Log 43: Tea Time
I went snorkeling this afternoon in Honolua bay, which is an incredibly rocky beach that gives way to a beautiful coral reef as you get out into the water. Diving down into a shallow trench, I encountered a Humuhumunukunukuapua'a, in the flesh. It was bigger and more beautiful than I expected. Around another corner, the water got rather shallow; schools of bright yellow fish were feeding on vegetation all around me. But there was one sighting on my excursion that trumped all the others: the turtles.
Since I've arrived in Lahaina, everyone keeps telling me about the turtles that hang out at all the beaches - and I've been determined to see one for myself. The whole time I was snorkeling, my head was on a swivel, hoping to catch a glimpse of at least one. Low and behold, just as I was about to start heading back to shore, one of the (only) guys from the hostel (Carl) that was with me tapped my shoulder frantically, pointing for me to turn around. When I did, I found myself just a few feet away from a large sea turtle. I watched in silence as it slowly drifted upwards through the water until it broke the surface, took a deep breath, and descended back down before zipping away from us surprisingly quickly. On the way back to shore, I spotted one more turtle swimming parallel to me, lagging just a few lengths behind. The takeaway of the day was that sea turtles are very stealthy.
After we were done snorkeling, Carl and I hiked for a bit to a beautiful spot at the top of a cliff to watch the sunset. Down below, we could see Humpback whales breaching and even jumping out of the water! We stayed awhile before walking back down to Carl’s car. On our way back, we passed several groups of people who were also enjoying the sunset. One had a sprinter van with a flat wooden platform on top that looked like a tent could be pitched on. At the moment, there were two lawn chairs and a little table on it. “Well that's super cool,” I commented as we passed by. “I know, right? Do you want some tea?” I was surprised to find two guys at the rear of the truck, unloading a camping stove along with some other equipment. Who can say no to tea?
The two guys were Israeli, coming to Hawaii for the most classic of reasons: surfing. The four of us sat on top of their van, talking and sipping mint tea in the dwindling light. One of the guys seemed like a bit of a goofball to me - but very witty. He was getting ready to officiate his best friend's wedding, and gave us a preview of his opening remarks. Based on what I heard, he's going to do a fantastic job. The other guy was a bit more philosophical and relaxed. He talked about his life in Tel Aviv and his bucket list travel destinations - one of which was here. When it started to really get dark, Carl and I left so the guys could go into town and get dinner.
Highlight: Just before we got up to climb down from the van, one of the guys - the witty one - said: “You know how I know this was a really good conversation?” I didn't. “Because we've been sitting here talking for hours and we never even told each other our names. We all laughed - he had a point. Giland and Matan, good look with the surfing.
