the Maui coast to a place called Turtle Town, where for nearly another hour we could watch sea turtles swim by. While Molokini Island was pretty much guaranteed "stick your head in the water and fish swim by," Turtle Town was more hit and miss. You were either lucky enough to have a turtle swim by or you weren't, as there appeared to be only about a half dozen sea turtles in the whole area. Fortunately, all four of us saw at least a couple of sea turtles float by fairly close up, so it was a good experience and a great tour all around.
I must pay special tribute to my lovely wife. She took swimming lessons over the winter in order to more fully enjoy her snorkeling on this vacation. And she had a great time today. I'm very proud of her.
And if you're wondering why there's no pictures posted to accompany a blog about colorful reefs, plentiful fish and sea turtles, it's because the only cameras we took along today were the disposable underwater variety, and we'll need to get those pictures developed (kids, ask your parents what that means) when we get home.
Tomorrow: Who knows? Nothing on the formal agenda but we've got a couple of ideas.
I pointed to my daughter Nicole, swimming beside me and then pointed back at the shark. We watched the shark swim silently below us, disappearing into the deep....
And how was your day?
OK, truth be told, at the time we didn't know it was a tiger shark. We thought it was just another large fish swimming by. We were told that later by other people on our snorkel cruise who also saw the tiger shark swim by. But I needed a dramatic opening to the blog....
That was our first stop on the Molokini Island cruise tour, which saw us show up at the dock at 7 a.m. for check in and continental breakfast before being taken by boat to the south end of Maui to the little, crescent shaped island of Molokini. The snorkeling was great - a colorful reef, lots of fish and a tiger shark.
After about 90 minutes in the water it was back on the boat for lunch (they BBQ'd burgers for everyone) and we went back to the Maui coast to a place called Turtle Town, where for nearly another hour we could watch sea turtles swim by. While Molokini Island was pretty much guaranteed "stick your head in the water and fish swim by," Turtle Town was more hit and miss. You were either lucky enough to have a turtle swim by or you weren't, as there appeared to be only about a half dozen sea turtles in the whole area. Fortunately, all four of us saw at least a couple of sea turtles float by fairly close up, so it was a good experience and a great tour all around.
I must pay special tribute to my lovely wife. She took swimming lessons over the winter in order to more fully enjoy her snorkeling on this vacation. And she had a great time today. I'm very proud of her.
And if you're wondering why there's no pictures posted to accompany a blog about colorful reefs, plentiful fish and sea turtles, it's because the only cameras we took along today were the disposable underwater variety, and we'll need to get those pictures developed (kids, ask your parents what that means) when we get home.
Tomorrow: Who knows? Nothing on the formal agenda but we've got a couple of ideas.
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