Kealakekua Bay

Kealakekua Bay and Captain Cook's Memorial are two of my favorite places to snorkel. You can see Captain Cook's Memorial from Kealakekua Bay, but can't get there unless by boat. The water is deep and the currents are strong. Kealakekua Bay has a launch point from the beach, but you have to be careful, I cut myself on the lava rocks there. The tide is swift and will wash a body into the rocks fast, so it is good to be prepared and paying attention to the water. Captain Cook's Memorial is a different experience altogether. My family took a Zodiac tour that takes people down the Kona Coast to the Memorial, stopping at caves along the way. I think we snorkeled in two places, but Captain Cook's Memorial was by far my favorite. We jumped off the boat right in front of the statue. Looking down in the water, I could see the land move away fast. It is almost like jumping off a cliff. When I looked towards the memorial I saw a sheer drop off into nothing but incredible blue water. When I looked up, there was nothing but blue water in front of me, and then suddenly these incredible colors started to appear. Yellow, fuchsia, purple, dark blue. Every size and kind of fish imaginable. The surrounded me. I know it's because they're used to snorkelers feeding them, and when I produced no food, they dropped me like yesterday's news and moved on to the next person. My grandiose fantasy is to pick up and move to the Kona Coast. I've had that fantasy for a long time, but never the courage, and a sabotaged my dreams anyway. I still think about it and think that if I set the goal, I'm serious and focused, as I have been on the other pieces of my life that I've put back together; it can happen. Anything is possible if I believe it and take the action to make it happen. I know that now.