wetsuits rock

Today we went back to 20 Mile Beach to snorkel in the deeper section.  We totally geared up this time with wetsuits (thank you Kimo!) and gloves for me which allowed us to stay in the water for over an hour without getting too cold.  We also took the underwater camera for a test run!  Not bad! Though the ocean was rather surgy which made it hard to compose pictures, plus fish don't pose. The "sea mode" on the camera puts a red tinge on it to correct for the blue water, but I think that was meant to be for diving in more depth because our shots were all red.  I'll try to color correct before uploading.  

This session was much more fruitful than the last.  Numerous dark purple Blennies with red eyeshadow perched between the fingers of cauliflower coral.  Tons of blue-orange Saddle Wrasses and pointy snouted female Bird Wrasses darted around.  The bright orange and white spots of the juvenile Yellow Tail Wrasse made it stand out, while the 4-foot long translucent Cornet Fish faded into the blue background.  Hiding under a large coral formation were the biggest Manini I've ever seen (probably 10") and a Moorish Idol trailing its long dorsal fin.  When we were able to hover about 3 feet above the reef we spotted 3 baby brittle stars, green-blue shrimp, and a crab busily stuffing itself with algae, its pinchers looked like they were in fast-forward.  Saw a shy but stunning Blue-Spotted Grouper, and on my way back to shore I came across a Blue Boxfish whose coloring reminded me of those festively painted wooden chairs.  Liane was lucky to photograph a pair of starry-eyed Rockmover Wrasses.  After drying off we sat on the beach and started a search for our tinsy tiny shell collection.  

We ended the day driving east all the way to the end of the narrow winding highway to lush Halawa Valley.  From the bay we could see the silvery towering waterfalls plunge down sheer cliffs of the faraway valley walls.

Too tired to deal with uploading photos tonight, plus it doesn't seem to be working anyway.  So you'll just have to wait.