I was very much looking forward to my last day here - a day off and a day at the beach...what more could I ask for? Especially right before going home to the cold and dreadful New Jersey winter season.
I got up nice and early and got to the beach at 7 am. Gates closed. I had to hike my way down, go around closed gates, all of which I thought would be a whole lot shorter than it was. At least the walk was beautiful. And at the point the sun was out. My beloved day at the beach, though, turned rainy and cloudy. It barely ever rains here. I have the worst luck when it comes to stuff like that. Then I got stung by a wasp. Boo hoo. But here's the big island I know and love. Aloha all. See you all in the east coast.
I had quite an amazing morning filled with a whole bunch of adrenaline. My boss had asked me later this afternoon if I was addicted yet, and well, yes. That was easy.
I think we'll start off this post with some videos (since they always take the longest and I have no patience for them after editing later tonight). Enjoy the beautiful dolphins.
This morning the dolphins were in the bay again, which is the perfect spot to swim with/film/photograph them. They continue to amaze me - both individually, within their segregated pods, and within the giant pod. I find it quite amusing that the baby spinner dolphins seems to be quite playful and are always spinning out of the water. I think I could handle being a dolphin. Looks like fun to me. Look closely at some of the pictures. A bunch of the pod has perfect circular scars on them. I don't remember if I had posted about this last time I was here in regards to the manta, but the scars are from the cookie cutter shark. Literally looks like a cookie chunk out of the creatures. Pretty crazy.
Oh and remember how I happy I was a dolphin pooped in my face? Well apparently when your swimming with dolphins everyday it's quite common - I took a picture because I know you are all dying to see what it's like. See the nice long trail? Yea, they swim fast.
So the morning took quite an interesting turn. From the corner of my eye, I saw something unusual and quite unnatural. It sort of looked like a mermaid, and that I thought about it and thought it might be that crazy lady I see on television sometimes. She has one giant flipper and is super soft spoken, with a tight shower cap on and her hair sticking out of. Anyone know who I'm talking about? For whatever reason she irritates me, so I though I would run into her in the middle of the ocean on the coast of Hawaii. Check out this video if you don't know who before you look at the next pictures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OoPc1kAAzqs
As I got a bit closer though, it was definitely not her and did indeed look like a mermaid. My second though, uh oh, I didn't drink enough water. I got close enough to realize it was a person, dressed as a mermaid, and I laughed so hard that I must have swallowed a gallon of salt water. Not exactly sure still what was going on, but I did manage to snap two pictures (was trying not to be so blunt and rude about it - maybe she thinks she's a mermaid)
After the dolphins left the bay area, we went to the manta cleaning station (where cleaner fish remove parasites and dead skin from the mantas) and we had two mantas. It's hard to see their underbellies during the day, but I could id one - Captain Mike because he has a wicked crooked tail. Then an eagle ray also popped up. Hard to tell in the picture, but I tried.
After the dolphins returned to the bay, we went back for one last swim before heading home. I am trying not to complain because I know I am in Hawaii where it's nice and warm and Jersey is not so warm right now, but the water felt FREEZING this morning. It's the time of the year when the locals don't even go into the water anymore. I had only a thin skin and I was really shaking the entire time, so even with hundreds of dolphins below me, I had to struggle to jump in. Of course once I was in, I was fine.
