[Kauai TR] Day 5: Blow-holes, Beaches, and Boo-Boos

Sorry I’ve been so slow to pound these out. There’s more shots from the day in the gallery.

On Mark’s first full day on the island, we wanted to get out and see as much of the area as possible. In the morning, we drove up to Lihue and had breakfast at Oki Diner. It was pretty darn great, Mark’s pancakes had bananas baked right in, and mine had macadamia nuts baked inside!

We then decided to find Maike, who was sitting on a beach on the south side of the island. Her beach wasn’t the best for boogie boarding, so we headed off to find a better one. On the way, we stopped in to check out the Spouting Horn blow-holes.

Next, we headed to Sheraton beach in hopes of better surf. There was a sandy break, but it was too small to ride. A larger break down the beach was totally dominated by a surf school. So, we gave up after a while and decided to snorkel.

I thought this was one of the coolest things I have done in quite a while! I don’t have a camera that works underwater, but I really wish I did. The fish were everywhere, and they were soooo colorful, and funny shapped! I’ve seen fish like these in aquariums, but I never thought I would be able to swim with them in real life! We have a friend who dives all of the time, and he’s been trying to convince us to dive as well for years. I always blew him off, because I never felt there was all that much to see under water. Wow was I wrong! I really want to go some place where I can snorkel again, it was awesome!

So, I was having a lot of fun, and I started diving down to the sea floor to touch or check out things. At one point, I see this giant black sea urchin, and I think “Wow, can I pull that up?” Yes, evidently my oxygen-deprived brain thought that grabbing the huge black sea urchin was a good idea. Needless to day, the sea urchin bit back, and in a split second my snorkeling was over.

After soaking my fingers in vinegar for a couple of hours, I was fine to go to the big event of the week, the Lu’au that we made reservations for back in January. It was a great evening, and open bar with all the Mai-ti’s we could drink pre-paid! A HUGE buffet including fresh local fruit, Kalua pork, grilled fish, and even poi! Mark and I both tried the poi, and while I enjoyed it, Mark thought it was the most disgusting thing he’d eaten in a really long time.

The dancers were fantastic all night long. I got a whole bunch of blurry shots, but the experience was fantastic. At the end of the night, a Maori fire dancer came out and performed. This guy was incredible, and really topped off a great show. For future reference, Mark and I definitely recommend the Sheraton Lu’au.