From there, the plan was to go to Turtle Arches, to see some turtles. Apparently the surf was pretty high in that area, so we went to a different spot instead. On the way, we saw two adult whales breaching off in the distance. Very neat!! They breached at least 3 times.
The spot we went to for snorkeling was amazing. It was probably half a mile off the southwest coast of Maui. The geography was great and the visibility was really good also. We saw quite a few turtles and lots of fish.
Once we were done with the snorkeling, we did a little whale watching. We saw a whale calf practicing breaching. Once we were in shore, we decided to check out Paia for surfing/boogie boarding opportunities.
The water ended up being a bit messy, but Joe and Laura went out anyway and had a lot of fun. Afterwards, we had a yummy dinner at a Mexican restaurant there in Paia, then headed home to conk out for the night.
-Miranda
One of the turtles I saw
CLICK FOR VIDEO:TURTLE
One of my favorite fish, the Black Triggerfish. Apparently known as the Hawaiin Parana because when they used to allow the feeding of the fish, it would bite fingers trying to get the food faster. Fortunately (for a number of reasons) they don't allow the feeding of fish anymore.
CLICK FOR VIDEO:BLACK TRIGGERFISH
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This morning we tried to go boogie boarding. We basically, completely failed. Joe needed to get out before 10:30 or so because he needs to stay out of the sun as much as possible. We went to the beach we had gone to before, but it was breaking on shore and that's it, so that wouldn't work. We tried a few other beaches, and nothing looked like it would work. We finally found one that might have worked, but it was a super long walk from the parking lot and by the time we got there, it was too late for Joe. I had pulled something in my side back on the second day we were here and it got worse when I tried to boogie board, so just Laura went into the water. Unfortunately, she got a little freaked out, but did catch one wave back into shore.
We had whale watching scheduled at 2:30. The weather was perfect. Nice and breezy, so we stayed cool, and it was relatively cloudy, so we weren't roasting in the sun. We didn't have to go far to see whales. We watched a calf breaching. The mother dove (showing her fluke) and then breached. It was great! We saw another mother and calf later. The mother was holding the calf up on her nose, pushing it around. The guys on the speaker said they had a whale do that once, swimming right by the boat, like she was showing off her baby.
We went with the Pacific Whale Foundation, which is a non-profit organization. All profits go towards research, education and conservation, which is great. We had a blast.
Here's a video of the calf breaching and the mother right next to it. (Ignore the guy talking. He's referring to the Humpback Whale songs we were listening to from the hydrophone they had in the water for a bit.)
CLICK FOR VIDEO:WHALE BREACHING
-Miranda
A gorgeous view from the boat.
This was right before she breached. Normally showing the fluke is sort of a goodbye. This generally means they are diving, so I was not ready to try and take a photo of her breaching. Oh well.
The Banyan Tree in Lahaina. This is one tree, and only about one quarter at that. The main trunk isn't even shown in this photo.
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Today we decided to go on a little hike. We hung around the house for a few hours in the morning, then left for Kahului to get lunch at a store that has only vegetarian stuff in it. Their hot deli/buffet is huge! It was very good.
From there, we headed down the highway to check out a hike that is supposed to have a couple swinging bridges on it. We weren't quite sure where to find it. We eventually did though. It was on a plantation, so we had to pay $6 per person.... Seemed a bit steep, but the hike was gorgeous and fun. At the end is a pool you can swim in. We didn't bring our suits, but it was still a great hike.
Our general plan was to head to Paia afterwards to play in the waves and have a good dinner. It ended up being too late, so we worked our way home and stopped in Lahaina again. The hope was for pizza, but we were not impressed with the menu. We ended up finding a Vietnamese place that was very good. We just headed home after that. Very fun day.
-Miranda
;)
Laura in front of a Banyon Tree. These trees are super neat. Their branches let out 'feelers' that are roots and will basically create a whole nother tree trunk. There is one in Lahaina that you would swear is multiple trees.
Laura by a super pretty flower.
;)
Laura and I walking across one of the swinging bridges. (Click on photo to see it larger.)
Joe in the bamboo forest.
The three of us at the pool at the end!
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This morning we got moving pretty early and headed to Black Rock to go snorkeling. It's supposed to be a popular spot. We saw a ton of neat fish, but there wasn't much coral in this spot. Also, it appears the fish are fed there, because they were getting super close to us. Especially if we stayed put for very long. We could hear the whales really well too, which was very neat.
By the time we got out, the beach was getting pretty busy. We headed for Kihei to have a yummy lunch at Joy's Place (again). From there we headed farther south to the lava flows. Laura and I went for a short hike before we got back in the car and headed back across the lave to another popular snorkeling spot, the Dumps.
The water was pretty clear, but the water was a little choppy. We still saw lots of neat fish. Some we hadn't seen yet. On our way back in, Laura spotted an octopus!!! It was awesome! We didn't have the camera with us, unfortunately. :( But it changed color at least 3 or 4 times. Super neat.
After snorkeling, we headed to an Indian restaurant in Kihei for dinner. It was pretty good.
Our first full day with Laura went really well and was super fun. We're all bushed though and heading to bed early.
-Miranda
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We've still been pretty tired, so we took the morning to get some work done, then decided to try boogie boarding. We rented a couple boogie boards and went to the nearby beach. It was sort of fun, but the waves were really messy. There were a bunch of reverse waves, so it would mess you up even if you did catch the wave. We stayed out a little bit, Joe more than me. We checked out the touristy Lahaina area that evening. There were some cute shops and neat galleries, but almost nothing for a couple vegetarians... All grills or burger joints. We finally found a 50's style burger place that had 4 different veggie burger options.
The next day we were scheduled to pick Laura up from the airport! Her flight ended up being delayed for a couple hours, so we didn't pick her up until 2pm. From there we picked up a snorkel set for her, and headed to Kaanapali beach to take her snorkeling. She had a lot of fun and we even saw a turtle! Afterwards, we went for a nice walk, then back home for a relaxing dinner.
-Miranda
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