Big Island

This is around the half way point in our vacation. So far, it has been fun and relaxing.

The Volcano National Park delivered what it promised, a great view of the flowing lava into the ocean. The lava was very active the time we went, it was spectular. It probably would've been better if we hiked all the way to the end. We were about 20 min from it but it was still great. We could even see the lava flowing down the volcano. If you go, you should definitley go at dusk, the lava was much more visible (red against the black) and the stars were amazing.

We did a lot of hiking the 1st 2 days. The rain forest was very pretty and the air was sweet. We particularly enjoyed our hike through the Lava Tunnel in the park. At one point, we turned off our flashlights and experienced complete darkness. I couldn't even see my hand when I placed it an inch from my face. It was neat. Some say complete darkness is going away with all the lights around us. I guess you can still find it.

We're now in the beach side of town. We had a great day of snorkeling and swimming yesterday. We were swimming with a big school of tangs (dark body with blue stripes) and saw a big sea turtle having lunch chomping at the moss. We also saw pufferfish, butterfly fish and other colorful tangs.

We're likely to spend the next 4 days snorkeling and roaming up and down the west coast. Tomorrow we're planning to go kayaking at the Place of Refuge, then Whale Watching the day after.

More to come.

Cynthia