Big Island Adventures
Monday 1/21: Scuba & Reflexology
Early morning zumba in the room for me before our 7:45am appointment with Kona Diving Company for our two-tank "Discover Scuba Dive" tour. Max[ine] was our guide for the DSD, and the other passengers included four certified divers and one doing a refresher, so we had Max all to ourselves. Captain Jeff was also very helpful and friendly. As we headed towards the dive site, Max provided a review of basic scuba skills for us and then did the practical test in the water once we arrived at the reef.
Dive #1 = 45 minutes with lots of colorful fish, several eels, and one honu. Back on the boat to snack and move to the next dive site, Turtle Heaven, closer to the harbour. We saw lots of frisky spinner dolphins playing about in their pods -- bonus!!! Dive #2 = nearly 1 hour. No dolphin or tiger shark sightings but we did have one honu at the beginning when Max and I were in the water and another that bid us farewell as we finished up.
We got back to the dock around 12:15pm and tried to get coffee at the nearby Starbucks, but it won't be open until Jan. 23rd. We'll be back!!! Instead, we got Menehune coffee again at the hotel and some food as well. No more blueberry oatmeal available (unlike during our previous visit) and there was an unexpected charge when we asked for a to-go cup since we didn't finish our drinks in the mugs while we sat at a table. Boo. Two strikes...
After we showered, Mr. E took a nap while I did some postcards, travel journal, etc. Both of us noticed physical effects of our scuba dives this time, which was surprising to us since we did a two-tank dive on Oahu two years ago for our very first time and also did two dives on Maui last year. However, we realized that these dives were both longer and in quick succession compared to the previous experiences, so that's likely why we felt our ears were a bit plugged in addition to the rocking sensation of being on the water.
A bit of browsing along Ali'i drive, and then Mr. E went for a run while I did my daily yoga. We had a 6:45pm appointment at The Spa for reflexology, which was a bit delayed until 7pm but still provided 30 minutes of stress-relieving foot work.
Dinner at Honu's was edamame to share and then a fresh veggie roll and salmon avocado roll for me. Mr. E got the grilled ahi sandwich and shared some of his sweet potato fries. Yum all around! The evening finished up with wine and TV in the room. We both were feeling tired from the scuba so we made it a relatively early night.
Tuesday 1/22: Laundry, Whales, Manta Rays Attempt #2
Morning run along Ali'i Drive for me, with a quick visit to my favorite "secret spot" with the salt-water pool. No honus this time, though. Darn! Then beachfront yoga class again and breakfast at Honu's with a shared egg white veggie scramble, hash browns, fruit bowl, and oatmeal for Mr. E. Coffee at Menehune but not a very good crema on the Americano. Strike three???
Time for a load of laundry and relaxing before our 12:30pm check-in at the pier across the street for our Body Glove Whale-Watching cruise. Whales, whales, whales! And some sharks, too! We got to see and follow a trio of humpback whales as they swam together, spouted, flipped their tails, and even breached fully. Amazing!!! Also a shiver of hammerhead sharks towards the end of the cruise.
We got back to the pier at 3:30pm and tried to swim laps at the community pool but were foiled again, this time by team and club workouts that take over the pool in the afternoons. Would have been nice if that had been noted on the posted schedule... *sigh* A dip in the hotel pool instead to cool off and stretch out a bit. Then Mr. E took me back to Keauhou Bay to try again with Sea Paradise and the manta rays night snorkel. He had decided to opt out of a second attempt and instead went back to the hotel to work out. Caught a rainbow over the hotel when he got there!
My second attempt was a success! Woo-hoo!!! A smaller group of passengers with only three crew this time around, which gave a more intimate feel to the excursion. Four of the others were also doing a repeat, so I recognized them from two days ago. No luck again at the first spot, but then we moved into the inner harbour and joined up with a few other groups to enjoy the antics and frolicking of two lady rays. Wow! They were swimming by and doing barrel rolls up towards the surface, getting just inches from our faces. So cool!!!
Mr. E picked me up a bit after 8pm, and I regaled him with stories of the amazing rays. So glad I tried again and was able to experience this awesome sight! Dinner in our room was takeaway Taco Bell for Mr. E and finishing up some snacks for me.
Early morning zumba in the room for me before our 7:45am appointment with Kona Diving Company for our two-tank "Discover Scuba Dive" tour. Max[ine] was our guide for the DSD, and the other passengers included four certified divers and one doing a refresher, so we had Max all to ourselves. Captain Jeff was also very helpful and friendly. As we headed towards the dive site, Max provided a review of basic scuba skills for us and then did the practical test in the water once we arrived at the reef.
Dive #1 = 45 minutes with lots of colorful fish, several eels, and one honu. Back on the boat to snack and move to the next dive site, Turtle Heaven, closer to the harbour. We saw lots of frisky spinner dolphins playing about in their pods -- bonus!!! Dive #2 = nearly 1 hour. No dolphin or tiger shark sightings but we did have one honu at the beginning when Max and I were in the water and another that bid us farewell as we finished up.
We got back to the dock around 12:15pm and tried to get coffee at the nearby Starbucks, but it won't be open until Jan. 23rd. We'll be back!!! Instead, we got Menehune coffee again at the hotel and some food as well. No more blueberry oatmeal available (unlike during our previous visit) and there was an unexpected charge when we asked for a to-go cup since we didn't finish our drinks in the mugs while we sat at a table. Boo. Two strikes...
After we showered, Mr. E took a nap while I did some postcards, travel journal, etc. Both of us noticed physical effects of our scuba dives this time, which was surprising to us since we did a two-tank dive on Oahu two years ago for our very first time and also did two dives on Maui last year. However, we realized that these dives were both longer and in quick succession compared to the previous experiences, so that's likely why we felt our ears were a bit plugged in addition to the rocking sensation of being on the water.
A bit of browsing along Ali'i drive, and then Mr. E went for a run while I did my daily yoga. We had a 6:45pm appointment at The Spa for reflexology, which was a bit delayed until 7pm but still provided 30 minutes of stress-relieving foot work.
Dinner at Honu's was edamame to share and then a fresh veggie roll and salmon avocado roll for me. Mr. E got the grilled ahi sandwich and shared some of his sweet potato fries. Yum all around! The evening finished up with wine and TV in the room. We both were feeling tired from the scuba so we made it a relatively early night.
Tuesday 1/22: Laundry, Whales, Manta Rays Attempt #2
Morning run along Ali'i Drive for me, with a quick visit to my favorite "secret spot" with the salt-water pool. No honus this time, though. Darn! Then beachfront yoga class again and breakfast at Honu's with a shared egg white veggie scramble, hash browns, fruit bowl, and oatmeal for Mr. E. Coffee at Menehune but not a very good crema on the Americano. Strike three???
Time for a load of laundry and relaxing before our 12:30pm check-in at the pier across the street for our Body Glove Whale-Watching cruise. Whales, whales, whales! And some sharks, too! We got to see and follow a trio of humpback whales as they swam together, spouted, flipped their tails, and even breached fully. Amazing!!! Also a shiver of hammerhead sharks towards the end of the cruise.
We got back to the pier at 3:30pm and tried to swim laps at the community pool but were foiled again, this time by team and club workouts that take over the pool in the afternoons. Would have been nice if that had been noted on the posted schedule... *sigh* A dip in the hotel pool instead to cool off and stretch out a bit. Then Mr. E took me back to Keauhou Bay to try again with Sea Paradise and the manta rays night snorkel. He had decided to opt out of a second attempt and instead went back to the hotel to work out. Caught a rainbow over the hotel when he got there!
Mr. E picked me up a bit after 8pm, and I regaled him with stories of the amazing rays. So glad I tried again and was able to experience this awesome sight! Dinner in our room was takeaway Taco Bell for Mr. E and finishing up some snacks for me.
posted by jms | 8:05 PM
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