Bill and Pi: Day 4: Mostly snorkeling

My back was sore from the zip lines (still totally worth it, though!) so we took it easy today. We slept in, then headed north for more snorkeling.

We wanted to go to a meeting at noon, so we decided to try snorkeling at the little beach (Hanakao'o) just north of where the meeting would be. We were the only people at the beach, so we were alone in the water with many fish. As we explored the coral-covered lava rock, we saw a turtle in the shallow water. As we approached, we realized that there was another, even larger turtle as well. The larger one was at least twice the size of the one we saw yesterday. We were so excited to have them all to ourselves, but I scared them away by getting too close. Bill did manage to snap some pictures, but we won't have those until we get the film developed from our waterproof camera. In the interim, here is what those beautiful creatures look like (not our photo):

We caught our meeting on the beach (a lot like home at H2, but not on the sand... closer to the water though!) and met a really great group of people. After that, we headed to the strip mall where we met for the zip line tour (from Monday) and parked the car to catch a shuttle down to Black Rock again. This time, we entered through the premises of the Sheraton, pretending (to ourselves only) to be guests. This time we went out futher along and around the point, and were rewarded with a lot of fish, but sadly no more turtles. As we headed back, we found a Jamba Juice cup floating in the water (!) so we made sure to grab it and take it out with us. We used the hotel shower to rinse off, headed back to the strip mall for lunch (same place that catered the zip line tour) before going north to take some pictures of Honolua.

Here is some more about Honolua Bay: It is a little way down from the road, and the path winds through a lush, green jungle. When we went on Monday, we were a little behind a couple of people when heading down, and when we were almost there, the man was walking back complaning that he was not allowed to go spear fishing! Honolua is part of one of only two ecological preserves on the entire island, and is a well known site for snorkeling, so we were shocked that he had brought a spear with him. We were glad that he had been straightened out, though.

Today, after taking some pictures of the jungle surrounding the path to the bay, we headed home, stopping at a couple of lookout points to take photos along the way. It's incredible how many picture-perfect spots there are here in Maui. Seeing how blue the ocean is here really makes us aware of how dirty and grey the water is in southern California. After a shower and (in Bill's case) a nap, we went to dinner at Roy's, which was sublime. The food there is really great, whether you're at the Roy's in Newport Beach or in Kihei. Somehow, it seems to fit a little better in Hawaii. The waitress took a picture of us: