[travel journal] in maui

well
it looks like
i've fallen a few days behind
i'm in maui now
staying at the kamaole sands
with a couple friends
and the condo here rocks :)
it's sleek, modern and has air con
a full sized fridge
and all the stuff one needs to make it feel like home
it's also across
from an amazing beach
i've been diving every morning
at least one dive a day
and i've seen some amazing things
did molokini crater yesterday
cost an arm and a leg
at 171 usd for the morning
i was really worried
that i would be disappointed
the first dive rocked so much though
that it was worth the entire trip
we did the backwall of the crater
entering at a point called batman
and at 130 feet
i could see the surface
as well as the bottom almost 200 feet down
it was the most amazing wall i've ever done
i've never seen vis like that before
and there was alot of life on the wall
(not as much as cold water diving
but very very different)
saw HUGE spiny lobsters
as well as numerous big fish
and countless little fish
(the first were definitely edible
the second were too pretty to consider eating)
a pair of white tip reef sharks swam by
little guys
maybe 3 feet long
but still neat to watch
and cute enough that one doesn't get worried at all
*wink*
the water was as blue as glacial water
but warm (27C!!!)
and of course, wavy
it was beautiful!
after that,
did another dive called 85 feet
which was "ok"
and then did reef's end on molokini crater
the divers in the water saw a manta ray
as we were just getting there
and unfortunately
we didn't get to see the manta
never seen a manta yet
tho i did by an ed robinson's shirt
with manta rays on it :)
(ed robinson's is the dive company i went out on)
anyways,
if i could do it again
i'd do molokini back wall in a heartbeat
and it's all i'd really want to dive
the other stuff was nice
but wasn't spectacular
dove this morning
early early
before i went to work
as well as the first day here
dove ahihi cove
(after about an hour
of trying to find it
and getting steered in the wrong direction by a local
and then in the right direction by another local)
saw turtles
and fish
and corals
the turtles are really cool
big, green
and slow enough to appreciate
this morning
tried to do ahihi again
however
the waves were so large
it wasn't even funny
ended up diving ulua beach
which was quite nice
cuz i found a turtle cleaning station
and just chilled on the bottom of the ocean
at 35 feet
watching these 3 turtles
feed on coral
while cleaner fish cleaned their shells
way cool :)
been living the simple life
going grocery shopping every day
and cooking some simple foods with my friends here
(ok,
the ahi poke at the local foodland
is amazing
and cheap
so fresh ahi almost daily is on the menu!)

samson has taken to the water like a merman
and kit tried the water out
but hasn't been back in since that first day
my intention is to be
out in the water
every morning :)
there's been some issues
on what to do
ie. water vs. land
but right now
water outnumbers land 2 to 1

anyways,
doing a couple tanks tomorrow morning
and i should get to bed
it's getting late here
and i'm on an early morning schedule
wish i had
some photos of molokini
but there are some things
that will forever remain in my mind
and that was definitely one of them
the palm trees are beautiful
the wind is warm
and the weather is perfect
for now,
kirb out :)