Dolphins and turtles

Blame this one on FXK (than you FXK, thank you): a morning spent with the Pacific Whale Foundation folk on one of their vessels. Dolphin-watching by Lanai and snorkeling were on the agenda; it was an early morning departure for us!

Actually, I have to confess that early mornings were not a problem on this vacation. We got up with the sun somewhat, and it was certainly pleasant to grab a coffee and then enjoy the early breakfast seating. The corollary is that we went to bed mighty early. In fact, we joked – sort of – about having to force ourselves to stay awake until 9:00! Amateurs, all of us.

Anyway, about 40 passengers all together gathered at the banyan tree by the old courthouse to take part in the sail. It promised to be a good day again, and, indeed, I think it was the hottest in our experience on Maui (it felt hotter yesterday early in the afternoon down in Waikiki). Dolphins were up first, and no ma’am – as one woman had to be told – they were not guaranteed! But they were there, a pod of spinner dolphins off Lanai. Did I say that we frolicked in the Pacific the day before? Well, the sleek creatures truly did, coming up close to the boat and all around it. No one could have been disappointed with our encounter.

Back across the channel to Maui from there. The early sighting had bought us extra time for snorkeling, and rather than cross a choppier channel as it usually is at midday, the crew thought we’d best do our snorkeling close to home while the crossing was relatively smooth. So it was that Conrad and I had our first encounter with snorkeling gear, and all turned out fairly well. Again, how could we complain? Oh, maybe a more colourful reef with a greater array of multi-hued fish. Maybe. But when you have a big sea turtle all of 4 feet away, surfacing and then slowly swirling back down to some place in the reef, you gotta admit it rocks. The guides had shown us some fish photos on the boat, so I was also delighted to recognize a butterfly fish down below. Another cool thing: getting to hold onto a sea urchin brought up from the reef by one of the guides as he explained to a small group of us some things about the animal.

I don’t know how the comforts of the Pacific Whale Foundation boat compare to others, or whether the locations compare favourably. The Foundation does some good works, though, so that counts for something. Yes, we’d have liked more comfortable seating and shade, but there were other times when it was glorious being out in the sun with a mai tai in hand after snorkeling. They fed us some lunch and breakfast items, and while not gourmet, we didn’t go hungry by far. We thought the guides were quite friendly, and we got to chatting with a few of the other passengers as well. In other words, a great suggestion by Francis, and a recommended experience for others.

As for our afternoon, well, a long nap and some postcards, plus what turned out to be a last dip in the hotel pool.