It is cold, snowy, and wintry back in Vermont, but now its time to switch things up. Maui is the perfect place to be during winter for those who are not as into the snow. Perfect tropical weather, all year round, means you can be outside and active every day. One of my favorite things to do is snorkel, and this snorkel was one of the best!
A snorkeler from my tour dives down in the background, getting a good look at this Hawaiian green sea turtle.
One of the amazing parts of taking a boat between the Hawaiian islands on this amazing Un-Cruise itinerary is the ability to see how unique the islands are both above and below the water. This past week we snorkeled near the southernmost point of the United States, at night with manta rays, on a partially submerged volcanic crater, and over the wreckage left behind from a huge hurricane back in the early 90's. It was among this wreckage of the old Mala Pier off Maui's west side that we completed the snorkel wildlife trifecta, turtle, shark, and a ray!
Hawaiian green sea turtles often hover over the wreckage of Mala pier to let tangs and surgeonfish have a chance to clean off their algae covered shells. The turtles hover a few feet over the wreckage and all of us would watch as fish would calmly swim up to grab a free meal as they cleaned off the turtle's shell.
The wreckage also provides a hiding spot for resting white tip reef sharks. Scuba divers sometimes find these sharks sitting on the bottom, under the wreckage, waiting for nighttime to come out and hunt. I always hope to find one of these beautiful creatures here and was pleasantly surprised to see one actually swimming out and about. Luckily I had just sat everyone down the day before for a shark presentation called "The Truth About Sharks" so when the shark call came everyone booked it towards the shark instead of away!
To complete the underwater trifecta a lone spotted eagle ray cruised in close to the wreckage. Many people got to see it calmly gliding over the sandy bottom that surrounds the wreckage. We get to swim with manta rays every week over in Kona, but this was the first spotted eagle ray we have seen yet this season.
It is so much fun sharing this amazing underwater world with all of our guests. This week a huge family from Chicago had the whole boat to themselves. I was very impressed to see everyone jumping in the water, becoming so at home in a new environment, and by the end of the week some of them were free-diving down farther than me!
A white tip reef shark swims along the bottom among the wreckage of the old Mala pier on Maui's west side.
A spotted eagle ray glides by the snorkel site. This is a rarely seen visitor to our snorkel spots.
A sea turtle swims back down after taking a breather at the surface.
Sea turtle cleaning station.
Freediving down to the depths to hang out with this turtle.
As always, keep traveling!
-Dai Mar