Kona 9-20
Let me start by saying I should have taken Aleve or something prior to the excursion I took today. It was so fun but extremely punishing to my reluctantly aging self. We loaded ourselves into a zodiac boat. 16 of us and the captain and mate.
We began motoring out of the harbor and as soon as we hit the open water we were told to tuck a foot under this rope on the floor and grab a rope line behind us. JESUS JENNY, this thing went from zero to sixty in like 2 seconds. Everyone was slamming into the person beside them and we were all holding on for dear life.
Right before it all went to hell......
The woman formerly called ‘Rockstar’ by the mate because I chose a seat near the front was now clenching the rope handle with 2 hands and my foot was jammed so tight underneath the rope on the floor, it left marks. Rockstar? Not so much. Terrified, AARP eligible, woman—you bet.
After what seems like hours, we finally reached the snorkel spot. I unclenched my hands from the rope and gingerly slid my (permanently?) rope indented foot out from the rope and thanked God we finally stopped.
We were at a cove where there is a monument to Captain Cook (that guy got around). Calm, clear water and a large area for snorkeling. The water we jumped into was about 60 feet deep but over where the coral wall started was much more shallow—but you still couldn’t touch bottom.
Oh the fish! Oh the coral! I think I only lifted my head out of the water 3 times in an hour. I just swam around taking picture after picture. It was amazing. The coral was very healthy and the fish were abundant. There was no feeding them going on here either. Very nice.
I hoisted myself back onto the boat via a 3 rung ladder. Thankfully, no one took a picture of that. Graceful it was not! But then no one looked great throwing that one leg over the pontoon and pulling themselves aboard.
There were lots of drinks, fresh fruits and bags of chips and cookies available once we got back on the zodiac. Everyone partook and before I knew it, we were on our way back to the pier. I must have looked especially uncomfortable because the Captain offered me a seat in the back near him. I about leaped out of my seat.
(Side note: I don’t think I’ve mentioned this before, but I have issues gripping things tightly with my hands these days. They always feel like they need to be stretched or something. I’ve been to a doctor but until they progress much, much further, there is nothing they can do)
Anyway, between all that gripping on the way out and then holding the camera attachment in the water, my hands needed a break. The ride back was very pleasant in the back of the boat. We stopped at a couple of lava tubes. You can really see the different eruptions over the thousands of years these islands took to form. Very different coloring between the different eruptions.
All in all a GREAT excursion and one I would do again—making sure I sat in the back of the boat from the start. LOL
We will be setting sail in a few minutes. Tomorrow morning is Kauai. I am set to do “Tubing the Ditch”. I’m really looking forward to that. I hope my body has enough time to recover. Oh and I am only a teeny bit burned on my back. I did put on 50 spf sunscreen before we left.
I’m so unhappy I cannot add pictures with this bandwidth. For whatever reason though I was able to send a photo to my nephew.
I just ordered a Reuben Sandwich from Room Service. It arrived hot and delicious and it was free! (Except for a tip) They have free food and also have added some things you have to pay for. Very reasonably priced though. $5 for an order of wings, quesadillas, and a few other items. You can even get fresh sushi if that’s your thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment