EDWARD JACOBS

Tag: molokai

  • Thursday, February 27

    Molokai, day 5

    Our final dives in Molokai today and, like the others here, easy and pleasant.  The same boat, crew and even a repeat of sites we’d visited earlier this week.  Small craft advisories and heavy winds had me a bit nervous about the boat ride to the dive site, but along the south shore things were quite calm.

    Again, turtles galore around here, especially near their ‘cleaning station,’ but also a spotted ray, a little eel hiding in the coral, and a conch (not a conch, but a member of that family) shell re-inhabited by a sea slug.

    look at the center of the frame for the little eel hiding in the coral
    a sea slug moves in…
    Following a spotted ray
    Turtles stopping by for a cleaning

    The winning experience of the day, certainly the week, and perhaps the month, was our descent to the second dive.  A big turtle just came right over to hang out by me.  We’re always told to not touch any animals or coral so I resisted the temptation to reach out and pet him, but he was certainly within an arm’s length.

    Making friends upon descent (that’s Pattie on the left)

    The dives here are like diving with family. Always the same crew, small groups–today just 3 divers and 4 snorkelers–and very low key. It’s possible these folks, the only dive-show on the island, are getting a little lazy about certain things that other dive tours are more strict about…but we found it all comfortable and nice.

    Got a snack at the bread shop, returned home to rinse and lay out our gear to dry.  By 1pm back to getting a little work done, taking care of some Surf City-related business—trying to assure we’ll have a place to stay when we return to NC in 4 weeks (for 3 weeks).

    Tomorrow, off to Kalaupapa Peninsula for a tour of the area that has served as a leper colony…

  • Tuesday, February 25

    Molokai, day 3

    A dive day today, largely a pleasant replay of Sunday’s experience with Molokai Fish & Dive.  The early morning easy drive to the harbor, the lowkey loading up at the boat, the small dive group (6 divers) with Annia and Gabe as dive guides, the ease of getting to know the other divers…all such a nice way to get the day going.  This trip was with two very young newlyweds from Tampa, a couple in their 40s from Oahu, and two solo divers, one who splits his year between Molokai and Montana, the other visiting Hawaii for the first time, an experienced dry-suit diver whose entire diving experience was in Alaska.

    The boat ride to the dive site offered, like most rides here and in Maui, a view of whales doing their thing.

    Whales playing a bit

    The whales must have been pretty close, as their song—adult and juvenile—was so clear and strong throughout.  This video is not so visually thrilling, but listen to the whale song!

    Listen…

    The dives here continue to show us undisturbed reefs (not so many divers to mess things up, it seems), lots of yellow tangs to provide color, but also parrot fish and, of course, turtles.  The reefs are clean and healthy, the fish schooling and swimming in/out of coral.

    hear the whales, see the schools
    more schools

    Watching these turtles just slows down time; like watching a slow-motion bird in flight.  So very calming, such a nice reminder to relax and appreciate all there is to see around us. 

    solo turtle
    more turtles

    Post-dive we strolled around the ‘downtown’ area, Pattie wanting to replace the visor that blew off her head on the boat ride back to the harbor.  And we enjoyed a sandwich at the mini Sunshine Deli on the main st.  We looked forward to hitting Kanemitsu’s Bakery, but they’re closed on Mondays, so we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to get some of their highly acclaimed sweets, and their evening warm bread treats.

    The afternoon brought some writing, the last stages of Let Them Not Say, and I’m hoping to get a nearly-final version to James by the end of the week, before we leave Molokai for Kauai.

  • Sunday, February 23

    Molokai, day 1

    Everything about this place seems super-relaxing.  The place we’re staying is spacious, airy, and quiet.  After a great night’s sleep we were up and at ‘em for a 6:15 departure/drive to the harbor.  It turns out we were one of three cars leaving this apt complex at that time.  A very pleasant drive allowed us to chat over coffee while in the sparsely travelled road at that hour—or any hour, it turns out.

    Molokai Fish and Dive is the only game in town, we learned.  They had two boats going out; one for whale watching, and one for snorkelers and divers.  We were eight divers with two lovely dive guides, and I’m not sure how many snorkelers were watched by the boat’s captain.

