Day three

In the morning we attended a meeting that familiarized us with all of the attractions of the island. We tried to use the morning to plan the rest of our sightseeing and activities, but got tired trying to pick from so many good choices. So we went surfing. Paul hooked me up with a lesson while he just rented a board.

Lessons were so fun. The instructors walked us (me and a several other mismatched-aged people) through surfing 101 in about 5 minutes. They taught us how to get up and balance on the board. After we got in the water, they helped us find a wave and gave us a push. It was so fun. Even though the waves were small, a few times I rode them almost all the way to shore. Paul watched at first and then got in and we tried to surf together. It was hard to get up on such small waves, especially when no one was giving you a push. Two hours of such intense fun leaves you sort of exhausted.

Later on in the day we decided to go discover the south coast of Maui. We heard that there was some good snorkeling down there. What we did not hear was how pretty that area was. The drive itself was gorgeous. The trees and fields were cut and groomed, the water was so blue and clear. We went all the way to the south most point of our side of the island. It was covered with a 200 year old lava that erupted from a nearby volcano. At that specific point, it was hard to snorkel because of the force of the waves, so we came back up that shore a bit and went in where things were a bit calmer. We saw a school of fish right away and they were so much closer to us than the ones we saw last time.

We did not have much time so we stayed close to shore. Overhearing other people, we realized there was an eel somewhere nearby. We swam around trying to look for it. At one point, Paul grabbed me and showed me that something was stirring down below. First we could not see it well. We thought it might the eel that the others saw. What we actually saw was a three foot turtle coming out from a little cove down below. We were so excited. The turtle came up and got some air, then it swam with us for about 5 minutes. We touched her shell and fins. The greatest things was that there was no one else around at the time, so we had her all to ourselves. It was one of the most exciting things I have ever done! I could not believe my eyes! I actually saw and swam with a turtle! What a thrill! We took some pictures with a disposable water camera. I hope they turn out.