Goodbye Hawaii

Ok NOW I am going to finish writing up the details on my trip to Hawaii.

The day before we left we went on a 7 hour cruise around the Kauai Na Pali (Na Pali = Cliffs) coast, and also out to the "forbidden" island of Ni'hau for some snorkeling.

The Na Pali coast of Kauai (apparently there is one on every Island) is a spectacular sight. I only took a few pictures because I was having way too much fun just hanging out on the boat.






I did take some more but they didn’t come out so well. (BTW I have a photo gallery now and I am finishing its configuration and getting it to look and work the way I want it, so I will have the rest of the photos there soon.)

After heading down the coast we headed out to sea. It took an hour and a half to get to Ni'hau. Ni'hau is a privately owned island with about 200 native Hawaiian residents, It used to be a big place where whalers would go and party that was away from the main ports but when it was purchased the family was very religious and turned it into a sanctuary for their religion. They told the locals that they could stay as long as they converted and strictly upheld their beliefs. (about 2/3 of them left) Since then no new residents are allowed on the island and if you move off the island you are not allowed to come back. According to Hawaii State law all beaches are public, but according to the guide if you land on a beach it is likely that a very large local will not so kindly ask you to leave.

On the way out there we were greeted by a large (150-200) pod of Spinner Dolphins. They got their name because, you guessed it, when they jump out of the water they spin! They are one of the few creatures in the ocean that do this and the only explanation scientists have for this behavior is "its fun." They were quite cool to watch and they looked like they were having so much fun swimming along with the boat.
I would have taken pictures but my camera was all put away inside the boat and I didn’t want to leave my spot on the bow, sorry, I wish I had too.

We got out to the island and anchored in a quiet little cove to do some snorkeling. By far the best of the trip!! The water was so clear you could see at least 100' all around and it was 80-100' deep in places. I Loved swimming as deep as I could stand (50~60Ft) and just looking around, you could see so far into the ocean in every direction, it was just mind boggling. The reefs were so much more active out there because there were not thousands of tourists feeding (which in turn attracts more aggressive fish, which then drives out the reef fish effectively killing the reef.)

As we headed back we were heading into the wind so the waves were 8-10Ft high which made the boat ride incredibly fun! Well that and one of the cute crew members chatted with me the whole time back.

That was pretty much the end of the trip. The next day we packed up and headed home. 21 hours of constant travel and 28 hours of no sleep I finally made it home to Durango. That was that, my house was just as messy as I left it (All my camping gear was spread out on the floor to dry because I didn’t have time to pack it up before I left.) I am just now starting to get close to back to normal and caught up on all the stuff I should have been doing.