Friday, May 26, 2017 | Language: English, Hawaiian, some communities speak Pidgin | Currency: U.S. Dollar | Population = 390,738

Now with our feet firmly rooted on the ground, or actually with the ship rooted in the waters of Oahu, the fish are calling us so we head to the best snorkeling spot on the island, Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. The word hana means bay in the Hawaiin language making the addition of bay in its name redundant. The word uma means curve, apropos for the landscape.

In 1967 it was set aside as a Marine Protected Area which provided protection from humans for everything from the fish to the reef, and even the sand itself. Before then the bay was used extensively as a playground but no rules concerning use were in place. Today visitors are required by law to refrain from mistreating marine animals or touching, walking or otherwise having contact with the coral which appear like large rocks on the ocean floor. I think it looks like a world map.

In reality, this “world map” was a beautiful multicolored coral that died. The overuse by tourists in the late 1980s, with crowds trampling the coral, dropping trash, feeding fish human food and leaving a slick of suntan lotion on the bay’s surface, killed the coral reef closest to the beach, only its blackened skeleton is visible today.

There are educational and policing volunteers working to be sure this sweet spot stays sweet for generations to come. Before entering, we were required to see a 10-minute video about the Bay and proper use. Hanauma Bay sees an average of 3,000 visitors a day or around a million a year, mostly tourists like us. The bay is closed every Tuesday to allow the fish a day of feeding without interruption by swimmers. That’s pretty cool; good thing we came on a Friday.

With my upgraded camera skills, I lost my underwater camera so you will have to take our word on this underwater waterpark. There were lots and lots of beautiful tropical fish, but I do not believe any we had not previously seen snorkeling or kept in our tank. But the size of the fish was beyond anything we had ever seen. Some were about 15” long and quite beautiful. We did see one yellow spotted eel, which may have been a first for us, but I did not spot the elusive octopus that is on my bucket list. Spoke to a fellow snorkeler who had seen one earlier, but I was not to be so lucky.