First kissed by the jellyfish, then 'turtled'

If you think we would be satisfied with yesterday's snorkeling experiences, you don't know us well. After breakfast, we head about 15 minutes north of our accommodation to the so-called 'Honolua Bay' (named after a well-known Hawaiian clothing company). According to the travel guide, it is one of the best snorkeling bays in Maui, although we couldn't confirm this in our last vacation. But there must be something to all these reports in travel guides and the internet, so we will try our luck there again.

After a relatively short drive, we arrive at the bay. Parking spaces here are scarce, but since we are early birds (arrival before 8:00 am), we get one of the coveted parking spaces and make our way through a small jungle to the snorkeling spot. The 5-minute walk takes us amidst roosters, hens, and chicks to the sea, where we count the snorkelers in the water on one hand. That's how we like it...

So, we put on our snorkeling gear and dive into the water - not so easy, as the entry into the sea is quite rocky and slippery. Just like last year, the "murky broth" with the occasional fish doesn't impress us much, even though we follow the advice of the travel guide and swim relatively far north. Here, a paradise for snorkelers is supposed to be waiting - but it turns out to be more of a jellyfish paradise, which Mom has to get acquainted with. Unfortunately, she gets caught in the tentacles of one of these monsters on her thigh - but she doesn't tell me about it for now, because otherwise I probably would have set a new sprint record back to the shore...

Well, we were almost about to leave when suddenly I spotted 2 sea turtles right in front of me - amazing. And from now on, everything is supposed to go perfectly for us, because after one of the two magnificent specimens retreated into its cave and we lost sight of the other one at some point, we spot the next one and then another one, and another one. We can hardly believe our luck and can hardly take our eyes off these marine animals - seconds and minutes pass by, and we have completely lost our sense of time. By the way, we have arrived in the midst of the advertised reef, which is certainly more than 500 meters away from our entry point, we never expected that. The entire fish world is completely overshadowed by this spectacle - reason enough for another visit, aside from these phenomenal sea turtles.

But see for yourself the videos we have uploaded online.

https://vimeo.com/362219523?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=29220

https://vimeo.com/362219184

https://vimeo.com/manage/362218090/general

When we eventually start feeling a bit cold, we have to say goodbye to the honus (Hawaiian for sea turtles) - but one thing is for sure, we definitely won't be here for the last time. To be continued.

But this eventful day is far from over. After a detour to the swimming pool, where the lifeguard tells me about his feast of Nuremberg sausages, we head to Kihei in the afternoon, a small beach town located south of us. A visit to the numerous food trucks on the beach promenade is a must before taking a walk along the shore afterwards. On the way back, we make another stop for the sunset, and we look back happily on this eventful day - so far the best of our Hawaii vacation.