Aue, Aue

We read the wind and the sky
When the sun is high

The beautiful color of the water portends something…
Boat day!

Yesterday was our catamaran day! The “no wiki” (no hurry), is a 50′ long, 30′ catamaran, with an 80′ mast. Captain Kirk (yes!) and his assistant Rob took us out for nice cruise to look at the island, and do some snorkeling in a couple different spots.

The shoreline of the big island is amazing. Rocky lava caves up close, and a view of just how big this mountain really is. There were a couple of cool spots they took us to specifically.

One was called “the grotto”. The surf was high enough that we couldn’t get in as far as the other little tour boat, so the pictures don’t really show it but there’s an entrance to a lava tube in there. The tube approenhly goes back about a mile. The roof used to cover most of the grotto as well apparently.

The lava tube is in the dark shadow right above the rope. Pretty impossible to see in the photo though.

We also saw a formation called “the red hill” which is an old Caldera that has a collapsed lava tube which makes a face which was thought to be that of the war god.

Look for the eyes, nose, and hair blowing to the left.
The less spooky side of the Caldera

We did some snorkeling near here which was pretty amazing. Big lava rocks about 10 feet under the surface, covered with coral. Not necessarily the brightly colored coral you think of from TV, but LOTS of it, and fish swimming around everywhere. Rob, our lifeguard and guide, dove down and through and underwater lava arch which was about 30 feet down.

Bevin tired out from snorkeling.
The clouds just sit on the island like a hat, not nearly as threatening as they look.
We can see our house!
It’s that one.

Here’s a couple of pictures from around the beat

There was really only one downside to this whole adventure: I’m not supposed to be this color.

That’s what comes of like 10 minutes of sun exposure between getting out of the water and re-applying sunscreen… Even with my hat. Reflection is dangerous, and the sun is a death laser.

We didn’t take Hei Hei on the boat, it seemed cruel. Matt’s poor abused legs really don’t need this sort of attention though…

Really fun day. I’m a bit sad we don’t have pictures of underwater to share, but I’m happy to be a person who enjoys doing the thing without having a camera strapped to my face constantly. 😎