Up early in the morning and headed out to the beach for another try and snorkeling. Try as I might I could NOT breathe properly … I kept hyperventilating (not something you want to do in open ocean) because I felt like I couldn’t get enough air in through the tube and I was also so scared a big fish was going to freak me out again but I was determined to see some fish!
I found a boogie board to use and that gave me something to hang onto (like a security blanket) when I felt overwhelmed. At one point when I couldn’t regulate my breathing I told Gerry I couldn’t do it … and he said “Look! There are so many beautiful fish over here. I don’t want you to miss it.” So I put my head down again and saw a rainbow of different kinds of beautiful fish … and you know what happened? My breathing regulated, I let go of the boogie board and all my fear went away.
We spent a few hours swimming around and it was grand!! When we got back to the room I was exhausted!! I had a nap around 11am *laugh*
My parents popped by before lunch and they were going out somewhere to do something (another car ride) but we were so pooped we decided to stay at the hotel and have a lazy day. It was a really hot day so Gerry and I hung out on the shady lanai (avoiding the hot sun) reading and catching up on facebook.
I’ve never seen Gerry this relaxed. It was awesome. 🙂
After a lazy lunch we went for a walk so I could take some photos. I had brought my camera with me but hadn’t taken one single “real” photo yet …all my photos so far had been iphone photos.
We found ourselves at the Koi Pond at the hotel next door to us and made friends with a beautiful fish that I named Goldie.
I told Goldie all about my ocean adventure and he/she gave me bubble kisses of congratulations. Went back to the room – had a snack and got ready to meet my parents in the lobby for the drive to the luau in Lahaina.
Arrived at Feast At Lele and got leied, was handed a mai-tai and was seated in an out-door theater.
When we booked the show they told us they could do a vegan (no soy) meal … and I had my doubts (and brought a vega bar just in case) but the dinner was fantastic. The staff was very mindful of my no-soy request and our server told me to avoid the salsa in the appetizer because it had soy-oil. That kind of attention to detail I appreciate. 🙂
It was a 4 course meal from the different Polynesian countries: New Zealand, Tahiti, Hawaii and Samoa. The first 2 courses were salads and Gerry and I figured that every dish would be salad but the 3rd and 4th courses were really yum. 3rd course was a yum stir-fry.
The 4th was a tasting plate with a pineapple/avocado dish. A purple sweet potato dish and a pineapple risotto dish. Dessert was a beautiful fruit plate.
The drinks were included in the meal and I decided to try some drinks I’d never had before. Blue Hawaii tasted like a melted down slurpee. Not good…but good for photos. 🙂
MaiTai. Too boozy for me and I switched to Guava Juice. I’m such a light weight. 🙂
The dancing was really cool. Each dance corresponded with the country/meal and with the ocean as the backdrop – it was beautiful.
Our waitress was lovely. She talked to us about how her language and dancing was taken away from them in her grandfathers day. Their language was banned and as a result it was lost in her family and she never learned Hawaiian. Her story mirrored the story of the residential schools in Canada and it made me so angry and part of me felt like an asshole for attending a cheezy-tourist luau … Ack. I have white person guilt. 🙂
Only 2 more days of Hawaii left? Where has the time gone? Oh noooo! I don’t want to go home yet.