Hawaii 2019 (page 3 of 11)

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Day 3

We got up at 5:30 am for our first scuba dive, where we had to report to the harbor at 7:15 AM. The traffic Is MUCH less congested at 6:45 ,so we go there a bit early. Pacific Rim Divers does not have a store front, but we met them at the harbor, and watched them drop the boat in. Jim & Allison were our dive masters (they were married) and Buddy was there as well. Buddy is about our age, but retired, as he got into the solar-electricity field in the late 2000’s, worked hard for 5 years, and sold off the company, and is now retired. So he & his wife moved to Hawai’I, where he became scuba-certified. We’re not sure if he works for them, or just dives with them a lot and helps out. There were also a number of other divers. One gal was from CA and taking her very first dive after being certified back home. There was another man from Oregon who’d been diving a number of times already there; this was his last day. And then there was another older couple (both doctors) from Montana who had just arrived but had dove with PRD before. We got luck with a very nice group of people, but we’ve found in the past, scuba divers seem to be good people in general.

We headed up the coast a bit – and anchored just off-shore. Allison was the captain, Buddy & Jim both gave directions to the exact location of the diving buoy, and then Jim dove in to hook up the boat. THAT was new – someone jumping off the boat to secure it. It was very windy that day and we later found out that a storm had been predicted to come through that morning, but we’d missed it. The waves & wind were strong – which is unusual for that time of year. Plus, we’d heard that that side the island was supposed very quiet and calm. But that was what happened for us last year in Grand Cayman as well – hopefully, the weather improves and the wind dies down.

We did two dives from the same location – “Freeze Face” (named from the cold spring water that wells up there nearby) and “Lead City” (named for the fishing lead that can be found in that general location). Both dives were fun. Between Mike & Greta, we saw a number of things, including octopus, undulated eels, dragon wraith, and many other fish. The fish that day weren’t as numerable as some of our other dives, but just getting down underwater, where it’s just you, making bubbles while looking at fish, is incredibly calming. We did see some dolphins right after we left the harbor – they’ve been hanging out there for a while.

The trip back to the boat ramp was windy & wild. A lot of waves & water crashed on to the boat, and Mike noticed that the waves behind the boat were BIGGER than the boat. Then , as soon as you pull into the harbor , it’s quiet again – it’s set up very well. As we’re about to pull up to the boat ramp, a giant turtle just meandered his way through. Then we disembarked and headed back to the condo.

We tried to stop at the Pharmacy near our condo – but we can’t find it. There’s a sign, and Google says it’s there, but neither of us could see it. So we set off to a different pharmacy for Mike’s ear drops, then headed back to the condo to relax for a bit.

That evening, based on a few good reviews in the guide book & on-line, we tried to go to Krua Thai. We got there and were seated quickly and got menus and waters a few minutes later. And that was it. Nothing more. The waitress walked past us a number of times, even smiled at us once or twice, but never stopped. There was another table of two people waiting to pay, and the guy finally gave up and went to the front counter with his tab. At a separate table, a mother & son kept trying to wave down the waitress and looked frustrated, but finally placed their order. Then she walked right past us and into the back again. After about 20 minutes of sitting ignored with empty water glasses & closed menus, we gave up and left. The food on the menu sounded very good, but apparently we weren’t supposed to be there. The place wasn’t big and most tables had people at them, but it didn’t appear that it was terribly busy. We then tried Orchid Thai Restaurant, which was only about a mile or two away and also had gotten decent reviews, AND much better service. Getting our food took a while but they always made sure we had water in our glasses. We started out with chicken satay, which was OUTSTANDING. For our entrees, Greta got Panang Curry with Scallops and Mike got the Pineapple Curry with Chicken. Both meals were good.

We made another quick stop at Sack & Save. There, we bought butter ($3.50 for a spreadable oil/butter blend, but the rest was at least $5 – but small can of Pam was even more!) and iced tea. Green tea and sweet tea are very popular there, and out of a couple dozen flavors/brands, we found only ONE that offered unsweetened black tea. It came in glass liter bottles in a brand we’d never heard of, but at least we found some. Then we headed home for the night. On the back, over the radio, an announcement came on warning of high winds/rain/bad weather. Many hiking areas, beaches and campgrounds were going to be closed for the next few days. We’re worried our Night Manta Ray dive will get cancelled … hopefully if it is, we can reschedule it before we leave.

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