Sue and I had two plans for Tuesday - catch some rays and go on our whale watching tour.
Our day started off with breakfast on the lanai. I decided to do some writing so, after breakfast, I took my tablet down to the water front and worked on my blog. We sat out until about 10:30 when it was time to get snacks and ready to head to Lahina, a town near us where we would get the boat for whale watching.
Our whale watching tour began at noon. While we were waiting for the boat to dock, we got a true sense of the power of the sun! After a few days with clouds and mist and sun, we were treated to a full day of sun shine. It feels so great to have the sun shining down on my head again but it is very easy to forget that it is January!
The whale watching lasted two hours. This was one of the best tours that I have been on for the success of seeing whales. During this time of year, humpbacks are very active in this area of the world. They have migrated from the North Pacific in order to mate and give birth to their young. So we were able to view quite a few active humpacks. We mainly saw humpacks in groups of either two or three. We saw them coming to the surface of the water for air, slapping their pectoral fins, and showing their fluke as they headed for deeper waters.
I chose to stay on the lower deck as I always feel like I am closer to the whales this way. The absolute best part of the day was when, I as was standing at the corner of the back of the deck at the railings, two humpback whales swam directly under the boat. From my vantage point, I was able to see the whitness of their pectoral fins and tail and the darker outline of their enormous bodies as they glided under us. Then the best happened again and they both returned to swim under the boat a second time.
Our two hour tour went by so quickly and was filled with wonderful sightings. It is so amazing to me to be able to see these massive creatures in their habitat. I will never tire of watching for whales. And that is exactly what I am doing right now as I type this blog!
After our tour, Sue and I walked around Lahina for a bit. We enjoyed an ice cream! The town is set up for tourists and shopping. I was more interested in catching rays and swimming so I suggested to Sue that we head back to our condo. On the way back, we picked up some groceries and our snorkel rentals from Boss Frogs.
Around this time too, we were told that we could move ourselves to our ocean view room which was awesome. No complaining about our original room but it wasn't what we had paid for nor expected. One of the main things that I desired out of my Hawaiian vacation was to be able to sit on a deck and watch the ocean. Now I am able to do that!
Sue and I spent a bit of time snorkeling around the reef in front of the condo. We saw lots of coral, and interesting tropical fish. The water is so clear that it makes the viewing exceptional. There are, what look like, mini volcanos in the sand on the ocean ground. Tiny bubbles of air escape from them and float their way to the surface. Colourful fish are nibbling at the sand at the bottom of the ocean or on the bits of algae on the reef. I saw an interesting yellow-white fish that was basically the shape of a tube. I also saw what looked like a black, white, and yellow angel fish. And, sneaking under a rock, what appeared to me to be a puffer fish before being inflated. It was black with little white dots and was shaped like a lemon. There was also a black and yellow creature that looked like a snake. It was curled in an s-shape which made me think it was ready to attack, so I flipped my way out of his way pretty quickly.
After our snorkel time, Sue and I quickly packed up our first room and headed to our new room with the goal of being able to watch the sun set from the lanai. We managed to make it on time and it was a beautiful treat to see.
We had BLTs for dinner as we sat on the lanai for the rest of the evening just enjoying all that this vacation has to offer.
I have been truly blessed to be able to spend such a long time away from the daily grid. I thank God every day for this opportunity and am so privledged to be afforded time.
Another day in paradise!
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