I feel like I'm rubbing your noses in it when I keep telling you how lucky I am to be living here. Bryan and I had another stellar day off complete with good grub, Spinner Dolphins at Airport Beach and a luscious sunset.
Bryan and I grabbed food at Duke's (crab wontons! sashimi! macadamia nut crusted ono sandwich!), then headed to Airport Beach.
I donned my Barbie pink fins and slipped into the water with my camera.
My fish ID book is buried in a box, so I don't know what this colorful guy is. I like his iridescent blue spots and neon yellow tail.
the sun was mostly stuck hiding behind a cloud during my snorkel session, so the water looks cloudy and dark in all of my underwater photos.
a triggerfish
Barbie Pink fins and Neon Orange toes!
Hello!!
Rainbow arching over the beach (you can see my pink fin under the water)
After swimming around with the camera for half an hour, I headed back to our spot on the beach. As I was swimming I kept hearing this piercing whistling sound. It sounded like dolphins, but every time I popped my head above water, I didn't see anything.
It wasn't until I was back to the beach and chatting with Bryan that I saw them. A huge pod of Spinner Dolphins torpedoed through the ocean about 100 yards from where we stood in the shallows. As they sped along, a select few launched themselves out of the water and performed midair acrobatics. Fellow beach-goers "ooh"ed and "aah"ed like they were watching a fireworks show.
When I saw that the pod of dolphins were a swimmable distance, I tossed my camera to Bryan, threw on my fins and shot off into the water towards them.
As I swam out towards the dolphins, I could hear their whistles and clicking get louder and louder. I had to keep popping my head above water to see where they were to make sure I was moving in the right direction.
When I saw their shining backs glisten above the water a few feet away, I knew I was in the right spot. I plunged down into the water and watched the dolphins swim past me.
The sun was starting to set above us, and the dolphins were on the move. This was a very different dolphin experience than my first swim with them in Lanai when they were in their "resting" mode. These dolphins were on the hunt.
Their sleek bodies shotgunned through the water under and around me. I saw a mother and her a baby, the length of my arm, glide past. The power and grace that these dolphins possess is incredible to witness when you are with them in the water.
After the first big wave of dolphins cruised past me, I began to swim back to shore. I pushed my goggles up onto my forehead and swam backwards, just kicking, so I could keep watching the dolphins swim away.
I made it back to shore and kept an eye on the horizon for the dolphins until they were too far away to watch them spin out of the water.
Then I laid back and watched the sun set.
Not a bad view--especially when you get to share it with this guy:
