Since the conference does not begin until the evening, there is always a tour during the day. It is optional and not covered under the umbrella of the registration fees but is usually well worth doing. This year, it was a snorkeling adventure along the coast of Maui. When I signed us up, I neglected to tell Glen it was an early morning start. When we received our instructions, not only were we to be on the bus by 6:15 am, there would be no coffee served with our breakfast. Still suffering from the affects of jet lag, we stumbled out of bed at 5:30 and I got the room's coffee maker going. It made 2 cups but not in a carafe so Glen had the full cup while mine was half full. I gagged as I took my pills. Not a great way to begin the day.
A 45 minute bus ride took us to the Kihei Maui boat ramp where we met Blue Water Rafting's two pontoon boats. Our captain, Dante, and his mate, Eli, helped us board after making sure no one had back or neck injuries, recent surgeries, or were pregnant. As we exited the harbour, we found out why as Dante gunned the raft through a 10 foot wave. Beyond, the sea was calm but we had a long way to go and it was at full throttle. If you've ever sat on the pontoons of a bouncing boat, you'll know it isn't the most comfortable seat in the world. We also had to hold onto ropes for fear of falling off. It was a wild ride. The doughnut tricks Dante did, didn't help those who were not seaworthy.
Dante thought we'd see humpback whales and there they were cresting the surface on the horizon. Our aches and pains were forgotten. As the creatures sounded (deep dive), Dante stopped the boat and put a hydrophone into the water. We could hear the whales calling to each other. It was incredibly magical.
Then we were off again passing the towns of Wailea and Makena as we made our way down the Kanaio Coast, a remote arid area of Maui where only a few live on the slopes of Mt. Haleakala (10,000 feet). This volcano erupts every 200 years or so. The last such event had lava exploding from a side vent and pouring into the sea. Dante took us close to see the unique types of rock formed by this. A'a lava is a crusty, jagged formation which sits upon pahoehoe (pa-hoy-hoy) or smooth lava. Beneath these is a box-like layer called columnar basalt (see above photo). The result is an incredible coastline of caves, grottos, and lava arches. Since the sea was calm (according to Dante), we explored these formations very closely.
On our way to La Perouse Bay, named for the French explorer, Jean-François de Galaup, Compte de La Pérouse, the first European to discover Maui (1786), a 'comp pod' of whales surfaced nearby. These pods are a group of 3 to 4 whales who swim together. One is female, the others are males vying for her attention. They battle each other to become her mate so surface many times, sometimes slapping their tales, sometimes breaching. We saw it all. The female also swam on her back waving her pectoral fins in a 'come hither' signal that encouraged her suitors. It was amazing to watch and very hard to photograph.
By this time (9:30 am), I was starving as were the others in our group. Our friends, Tim, Henry, Sue, Jennifer, and Neil were also on our boat. As we approached the reef where we'd snorkel, Dante asked if we wanted to eat first or swim. Everyone yelled 'eat'. He had huge Costco muffins and juice. I choked one down barely tasting it but knowing I needed something in my stomach. It sat like a lump while we tossed upon the sea. I didn't get seasick but others weren't so well off. Two doped themselves with dramamine but a young teen, who didn't realize he'd suffer, ended up very ill.
Glen did his best Jacques Cousteau entry into the cool Maui waters impressing Dante as he fitted me with special prescription goggles. We have our own goggles but always rent fins. Little did I know the difference I'd experience when I could actually see the fish and sea urchins. The reefs below were clear and teeming with several species of fish. I saw red and black sea urchins, orange spine unicorn fish, wrasses, triggerfish, needlefish, and bright yellow tangs. One of our group, another Canadian who now lives in the US, was an experienced diver and coaxed an octopus from its hole. It put on a light show that must have been spectacular.
Back on board, we continued to hug the coastline exploring the lava formations. Dante pointed out many natural a'a sculptures that were reminiscent of cartoon characters, animals, and people's faces. We actually reached places he normally couldn't go as the seas were not rough. We laughed because they seemed awfully rough to us. I now know why the company was concerned with back or neck injuries as I suffered from a very sore bottom for several days.
Our next stop was the famous Molokini Crater. Similar to Santorini, Greece, this caldera was formed during a volcanic eruption. It is one of the top 10 dives spots in the world but is often very crowded. We did what is called drift snorkeling where us and our boat drifted over the reef in the protected, 'curl' of the crater. Again we saw lots of fish but by this time my camera was dead so I didn't even attempt any photographs. Some saw reef sharks but I pretty much saw what I had seen the first time. I actually cut my dive short as I had goosebumps on my goosebumps, the water was that cold.
Lunch was a make-your-own sandwich with sliced meats, tomatoes, lettuce and mayo on an oversized bun. This time I tasted every morsel.
After eating, we moved to another part of the crater reef. Here there was a drop-off of 300 feet. Only a few made the dive, Glen included and he raved about the beauty of the reef then the blackness of the abyss. He said it was like 'Finding Nemo'. I was still cold and decided not to dive but am a little sorry I didn't.
We flew back to the boat ramp only stopping to watch another comp pod in action. One male breached very close to the boat. It was pretty exciting.
We got back to the hotel around 2:30. This is when we discovered that the little souvenir shop in the hotel had beer. We stored these in our fridge and enjoyed a drink on our tiny balcony overlooking the 17th hole of the nearby golf course. The tropical birds squawking in the palm trees was almost surreal.
After showering, we had a lovely buffet supper on the beach while networking with the rest of the conferees. No one was surprised when the snorkelers all headed to bed early.
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