Hawai'i - The Second, More Arduous Day

Diamond head

I awoke to my alarm at 4:45 in the morning. I hopped into appropriate hiking gear, bought two bottles of water, and started walking toward Diamond Head. On the way I met an older man who taught special ed, and he directed me to the park entrance. The park was just receiving its first bus load of tourists when I walked through the tunnel and got my first view of the Diamond Head crater.

I payed the nominal charge ($1.00) and proceeded up the path to the summit of Diamond Head. The Hawai'ins call it Le'Ahi (head of the ahi tuna) because of its shape. It was used by the military in the early 1900s as a defensive position complete with canon and mortar.

After 99 grueling steps I entered the tunnel. The guidebooks say you need a flashlight because the tunnel is dark - this is not the case anymore, as illumination is provided by light bulbs every 5 feet or so.

After a flight of spiral stairs you end in a pillbox which has had its metal shutters torn out and a ladder put in. There is another short flight of stairs, and then you're at the observation area, the summit of Le'ahi.

At the top I ran into a couple, Ernie and his wife Roan ("roe-ann"). They asked me to take their picture, I obliged. We got to chatting about general nothingness, and they ended up offering me a ride back. I accepted the offer, so we headed back down Le'ahi and hopped in their rental car.

After changing clothes I walked down the street to Lulu's Restaurant and bar, which Tom recommended. Drinking my coffee I sat facing the ocean and just relaxing in the peaceful atmosphere.

Hanauma Bay

Later that day Chris, Karen, and I went to Hanauma Bay for snorkeling. It was an adventure just getting to the bay. Our van driver, Ike, was insane. Cutting people off, yelling out advice to other bus drivers ("Get out of my way brother"). When we got to the park there was about an hour wait to get tickets. Then some more waiting around while we waited to watch the mandatory safety video (complete with "Little Mermaid" parodies about wild-life "under the sea").

We rented a locker, threw our stuff in it, and hit the beach. Karen's mask didn't fit properly, so she only spent a few minutes in the water. Chris and I continued further out into the reef. There are two channels that lead to deeper parts of the bay, but the current in the channels was strong enough to make us uncomfortable. We turned back into the shallower areas that still teemed with fish.

Chris is fighting a nasty cough, and was having trouble breathing through his snorkel. He and I went back in, then I swam back out and enjoyed another half hour or so of snorkeling. There are some really amazing things to see under the sea.