Log 50: Trippin’ Stumbling Flippin’ Fumbling
While I was at work the other day, a group of hostel-stayers were snorkeling at Baby Beach in downtown Lahaina and saw a ten foot shark swimming through the reef. Obviously, I had to go out there the following morning to see it for myself. It was actually Hanna's idea to go look for it - she, too, had missed the original sighting.
The shark-spotting area of Baby Beach is at its far North end, on a reef that developed around a deteriorating pier. The challenge is making it to the end of the pier, where the reef begins and the water is about 20-30 feet deep. Before that point, the water is extremely shallow, but there is still a little bit of coral, so you're supposed to swim instead of walk. Getting out to the reef was reasonably smooth. The water was so shallow that the rock, coral, and sea urchin covered bottom scraped lightly on my stomach and legs as I swam, but at least there weren't any decent sized waves crashing over us complicating matters.
Past the wave break and into the reef, we honestly didn't see much - certainly not a shark. We spotted a few big sea turtles, a parrot fish, and of course, a number of humuhumunukunukuapua'a. There was also a group of scuba divers wandering around us. We would've stayed longer, but we left early to make sure we would have time to make it back to the hostel for Hanna to start work. And it's a good thing we did, because it probably took a half hour for me to make it back to shore.
Remember how I said the water between the reef and the shore is very shallow? Right, well on our return trip, low tide was fast approaching, and it was nearly impossible to avoid cuts and scrapes from the coral. On top of that, there were somehow much stronger waves, which made getting to shore even more difficult. Eventually, I had no choice but to stand and walk on the coral, but I had to keep my fins on, on account of all the sea urchins.
The thing about snorkeling fins, is that generally speaking, they're not really great footwear for walking. To keep from dragging them through the water, I took slow, exaggerated duck steps towards the beach. However, duck steps aren't a great solution, because they don't keep you super balanced, and when a wave hits you, you might, I don't know, fall face first into the water, or something. And then, you know, you'd probably get back up and take a few more shaky duck steps, just to tumble gracelessly back to the ground when the next wave reaches you. And then, hypothetically, you might hear a voice call out: “Turn around and walk backwards!” And then you'd look up to see who said that, and see another big group of scuba divers - who were presumably putting on their equipment until they saw you tripping and stumbling through the water - watching you. Just beyond them, you notice fifteen or so landscapers and a group of Lahaina police officers have all stopped what they're doing to watch the scene unfold, too. You take the diver’s advice, turning around and moving backwards with a little bit more ease. “Oh wow, that's so much better!” you call back to the divers. Before you even finish the sentence, another wave takes you to the ground, and you get scraped up on the coral. Again. Hypothetically.
Changing the subject completely - I've recently started to accept that I am a rather clumsy person. Just last night, Hanna and I went out to the docks to fish (by that, I mean she went fishing and I sat around and looked at pretty rocks with my flashlight). The docks open up to a sort of levy made from big chunks of lava rock, which is where we sat for the fishing festivities. After ten minutes or so, Hanna stood up and said, “I think I've got one!” I set my phone down and stood up too, except the rock I had been sitting on was at a 60 degree slant, and my phone slid right down it and tumbled into the darkness. I heard it ricochet a few times before it landed with a final smack. I hesitated to turn on the flashlight around my neck and survey the scene. When I got up the courage, I found my phone was visible, but a good 5 or six feet down a crevice. I layed down on a rock and stretched my arm as far as I could, but couldn't reach it. So, I slowly inched my way down the angled rock into the crevice headfirst, until just my legs stuck out. By some miracle, I was able to grab my phone with the tips of my fingers and pull it back up. I sighed with relief. “Luck’s on my side today!” I said, triumphantly.
But I guess lighting does sometimes strike the same place twice, because just as soon as I said that, I fumbled my phone again, and dropped it down into a different crevice. Hanna burst out laughing. I took a deep breath, and prepared to drop down into the new crevice. This one was a bit bigger, and I was able to go feet first, bend down to get my phone, and climb back up.
Highlight: Someone who just departed from the hostel left behind a bunch of packs of maple instant oatmeal!
