McKenna
struggled to find the perfect experience to have while on the islands. She and Mom had decided to
try para-sailing, however on Maui the whale season is still in effect in
April and state law does not allow the para-sail boats to operate
during the whale migration. Given McKenna had become a little fish with
her snorkel gear she and Aunt Cathy decided a guided snorkel trip
would be a grand adventure. They chose the Mahana Nai'a Snorkeling Tour.
Cathy and McKenna boarded the Mahana
Nai'a (a 58 foot twin hulled catamaran
measuring 25 foot wide, whose name means "twin dolphins" in the
Hawaiian language) from Maalaea Harbor and
spent time snorkeling at both Molokini, the extinct volcano just off the coast
of Maui, and Turtle Town (actually there were so many boats hanging around
Turtle Town, their boat stopped just shy of it at a place the guides called the
Turtle Ghetto). McKenna
said the few turtles they saw were not very impressive. She had seen
better ones just off the shore from our resort.
An experience they did get and hadn't counted on made up for the disappointment of missing Turtle Town. While traveling back from Molokini,
their dive boat encountered a pod of whales that exhibited some spectacular
tail slaps and breaches (jumps out of the water) right next to their boat.
We had seen whales all week long from the shore and from our balcony (it was especially fun to watch them while listening to General Conference on Sunday morning), but being this close to them was truly amazing.
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