A. we had to stop and buy some snorkels etc in town and got lost in the one way system. However, this had a silver lining as we parked outside a mumu factory shop when we finally got close enough to walk to where the snorkels etc were. While most went off to get them, Sarah, Kathy and I had fun trying on local dresses. Most were definitely ones that needed to be worn in context, so although gorgeous, would be fancy dress at home. however, one was translatable enough and so comfortable that I bought it.
B. We got lost in the fabulousness of swimming and snorkeling at Lanikai Beach (which is on the east coast) and spent way longer there than we had anticipated. It was really hot, the water was warm, the spot beautiful and it was a really safe spot for those who hadn't snorkelled before to get comfortable and hooked on it. I LOVE snorkelling - it's so surprising to see such an active life under your feet. There were lots of tropical fish, literally within metres of the beach of golden sand. Sigh...
C. As it turned out, there was no more swimming all the way up the east coast - no through lack of amazing spots, but because we found ourselves in a true tropical rainstorm. Sometimes, we had to crawl along as the rain was so heavy you couldn't see very far in front of you. With the steepness of the terrain, you can see why flash flooding is often a real problem here.
Anyhoo, as we rounded the top end of the island, we pretty much left all of that behind, and next stop was Sunset Point to watch the surfers. It was a beautiful spot and while the waves looked pretty impressive to us, a local surfer told us that they were pretty light at the moment. The kids wanted to swim again, but there were no lifeguards on duty and it was not a gentle swimming bay, so a paddle was all we managed.
Because it was almost dark (it gets dark just after 6ish), we decided to head off to our next spot, where you can apparently often see turtles in the water off the beach. Unfortunately, it isn't marked on the map and by the time we found it, it was properly dark so no turtles. We headed back to Honolulu via the Outlet Mall so that we could get some more shorts and it was my turn to drive the Mustang again - down the freeway, with the top down - in Hawaii. Bliss...
Most of the photos are on Sarah's camera, so just a taste of them here. Tomorrow we are off to Kawaii.
