July 5 - Kealakekua Bay and Waikoloa Bay Beach

Today was one of those WOW, did we do and see all that?
We started off the day by taking a 30 minute drive to Kealakekua Bay. It seems not everyone liked Hawaii... back in 1779, Captain J. Cook was killed on the shores of the bay. See he arrived in late 1778 and some natives thought he was some kind of god... and everything went well. When he left in 1779 and had to return because of storm the natives didn't see his "godness" anymore. There was some fighting and well he was killed. We fared much much better. I went for a hour long snorkel swim (the guys are not so keen on it). The fish were almost as good as the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The water was clear and great for snorkeling. The whole area is an old lava field, so it is a great reef.
On the way out we stopped at a Kona Coffee Co-op and fruit farm. Kona Coffee, for you coffee lovers, is some of the best coffee in the world. As we did our own walking tour we took lots of pictures. The picture of Greg and Mike, well that is the coffee plant. The red berries are called cherries. There is a picture of me in front of a papaya tree. The other picture you see of a strange looking fruit is called Jack fruit. It suppose to taste like a cross between a pineapple and banana. Most of you have tasted it but never knew you had... if you ever had Juicy Fruit gum, you have tasted it.
We really enjoyed walking through the fruit farm and saw how things we eat every day are grown.
After that we drove back to the beach we saw a few days ago (Wakikoloa). The one with all the palms.
This is where things GOT EVEN MORE WONDERFUL.

It was a bit cloudy when we arrived so we just sat out and read under the palms for a bit. It was even windy a bit and that was a welcome relief from the heat. I decided to take my mask and fins and hit the water for a while. I was only gone about 15 minutes when I spotted my first green sea turtle. It was eating algae off the coral. I watched it for 15 minutes or so. It was amazing! I was just about 2-4 feet away from it most of the time and it didn't care. When it would surface for air it would come within 1 foot from my face. Along with all the fish, this was a life experience. I decided to leave that turtle and head off to shore to let the guys know what I had been watching. On the way back I almost ran over an even bigger one. This one would fit nicely in a kids swimming blue (the little blue kind). I watched it for awhile and I'm sure it watched me too. Again it was not afraid of me. Sometimes it would be right in my face and I would have to back up... well that was exciting for sure! Well little did I know that this place is crawling with turtles... as you can see from the pictures. In mid afternoon they (the smaller ones) like to come up on the beach and sun themselves. Well it was perfect for taking pictures because they are just like Canadian tourist. Find a nice spot in the sand/rocks and well... just enjoy the heat. We surely enjoyed the amazing day for sure!!! To top it off... on our way out of the park we stopped at Roy's Restaurant (which I read about) for their Hot Chocolate Souffle Lava Cake. I don't have to say any more for you chocolate lovers.

Tomorrow we pack up and leave this area and drive about 2 1/2 hours to the Hilo area. There will be lots of things to see and do on the way, green and black sand beaches, waterfalls, lava... so get ready for some good shots in the next few days.

Enjoy Life