    This was a maiden open water voyage for a piece of equipment I recently purchased, so I was very excited to give it a run.  [spoiler alert; it was fabulous.]  Things on this boat ran so much more laissez-faire than on other dive boats.  They set up their gear, but had those of us with our own gear set up our own.  I appreciated that opportunity to get to know my equipment better, and all went as easily as I’d hoped.  Pattie had been chilly during the dives in Maui, so she added a short wetsuit on top of her own and that turned out to work perfectly.

    The first site we hit reminded me of “Fish Rain” from our Maui dive, though this was a different reef.  The second dive was a ‘turtle cleaning station,’ where turtles gather and are picked clean by parasite fish—everyone’s happy.  No shortage of turtles here!

    solo turtle dance
    Turtle flight take-off
    just plain lots of fish
    Lots of turtles at the cleaning station

    Post-dive we went over to the dive shop to just look around at the converted gas station.  The food truck next door wasn’t open on Sunday, but we’re told it’s good and, unsurprisingly, is run by Molokai Fish & Dive as well.

    We made our way back to our digs, washed gear and I promptly fell asleep for two hours.  The quiet and the gentle breezes are like a dreamy sedative…

    Shortly after my nap I enjoyed a great conversation with Dan Shirley as we start early planning for a song setting he’d like.  That’s a project whose deadline is many months away, but this first session was about selecting specific texts from with A Shropshire Lad.  A very helpful session, for sure, and always great to touch base with a valued colleague.

  • Saturday, February 22

    Maui to Molokai

    Travel days are different, but this one was particularly challenging as it involved saying goodbye to Jackson, Cristin, and Joe.  What a fabulous few weeks we’ve had together, and words really can’t capture the sheer joy we feel when we’re taking care of Jackson.

    We finally got on our way at 10:30 to return the car, check bags, etc.  The airport experience in Maui was easy.  We flew to Honolulu first, then connected to Molokai via a much smaller plane.  The prop plane loaded passengers through a back door, put cargo in front, and it reminded us of flying between Charlotte and Greenville.

    boarding our flight to Molokai

    Maui to Molokai

    Travel days are different, but this one was particularly challenging as it involved saying goodbye to Jackson, Cristin, and Joe.  What a fabulous few weeks we’ve had together, and words really can’t capture the sheer joy we feel when we’re taking care of Jackson.

    We finally got on our way at 10:30 to return the car, check bags, etc.  The airport experience in Maui was easy.  We flew to Honolulu first, then connected to Molokai via a much smaller plane.  The prop plane loaded passengers through a back door, put cargo in front, and it reminded us of flying between Charlotte and Greenville.

    We arrived and it took all of 5 seconds to notice some of the things that distinguish Molokai from each of the other islands—just as we have noticed the uniqueness of Oahu, Hawai’I, and Maui so far.

    The airport is really a tiny one, flights go between Honolulu and Molokai all day long.  The baggage claim simply a bench where they bring a luggage cart to unload.  And the relaxed pace is just fine.

    As we left the airport we were greeted by the motto around here: “Slow down, this is Molokai.”  Very few roads, stores, and people (pop. 8,000) makes for a very rural vibe.  And we really like it.

    We stopped at one of the two markets in town to get some provisions—everything terrifically expensive, as we were warned. 

    We’re staying on the ‘east end’ of the island, 13 miles from town, so we had about 20’ of leisurely driving down the one main road to “Wavecrest.”  This feels like a cross between camp in Maine (isolated, super-quiet, unending stars, gentle breezes), and a retirement complex (pool, shuffleboard, well-manicured), and our view is across the ocean to Lanai and Maui.

    And the AirBnB is spacious and comfortable, the bed and pillows super.  We both slept very well.

    first night in Molokai

  • Sunday, February 2

    Hilo, day 8

    Spending time organizing a package home; getting together some things we bought yesterday which we’ll not need with us, and also sending home clothes and other things we’ve been carrying around but just not using.  Probably losing 10-15 lbs, and making space for the yoga mat I bought in Kona, which will be nice to have along the way.

    Did some planning ahead, as well; booked dives for Molokai the last week of February, and narrowed down some plans for Kaua’I diving the two weeks following that.

    Also now getting more serious about our Europe travels beginning April 14.  Have a useful list of places we want to visit; planning our first week which will have the treat of a visit from Christine & Stephen.  We’ll spend that week exploring an area b/t Dublin and County Clare, I think…nice to look ahead. And even looking ahead to a December trip.

    Tomorrow, a 2-tank dive with another dive shop in town, this a boat dive (vs the shore dives of last week with Bill).  Looking forward to it!