Even on Big Island, they're 'turtle-ing'

Today we want to take the day a bit more relaxed; after a cozy breakfast - which, as usual, takes place on our terrace in the early hours because every second of sunshine should be enjoyed in paradise - we go to Kahaluhu Beach Park, which is about 4.5 miles from Kona on Ali'i Drive. Here we are among the first visitors and we enjoy that. The entry into the water is a bit rocky and slippery, but we are used to it by now. But then you literally fall into the reef and have the first fish right in front of your mask. Here, it's not the quantity of fish that impresses us, but many different but unique specimens - fantastic!

After a few minutes, I spot a turtle gliding through the clear water. This specimen is all ours and it's not as snappy as its counterparts on Maui - so it doesn't immediately retreat to its cave. Timelessly, we glide next to our Honu (= Hawaiian for turtle) and enjoy every second. No turtle has ever graced us for so long - we are simply overwhelmed!

At some point, we let our friend continue on her own and enjoy the rest of the fish world, which is no less impressive. The pictures speak for themselves...

Afterwards, we enjoy the atmosphere at the beach and linger there for a few more minutes.

Then we check out swimming pool alternative no. 2, a fitness studio with four 25-yard lanes, which convinces me. You can register as a visitor there for 2 weeks at a reasonable price - perfect for me, because we don't really expect the popular Kona pool to open anytime soon. I do my laps there and then we go home for a short while. After a culinary boost, we set off again, this time heading north from Kona. We drive along the Ironman bike course, where we are made aware of the cyclists by numerous 'Caution, Athletes in Training' signs. However, they are all coming towards us, so we eventually turn around to go back to Kona with the cyclists. When they notice that we're taking pictures of them, the athletes wave at us and we even spot two German cyclists chatting at a traffic light. We also reveal our identity through shouts and naturally receive a wave in our direction. As you can see, we're having fun!

We bridge the following rain shower, which of course cannot be missed in Kona in the afternoon, in a fabric store where we naturally spend a little 'fabric' as well. The sewing projects for winter in Germany are already secured, but we don't want to think about that yet.

We want to watch the sunset from the snorkeling beach of this morning, so off we go again to Kahaluhi Beach Park. On the way there along Ali'i Drive, we encounter numerous runners - today we almost cover the entire Ironman course. Despite many clouds in the sky, we witness another spectacular sunset and happily look back on this eventful day.