"OCTORAYFINS"

A "Yellow Tang" convention.  And some of our little buddies.

The round mark on the side of this Dolphin is from a "Cookie Cutter Shark"

OK, you figured it out. I have missed a few postings. I went to Hilo  which took me out of the water for two days. No one gets in the water to swim in Hilo unless you are one of those crazy surfers, even then...why?  The water is cold and mirky and rough, and it was cold and windy. Hilo is located on the Windward side of the Big Island and it does get the weather there.

There was snow on Mauna Kea and it was a beautiful ride. Waimea was it's traditional 53 degrees, rainy and windy worse than a bad day in Seattle. I don't get Wiamea but folks seem to like it there(?). 

The swim on Wednesday was great. Where do I start?  Dolphins and lots of pups. Here is a very cool shot of two dolphins holding hands (holding flippers?). 

They swam together like this the whole time we watched them. Interacting with them is so extraordinary. That  is until all the snorkel boats drop their thousands of people off into the water. Then its akin to swimming in a spaghetti bowl with all the floating 'noodles' everywhere. I have got to believe is the the coolest thing these folks have ever possibly seen and we get to do it multiple times a week. We are so blessed. We just let them crazily swim after them, and we swim off. Remember,  you do not swim with dolphins. they swim with you and the quieter you are the more likely you will get to have a great experience watching and interacting with them.

Here is a photo of one guy who had dropped his leaf (they play catch with the leaves). They catch them on their dorsils, their noses, their tails. This guy had dropped his leaf and I went down and got it. He swam around me, like "Hey that's my leaf dude!". When I dropped it so he could have it back, I got this shot of him swooping in on it.

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We then saw two beautiful Eagle Rays. Freckles is one we know and named. I got some shots of them as they scooped up little tidbits of food along the sandy bottom while feeding. There were probably 30' deep. No, they  are not electric and no they are not dangerous.

On the way back, I ran into this little guy. Actually there was nothing little about him. It was the biggest octopus I have seen here. He was entwined in a large coral head, so I did not get to see his whole size, but by judging by his head he was a big guy. Hard to see, but look for his face in this photos.

The rest of the weekend was more Dolphins, more Eagle Rays and.  Nothing today but just a great time to reflect listening to Mercy Me  on my ipod and enjoying God's creation he has placed before us. Thanks for joining me this on this journey!

A hui hou