Monday July 26th, 2010

Not one of the activities we've payed for have been a dissappointment on this trip. Today was no exception! We went on the Blue Water Rafting Trip which departs out of the Kihei Maui Boat Ramp. If you are going to Maui in the near future seriously consider taking this trip! It was both Camron and my favorite trip so far! Here's a link to their website: http://www.bluewaterrafting.com/

We departed this morning at 7:00 a.m. and were in the water not 5 minutes before two bottlenose dolphins came upon us! Camron pulled me to the front of the boat where we could see the dolphins directly under us!!!

Here's a video too!

After watching the dolphins we headed to an uninhabited part of Maui called the Volcanic Kanaio Coast. We got to see some amazing lava formations, caves, arches, and tubes.

(This rock shows three different types of lava which vary by how they cooled hundreds of years ago)

(Can you see Fred Flintstone in the middle?)

(The top layer of lava is called a'a - jagged and pourous, the middle layer shows where gases were trapped and expelled - not sure of the name, the bottom layer is called pahoehoe - dense and smooth)

(Lava Arches)

(Look it's another turtle!)

(Lava Cave)

(Inside of the cave - It was a little scary in there! In the back corner there is a lava tube where when waves come crashing in, water shoots back out like a blowhole!)

(Another lava tube - When water goes in this guy out comes...)

(Dragons Breath! Well, that's what they called it anyway :)

(On to the snorkeling!)

Our first snorkeling spot was in La Perouse Bay! It was gorgeous and so much fun!

(About 35 feet down - Pristine!)

(Ornate Butterfly Fish)

One of the best experiences of the trip was going to the Molokini Crater. I've never seen reefs like the ones here, not to mention how clear the water was!

(That's Molokini in the distance)

(What it looks like from above - I obviously didn't take this picture :)

(All coral reefs around the inner and outer sides of Molokini)

(Lemon Butterfly and Fourspot Butterfly fish)

(Peacock Grouper Fish)

(Having fun!)

(Can you see the Needle Fish?)

(A whole mess of Needle Fish to the right of the snorklers!)

(Threadfin Butterfly)

(Views above the water at Molokini and our boat)

(A mooring that boats can anchor themselves to)

(The island of Molokini is a protected fish and bird sanctuary. These are Frigate Birds - When they fly they almost look like prehistoric pterodactyls!)

(Swirly fossil things on the reef)

(I so badly want to pluck the coral out of the sea but would never!)

(Camron is great at diving! On our next trip here we plan on scuba diving)

Nothing could really compare to the reefs at Molokini but we did make one last stop to a bay out of Makenna where we saw at least four gigantic sea turtles. 

(The infamous "Humuhumunukunukuapua'a" or as the mainlanders call it the Picasso Triggerfish)

Dinner tonight was fun! We started by looking for a restaurant up by the Ritz Carlton. Turns out the restaurant is only open for lunch and upon being invited into the Ritz for dinner we said, "Sure, why not!?" Well I'll tell you why not! Their dinner was a one option three course dinner with pea sized portions at a ridiculous price! Ha! We walked right out of that place and found a nearby restaurant called the Maui Grill. It was great and a little pricey too, but everything costs an arm and leg here :)

We only have two days left! We are very excited to come home and see our family, friends, and pets!