Water. Hawai'i sure does have a lot of it, both fresh and salt. It's weird to visit a state like that, so far from the rest of the country. It has its own culture and language, and feels like it ought to be a foreign country, and the juxtaposition takes some getting used to.

While dodging rain storms, or before they arrived, we got in a fair amount of snorkelling, and I'm certainly glad I splurged for the prescription dive mask.

We didn't quite find the swimming-in-an-aquarium feeling, however we got to see numermous kinds of brightly colored fishes as well as eels and various inverts. THE coolest things, though, are the sea turtles. We did, in fact, join a guided trip out to Molokini Island and another area to see turtles and fish and coral.

But before we did that, the best experience I had was at a somewhat random place to snorkel where I came suddenly upon a rather large sea turtle at close quarters, much to my surprise. They do exhibit a great deal of grace for such large beasts, as long as they stay in the water.





This tutle yawned as it sought a spot to land on a black-sand beach popular with sunning honu (green sea turtles).





Snorkelling in Hawai'i is not to be missed. Prescription dive masks rock!





Our snorkelling guide book led us to this area, a group of swimming-pool-size tide pools. Beautiful coral, fish, inverts. Lots of things to see. Quite popular with locals, apparently, for being off the beaten track. No fins even needed here.





Shelley takes a dip in a pool at the base of a waterfall. Cool and refreshing after hiking in the jungle.