Posted for September 6, 2009
I got up at 5:30am to go SNUBA Diving. The dock for the boat is located about 20 miles away from the hotel at Maalaea Harbor. Check in at the port was scheduled for 7am. After checking in, the boat left port and we headed for the coast of Molokini. Including my self and the instructor, there were a total of 13 people SNUBA diving. Of the 13, only my sister and I were from my younger sister’s wedding party whom opted to SNUBA as the rest settled for the standard snorkeling along the coast. SNUBA is basically like scuba diving with the exception of having the Oxygen Tank attached on a small raft. The tube from the tank to the regulator (breathing apparatus) extends to about 25 feet and the raft floats along as you venture off underwater.
As soon as the boat anchored on the coast of Molokini, the SNUBA group was divided in two groups of 6. I joined the first group. I strategically joined the first group so I can eat and drink immediately after. The SNUBA/Snorkel package included an all you can eat and drink meal (beer included). As I got into the water I had troubles with my mask and weight belt. Water kept leaking in my mask and my belt wasn’t heavy enough. I signaled the instructor with hand gestures of my issues while under water and we both went up. He made the adjustments and I was good to go. I immediately swam into a school of fish and moseyed around under water. There were tons of sea urchins in which the thought of eating Uni had crossed my mind. I saw a sea cucumber and ogled at the coral. After the 30 min session ended we were immediately instructed to head back to the boat. As I got out of the water I took my regulator off. In the process, I spat out a large amount of flem/loogie that had collected in the regulator and in my mouth. When I got on the boat, my legs were a little wobbly, but I immediately adjusted when I got my beer and burger. The dive was cool but would have like to see more fish. Aside from the one school of fish, the water was bare; although we did see some turtles on the way back to the harbor.When we got back to the hotel, I headed for the pool. I swam a bit and basked in the sun till dinner. I had dinner at Sensei with my family. Sensei is located in the Kapalua Golf Course 5 min north of the hotel. The food was fantastic. We had several different sushi and sashimi plates. On the side, I had Blue Fin Toro to my self. After dinner we went to the Ritz Carlton and had a drink.
With my cousins spending the last night in Maui, I decided to introduce them to Kalimotxo (cal – e – mo – cho). We meet up at my sister’s Suite after they got their hennas done. We finished 3 bottles of wine for the Kalimotxo mixture. They asked where I had learned it (Spain) and said they’d make it for their friends. They enjoyed their drinks. One of my cousins only enjoyed one glass due to his gastronomical issues caused from not being accustomed to a drinking marathon. He had sharted earlier in the evening and was feeling leakage on his tail end. (I’m laughing as I type this!)
