"Big Island" Hawaii - Day 2: Swimming with the mantas

So, I (Naomi) decided that dad shouldn't get all of the fun. I decided that I would write todays blog. Dad also made the mistake on saying that we were going to the Volcano park today. We didn't. Instead we had a nice day going around to little villages on Big Island.

Naomi at Lapakahi State Historical Park-->

<--a reconstructed village hut at Lapakahi State Historical Park.  The village was first inhabited around 1200 AD.  Over 650 villagers lived here, and up into the hills where they had a sophisticated irrigation system for crops, and fished in canoes along the coast.

<--stone bowls used to collect sea water, which was then allowed to evaporate, leaving salt used to preserve fish and flavor food.

Another kind of village - Kapaau, home of the Bamboo Restaurant, where we had dinner last night. Westerners settled here to accommodate sugar cane workers who arrived in the early 1900's.  It is now filled with shops containing unique art and crafts from local and international artisans-->

<--Statue of King Kamehameha, in Kapaau.  King Kamehameha founded the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1810. He is remembered in Hawaii as having inaugurated the "Kanawai Kanawai Momalahoe", the "Law of the Splintered Paddle", which protects human rights of non-combatants in times of battle.

<--a Gecko, sitting on a banana leaf.  They were everywhere, but, unless you looked carefully, you rarely saw them.

Lime tree-->

<--magnificent flowering trees, growing along the highway in North Kona, near Pololu Valley Lookout, on the northern tip of Big Island.

Pololu Valley Lookout.  As we drove north, the clouds became heavier until at the very tip of the island, the coast was shrouded in fog.  Big Island can change dramatically in climate, from brilliant sunshine, to driving rain,to fog, in just a few kilometers.  But unlike British Columbia fog, the misty fog felt here like being in a sauna-->

<--view from the lookout.  Despite the heavy fog, one could see a hint of the dramatic view below.

On the way down south, we stopped at Hapuna Beach to soak in some sun.  Though still a bit cloudy, the weather, and the sand under our bare feet was warm, -->

At four-ish, we went to a Manta Ray dive. It was probably one of my highlights of this year. 

Cindy, our guide, chatting with us as we took a catamaran out to the our snorkeling site-->

We headed out to the site just before sundown for a night visit to the Manta Ray feeding grounds, about a 40 minute boat ride along the coast north from Honokohau Marina . 

Getting ready for our dive! Manta rays, which are huge but gentle creatures,  feed on plankton which are attracted to light. So, we would dive with strong flashlights to attract the Mantas and other fish to feed near us-->

<--An unearthly glow of lights in the water, from divers below, creating what our guide called, "a campfire", to attract plankton, and therefore Manta Rays. Kona, here on Big Island, is quite possibly the only place in the world where this is done.  We swam above the lights.  If you look carefully, you can see snorkelers floating in the water.

The glow from the lights attracted schools of fish, which swirled around us-->

<--Diver's lights below, shining up through the dark water

The Manta Rays are HUGE!! -->

We managed to see at least 10 mantas. Some of the Mantas were quite big while others were at least half of my height.





After the Mantas, we were treated with hot chocolate, chips and some flashes of lightning. Needless to say, our tour guides got very nervous and we left before the other boats left. When we got home, we showered off, put a pizza in the oven and we are now sitting down to watch a classic Disney movie, eat pizza, eat cookies.

Goodnight! Tomorrow we are looking forward to seeing the volcanoes come to life and the national park.