Snorkeling in Maui and other adventures...

Abby and I had the best day snorkeling today. We headed out to Manele Bay where Abby braved the cold water and 35 foot depths to explore the coral reefs and see the pretty fish. She was super brave in the cold, salty water and was the smallest kid in the water that day.

The best part by far was the ride. On the way back we headed further out to a marine reserve where we saw Bottlenose Dolphins and several humpback whales playing in the water. The thrill of seeing whales is really something. I've never seen anything that big, that close, that wild. The Disney or Seaworld stuff is good and all, but it's still a bit fake. Here in Maui, it's so perfectly real and unscripted. For me it made it all the more thrilling and real. The whales got very close to our boat at one point. The captain couldn't move, so we sat there as they swam 20 feet from the boat. You could see their beautiful, huge bodies just sitting there below the water. It was so real.
While heading back the captain saw another group of dolphins and headed out to see them. It was by far one of the coolest things I've every seen. There must have been hundreds of these Spinner dolphins surrounding our boat, chasing us, jumping out of the water and spinning. There were babies too, fresh new little Spinner dolphins jumping and going crazy as you'd expect little babies to be. I think I got some good pics, and will post them when I get home.

On the way back we also saw a baby humpback and its mom, and were able to see the baby totally jumping out of the water and learning from its mom how to be a whale. These momma whales come all the way from Alaska to breed and protect their babies, fasting for several months to ensure that they procreate and protect their babies. It was really something to be a witness to this miracle.