Maui Part III | Snorkeling & Sunset

^The coast of Maui

We spent one of our mornings in Hawaii snorkeling near Lanai. The last time we went snorkeling (and the first time for me) was a disaster to say the least. It was in Aruba on our honeymoon and it ended with me in tears. What can I say.. I don’t really love swimming in the ocean. But I think one of the reasons I didn’t like it was because we had just rented masks and snorkels and went out on our own. It made me uneasy that neither of us were familiar with the area. So when Dave told me he wanted to go snorkeling in Hawaii, I decided to try it a little differently by signing up for a snorkel tour. We had a boat and a guide and a life guard. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I actually had fun and I would probably do it again. I’m open to loving it one day.

On the boat we saw so many whales! That was the highlight of the whole trip for me. The tour guide was telling us young whales can hold their breath for 7-14 minutes, so the babies would come up frequently to the surface and breathe. I was surprised we could even see the whales breech from the shore. It was so hard to get pictures of the whales! I could never tell where they were going to pop up, and when they did, I was too mesmerized to do anything. They weren’t at the surface for too long so by the time I would snap back into reality, they were long gone. So this blurry photo of one’s tale is a miracle shot.

Also, I had learned my lesson from the day before doing the Road to Hana and only took one dramamine pill. I didn’t get seasick at all. Honestly, I was (and still am) mad that most people get to feel that way when in a car, plane or boat. I just got to sit there and enjoy it??!! That’s what people feel like all the time??! Why can’t this be me?!

During the middle of the day we drove around the northwest side of the island. We found this cool place and took lots of photos….

We didn’t realize until our last day, when we saw this tall cliff (in the background here) from the other side, that we had gone around nearly the entire island!

And of course we made sure to be back at the beach for a good view of the sunset. When the sunset was coming quickly, we stopped at the nearest beach we could find and witnessed one of the best sunsets ever.

Too good, too good.