The drive up was cool, it only took us about an hour to get to the opposite end of the island. I was surprised. I expected Hawai'i to look more, I don't know, tropical. There were a lot of grass fields and trees that I would expect to see back home. There were of course some exotic species. A few that stood out were the Banyan and the Bo.
Banyan trees are awesome. They grow very large and send shoots down from their branches and along side their trunks to form auxiliary roots. The entire effect is a complex of structures that dominate the space. Bo trees are pretty fresh too. They've got extremely wide canopies with leaves that appear only at the top so that their massive branches contain a vast empty space.
We came to a beach called Shark's Cove. Biz and his girlfriend had me start in this sweet little pool amongst the rocks that was connected to an underwater cave. We suited up as they instructed me how to make this passage. The ocean filled the tunnel to the ceiling so there was no room for a breather, you have to make it in one shot. I dipped below the surface to peer through. The tunnel was a dark, featureless blue, the opening on the other side a brilliant turquoise in the late morning sun. No sweat. I went through first, Biz and Michelle followed with the camera. As I came to the opening I could see tiny silver guppies shimmering in the sunlight. They rapidly dispersed as I surfaced. Bling!
We tooled about in the water for an hour or so. I think we were all tired for various reasons. It was nice to watch the professionals play. They had much greater air holds than I and could handle the pressure better. Biz dived deep with the camera as I swam above him. I tried to do my best Spider-Man, with limbs and dreads spread in all directions. All colors appear more saturated under the waves.
We saw another sea turtle, some kind of flat thing called a Titan Scorpion Fish, and other natives I couldn't identify. I was awed by a certain school that floated motionless in a perfect line adjacent to each other. O our way in we swam through a coral reef with a plethora 0f many hued urchins. Extra fly.
Afterwards we drove to a nearby park run by the National Audobahn Society. It was situated in a river valley; a watershed from one of the many mountains. It was really pretty with lots of various species both native and invasive. With paved paths and signage it was a bit too manicured for my taste but considering the state of my foot it was probably for the best. At the end of the path was Waimea Falls. It was pretty small but had a decent sized pool so I jumped in for a dip. The life guard on duty claimed that there was a ledge behind the falls but I couldn't force my way through the pounding water. Not a strong enough swimmer.
Fried squid for lunch and then back home. Too exhausted to go out, Chrizzler and I turned in early. That was the last I got to see of Biz. Too short but good none-the-less. It had been damn near a decade since I'd seen him. After these few days of snorkeling I've gotten bitten by a bug. I might just have to return one day, take some lessons, become a diving man. I really wanted to get into some SCUBA! Snorkeling is just weird, what with having to surface for air. I wanna stay down!
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