humuhumu-nukunuku-apua'a

Well, April and I have just returned from Maui, and I have many pretty pictures to share. Yes, I know, we're very lucky. But I can also say that there is nothing more depressing than leaving 82 degree weather, sunny skies, and walks along the beach at sunset to return to dreary, grey Rochester in the driving rain. Blah. April and I were coerced (twist my rubber arm, why dontcha) into flying to Maui by our friends Amy and Mike, who wisely decided that this lovely tropical island would be a fabulous place for their wedding. And boy, were they right.

So, last Thursday (Nov. 2), April and I packed up our bags and hopped onto the first of three flights to trek our way across the continent and beyond. The first two flights (Rochester to Pittsburgh and then Pittsburgh to Los Vegas) were relatively calm and as comfortable as being squeezed in a small metal box can be. The third flight, six plus hours across the Pacific, was awful (despite the fact that we practially had the whole plane to ourselves)--we literally had turbelence (and not just mild turbence either) for the full last 4 hours of the flight with little reprieve; they turned off the 'fasten seat belt' sign for about an hour before it went back on and glowed for the rest of the flight--even our flight attendants had to sit down. While that was a rather inauspicious beginning, Maui was wonderful. Perhaps "bad flight, good vacation" should become a new tagline to comfort people after their journey across the not-so-friendly skies.

We arrived on Thursday to pouring rain and encroaching darkness and, though we narrowly missed a big storm that had been raging on and off for the past few days, the weather the entire week we were there was perfect (this makes up for the rainy week in Paris, I think). Despite the rain and slightly confusing directions, we made it to our snug little condo in Ma'alea Harbor (on the southwest side of the island).


Friday, we started our day with coffee with Amy and Mike on the porch of our condo (one of many rented by Amy's parents for the wedding party and guests and also shared with Mike's best man, Brad, a kiwi farmer from California).

{For those who know my night-owlish ways, you'll be shocked to learn that almost everyday in Maui I was up by 7:30 at the latest. I attribute it to the time change--just makes it easier to get up earlier. Of course, blue skies and palm trees, and chirping birds help, too.}

Though we rented our own car, in order to get a sense of the island, we spent Friday morning with Amy and Mike. First, we went to Maui Dive Shop to rent snorkel gear for the week--not only did the woman at the counter give us a great deal (two sets for the price of one), this was by far the best investment we made during the trip. After that, a fabulous breakfast at Stella Blues Cafe in Kihei (city just to the south of Ma'alea)-- I had the Banana Macadamia Nut pancakes with coconut syrup. Best pancakes I've ever had. Next, we accompanied Amy and Mike to get their marriage license, mostly to save time, after which they dropped us off at a beach near Wailea. Now, since we were following Amy and Mike, I have no idea which beach this was (although we were able to find it again on our own later in the week). Maui has over 30 miles of beaches, so my confusion as to exactly where we were is justified.

We thought we were only going to be at the beach for a short time while Amy and Mike ran some errands, but by the time they came back for us we were having so much fun that they left us there. Since we had followed them in our car, we weren't by any means stranded, but we hadn't brought any sunscreen (stupid, stupid--though in our defense it was rainy in the morning and we hadn't realized how sunny and hot it would be by late in the day). This proved to be a huge mistake, as both April and I got sunburnt; I turned a bit purple and itched a few days later, but April turned bright as a lobster and her whole back pealed off in the last few days were on the isle. Poor thing.

Part of what fascinated us so on the beach and ocean that day wereits amazing reefs and the undeniable appeal of breathing underwater (snorkeling is my new favorite hobby, although it's a lot easier to burn when you're floating on your stomach in the water because you can't feel the heat of the sun scorching your back). At the dive shop, we were given this plastic fish identification card, which had lots of colorful little creatures on it that we were sure we wouldn't actually see ourselves. But little did we know that plop down in the water virtually anywhere in Maui where there are rocks and reefs, and you'll find fish. Lots of fish.

Unfortunately, while the Fuji underwater cameras we bought were great, some of the brilliant colors of the fish didn't come out so well in the relative murk of the water. Nevertheless, I'm posting some of my favorite underwater camera photos below (There's one more set of underwater photos currently being developed; I have hopes they'll be better because I tried to get very close to the fish when I took their pictures--the fish were wary but not too perturbed--I'll post those tomorrow if they turned out.)

My favorite fish was the humuhumu-nukunuku-apua'a (aka the reef triggerfish); the unofficial state fish of Hawai'i, they're plentiful in the shallow reefs. The murky pictures I've developed so far didn't do them justice, but this is what they really look like (below). I love the humuhumu-nukunuku-apua'a (not as much fun to type as to say) and stalked them through the ocean trying to get a decent picture (unfortunately, they swim much faster than me).


Since this post is getting rather long, I'll save the rest of the vacation update, including the beautiful wedding photos for another post. On a closing note, April and I were also very lucky (on the many days we snorkeled) to come across a number of sea turtles (at least 5 or 6 different ones)--even a couple huge, old ones covered in barnacles. We tried not to disturb them too much while still getting close enough to get a good look. On Friday, one approached me--whether to greet me as a fellow creature of the sea or to chase me away, I'm not so sure--and I screamed, floundered and got water in my snorkel. I'm not sure what I thought it was going to do to me, but this is not the way to calmly approach sea turtles. After that the two we had been observing hid from us, and I really I don't blame them at all.