Once we were swimming around in the bay again, most people got back on the boat (probably because the water was so cold) and I got to play with the big girl equipment again. Sweet :)
So as if my morning was not interesting enough as it was, I was filming a small pod of dolphins in the bay and all the sudden the boat starts hauling ass my way - right for me. The captain screams "get on the boat now," which is a bit alarming coming from someone whom I've never heard race their voice. Of course my gut reaction is shark and hell yea. For that reaction and for this area, my guess was tiger shark. I'd love to see one - if only I wasn't an intern and had to obey. So there were only two or three of us left in the water two of them being me and Ryan, who I work with. She was hauling ass to the boat, so I thought, oh shit. I got on the boat as quickly as I could, we jetted off as my fin still graced the water, and I had no idea what was going on. Turns out...we were heading for a whale shark. Oh please oh please oh please. I could not help but smile and get excited - I mean it's been a life goal to swim with a whale shark. For those of you who don't know anything about them/what they look like, do yourself a favor and do some research because they are magnificent. As it turns out, we were two minutes to late and the whale shark had dove down to the bottom of the ocean. We circled for awhile keeping our eyes peeled, but nothing. The last sighting here was last February 3rd. I was so close, but ohhhh so far away from my dream. Damn. I was so hopeful too - I was the last one to take my fins off until we basically docked the boat. I was so sure we would find him. We had to.
Well, another beautiful sunset on the Kona coast (unfortunately one of my last ones here).
Notice a change? They are doing construction here. The interns' deck is in the process of getting a roof and a nice little living room. Sounds good to me. Aloha all
Another night with the mantas (south last night) and it's really starting to be fun to be able to know who the mantas are more often than not. Last night we had Melainah and Kailey. Kailey's under belly picture is already up, but Melainah is super easy to identify. She as one longer line on one side and a shorter on the other side - hardly any other markings. She if you can find her in the pics.
So before I get into most definitely the best morning of my life, some things I've forgot to mention..
1) Big Bertha might be pregnant. My boss had said something and while I was editing footage from the other night (Bertha was the only one to show at the north site), she most definitely had a possible baby bump. If she is preggars, would have happened last April-ish and gestation is 13 months, so maybe I can figure out my way back off here for when Bertha gives birth. Wouldn't that be nice?
2) I saw my first coffee plantations and they weren't really what I had in mind. Coffee trees are quite small. Maybe my love for coffee made me have very high expectations. Oh well. Regardless, it was cool to see.
Okay - now. I had an absolutely incredible morning. I'm not sure why, but waking up at 6 am here seems so much harder than it does at home. I even tend to skip my beloved coffee time in the morning (for those who don't know me well - my coffee time is my favorite part of the day) in order to get a few more minutes of sleep. I don't skip the coffee - just drink it incredibly fast. I was really excited to go on the dolphin charter this morning. It seems like each time I go is better and better, and today was no exception. It was easily the best morning of my life. It's really incredible to be part of something so much bigger than yourself. Im those moments, everything disappears. All the self doubt, insecurities, fears and stresses about life. Because it is in those moments that you realize the world is so big and you are such a small part of it (and it's not a bad thing, but a brilliantly wonderful thing that grounds you and has the potential to keep you grounded for the rest of your life). Pictures and videos do this morning no justice, but of course I will share anyway. To some extant I'm sure you will see where I'm coming from, but there is something really remarkable about being so close to so many creatures of a species to be able to see every bulging muscle, every scar, every scrap and every cut that makes each one unique.
Towards the end of the morning, my boss handed over the big kid equipment and I got to film the dolphins with real equipment (not my little point in shoot and an underwater housing). On top of that, we saw two mantas. It was my first time seeing manta rays during the day and it was really cool - especially because one of them was Big Bertha. The other one was not a regular here, so hasn't been identified, and unfortunately had a fishing line pretty tight around its wingtip and we were unlucky with getting it off. So sad, but who knows, maybe she'll come back and someone can help her. So let the pictures and videos begin. Enjoy :)
okay listen carefully to this next video and you can hear the dolphins : )
oh so happy to use the big girl camera
and now the mantas : )
and now some randomness
the big island (vog and all - yes the volcanic fog is still here..It must have been an unusually nice day at the apartment when I had posted that it disappeared)
I just love the water
Don't buy these fins. They make my ankles want to die. Maybe santa will get me a new pair (hint hint santa). I'm not so sure santa would know anything about fins actually.
And last but not least, another beautiful sunset. I'm going to miss Kona. Goodnight all
