Day 4: Dear Snorkeling. Where the hell have you been all my life?

I’ve never snorkeled before this. Were I to paraphrase my time snorkeling, I’d wind up typing “Ooooh. Aaaah. Look at all the pretty FISHIES” about twenty times; but for the benefit of all my one and a half readers out there, I’ll be a little more descriptive.

Thus far, what I had seen of the ocean floor and fish-life was limited to what the Discovery Channel showed me. I’m a terrible swimmer + I rarely vacation = > I rarely vacation under water. [My logic is flawless].

I assumed that activities such as snorkeling were beyond my ken. So the delight I felt while peering out these (oh so stylish) goggles at the world beneath was considerable.

We snorkeled off of a boat that brought us to Kealakekua Bay – a mile-wide bay blessed with calm waters and ensconced within steep cliff sides. The bay is also home to the Captain Cook Monument, erected to honour the English explorer who ‘discovered’ the Hawaiian islands, befriended the locals, and eventually.. died at their hands. Hmm. Guess that didn’t work out for him. Anyway. Ah yes, snorkeling.

The water is benevolent and warm in this part of the ocean, averaging in the upper seventies, Farhenheit-wise speaking. The visibility under water is great, and there’s plenty of fish to ogle at. Is it just me or does the coral look like giant, underwater cauliflower?

No points for guessing which one of these critters is not native to the Pacific.