Yesterday my sister had the day off from her job at the blood bank. Its so cool the way she sometimes can get weekdays off, but I guess the trade-off is having to work on the weekends which could sometimes suck. Especially when I land a good job and will most likely be off on the weekends and most of the events, etc happen during that time! But on the bright side when she is off we can do cool things and not get the traffic and crowds that you do on the weekend!
We decided to go snorkeling at this place called Shark's Cove on the North Shore. My parents had told me about this place and had gone with Jess previously when they were here helping her get all the nitty gritty things setup and said it was an awesome place to snorkel.
When Jess mentioned going I was like sure thing, I never turn down a snorkeling invite... ever! So we set out to the North Shore on the H1 the famous interstate/hwys... Guess its not really an interstate cause it doesn't cross states... but it isn't really a hwy. Well in my mind its an interstate that doesn't cross states. There - no more debate on that one.
Anyway we finally get there after driving past scenic landscapes of pineapple fields, coffee fields and beautiful mountains that go forever across the skyline. Something that drops your jaw the first time you see it. Simply amazing scenery! It makes the 30min drive from our house in Honolulu so much better. So we get there and park and get our gear and head down to the water.
Just to give an explanation of this place its all rocks - well old eroded lava rocks and alot of smooth round boulder rocks. It almost like a big lava field that goes down to the shore and in between all the jagged craggy ancient lava creations, that by the way will cut you to pieces if you don't have shoes are the smooth boulder egg looking rocks all in between of thousands of different sizes.
We get in the water and the first thing I notice is how clear it is. I can see the fish from just looking down into the water. This to me was like being a kid in a candy store! We jump in and get our fins on and wow... simply WOW! Fish everywhere, all different shapes, colors, sizes, you name it from the Hawaiian fish guide, its there! Except for those nasty guys we like to call Sharks! Whew :)
Anyway Jess and I spend about and hour and half swimming around and just gawking at the beauty of this underwater masterpiece. Its probably the closets ive come to being in a fish tank other than my scuba experience in Honduras. Except its a totally different scene. In Honduras there was coral and fans and all these magical coral growths that protruded from all sides of everything you could see to infinity until it just turns to blue. Almost like you were swimming through a techno-color jungle of thousands of hues of colored coral. All different, all weird and cool and just wow! Here in Hawaii its alot different. Mostly lava rock but on top there are all sorts of colors of small squatly corals. They come in all colors, mostly yellow and bright blue but it doesn't change the beauty of the fish that surround you.
At one point we were so taken in by the beauty and the fish around us that we didn't realize we had swam almost half way out and around the cove. I realized this when I stopped to take a break from diving down to nearly 50 to 60 feet making my ears squeel and my mask almost crush my face to the point where I started to see tiny sparkles in my field of vision. I guess when I get into it the fact that you do have to come up for air isn't such a big deal. Its almost like you forget you need it... at least I do. We look around and there are no people, except for the idiots walking around on the lava rock above us looking down to see what we are doing.
We saw some crazy crazy colored fish, schools and schools of these guys. This place was truely alive and hoping! Diving down and holding onto the rocks so I could observe the juvenile fish and the way the all interacted with the coral and each other I came face to face with a spotted moray eel. At first these guys just pop out and scare the crap out of you, but after a few secs you get to know them a bit better and start to appreciate their beauty. Poking their long heads out of a hole in the rock to open their mouths at you gaping with teeth. Open and shut they move their mouths almost like they are talking to you. After the eel I was a bit more careful not to get too close to the reef, they always help me remember that! :)
After snorkeling we got out and decided to explore the North Shore a bit more. We went and hit up the surf shops and talked to some really really cool people. I think the North Shore is more of my type of place than the big city life of Honolulu. Its a totally different scene out there. Mostly surfers, chill people, and retired older people who still think they are in their college years. Talking like yeeeeah dude and things like that. Cracks you up to have a conversation with them. All in all id have to say its my favorite place so far on this island.
So after hitting up the surf shops and stuff, we went to check out a 35gal fish tank that I had seen an ad for on craigslist for 80 bucks. Holy crap thats a steal!!! The owners of the tank were moving and needed to get rid of it ASAP. When we arrived at their house I was shocked because the tank was an expensive bow front model and not only that but she threw in over 700 dollars worth of pumps and equipment to go with that tank! HOLY CRAP! The pump alone that she gave me was worth around 300!!! I really felt bad for only paying 80, but at the same time if she had wanted more she could have asked for it. She said she really didn't care and needed to get rid of it asap, so what more could I do than gladly help her out!
After that I couldn't get the giddy kid like feeling out of my system and we decided to hit up this AUTHENTIC Mexican place we heard about from our landlord. Jess and I had been disappointed when arriving that no one here seemed to know how to make true Mexican food. It was just a bunch of imposters trying to throw together some asian style taco with an egg roll... Come on guys the only Mexicans that eat those are the ones that cook for the Asian resteraunts at home so we weren't amused by the imposters out here.
Needless to say Cholos on the North Shore is indeed the best place we have been. Doesn't compare to Monterrays or Los Arcos, but hey it will do! I sure do miss the cheap prices of that type of food too... but when you have a craving you have to satisfy it! And thats exactley what we did with some tropical frozen margaritas!!! MMMM MMMM :)
What can I say, it was a great day and I still love it here!!! Don't think I will stop having a smile on my face... this is truely where I belong!
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