A Day Below Sea Level

To say I've been overwhelmed by all there is to see here on the Island of Oahu since I arrived would certainly be an understatement. It would take years to explore this island, and with something amazing around every corner one might find it difficult to stop once they start. Today however I was introduced to what is below the water rather than what is above.

I'm bringing my spear gun next time, because all I see is dinner.

The day started with my roommates Devin, Nate and myself piling into the awesome van that we cruise around the island and headed towards the North Shore. Our first stop was at Shark's Cove. Although the name sounds rather intimidating and aggressive, once you get out there it's surprisingly calm and relaxing (aside from the constant shark attacks). The reason we went to Shark's Cove was because it's known for it's amazing snorkeling. Now, i've never snorkeled a day in my life, needless to say I felt about as clumsy as I ever have. Trying to move around with giant flippers on and breathing through a big plastic straw proved to me that I may just be a little more handicapped than I had hoped. Luckily I pick things up rather quickly. So after about 15 minutes I got the hang of it. It was so impressive to see all the life that exists just feet below the surface. Schools of fish, turtles, jelly fish, and eels were just some of the animal life we encountered. The best part of it for me was how relaxing it felt. I almost felt as if I was meditating. With the water level above your ears all you can hear is your own breathing and the waves as they move over your body. Snorkeling is definitely something I've fallen in love with, and I'm excited to do it more times in the near future!

Turtles really like the spotlight, and can't stand not being the center of attention.

This is Nate swimming through the cave at Shark's Cove

 After snorkeling we decided we needed some food in our stomachs. We drove to the town of Holaeiwa where we got awesome sandwitches at a cool little bakery. Then Nate and Devin took me to a shop called Matsumotos which is world known for it's shaved ice. This I found a bit odd since I didn't really know there was anyone keeping track of the best shaved ice joints on the planet, but apparently there is. It was really good though, and the twist is that you can have ice cream added to the bottom so if the first half/pound of sugar wasn't enough, you get another slap in face of sweetness once you reach the bottom.

The line is always out the door and flows out onto the street.

To wrap up our day you drove to Waimea Beach where we originally were just going to chill and relax, but that turned into deciding to jump of a cliff. At first I wasn't really feeling up to it, a little hesitant to jump into a body of water that I had only met just a few days ago for the first time in my life. Oh also, did I mention it's a cliff?  So I decided to stay back and watch the camera gear while Devin and Nate jumped. Nate stepped up and jumped right off with hardly any hesitation. Then Devin stepped up and hesitated just a *tad longer than Nate, and took the plunge. Watching this I decided I needed to see what the fuss was all about, so I climbed to the top, got to the edge, and before my brain had time to register what I was about to do, and before it could initiate electricity to the common sense zone I jumped! It was absolutely a crazy good time.

This sign is written in Hawaain and translates to. "ATTENTION: Jumping/Diving can cause serious euphoria and awesomeness to flow through the body. For your own good please stand on the highest point and jump!"

I'll be returning to this spot very soon.

So that's how my Wednesday went, not a bad day's work if you ask me! :)


*range of actual time anywhere between 1 and 2 hours.