It was our 4th day on the Big Island, and our 13th day in Hawaii overall, and we wanted to kick back and relax. In the morning, we played with the feral cats at the Lucky Farms B&B and took pictures of the prolific plants in the backyard:
Morning coffee took place at the Coffee Shack, which was recommended in Lonely Planet. The coffee was nothing to be wowed by, but the shack had a magnificent view of the Kona coastline:
Energized by our coffee, we decided to do a shore dive at "Two Step", the most famous shore dive in all of the Big Island. Two Step (the entry way consists of naturally formed steps formed into the lava rock) is situated just outside of the Pu'uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park (Place of Refuge). The dive was justifiably famous. The entry was extremely easy, the water was the calmest water I have ever seen, and visibility was 100'+. Mark wandered as much as 50 feet away and I never worried that I would lose him.
Despite the fact that it was the Saturday on Labor Day weekend, we were the only divers in the water. And what snorkelers were there did not venture more than 20 feet from shore. The water was teeming with healthy coral structures, schools of butterflyfish (something I have never witnessed anywhere else in the world), and interesting topological structures to dive under and through, such as this coral overhang that Mark explored:
Diving at Two Step felt like we had an entire Disneyland amusement park to explore for ourselves. The place reminded me of Point Lobos State Park in Carmel, CA, which is not only a protected park, but also a gorgeous underwater refuge. Like Point Lobos, Two Step is also the underwater extension of a government protected park. It is probably not a coincidence that the beauty seen on land extended itself underwater.
The beautiful dive made me wonder whether there are energy fields, or something unseen that are simply more present at certain special places than others. There are spiritual places on earth that have been treasured by humankind through the ages. Macchu Picchu comes to mind, as does Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, otherwise known as Place of Refuge, has been a sacred place to the Hawaiians since ancient times. It was so special, that it was saved, even when many other ancient Hawaiian sites were being destroyed.
I like to believe that modern Americans also felt the sacredness of this site (a sentiment that was echoed by a park ranger we met there), and made it a National Historical Park in order to preserve the site for the ages. Could these energies extend underwater as well, creating a strong concentration of marine life for us divers to appreciate?
After a 1.5 hours underwater, Mark and I were tired and decided not to pursue a second dive. A retired nuclear physicist who was also diving at the park provided us with some entertaining conversation, and some dining recommendations. In Kailua-Kona, we had coffee at Cafe de Pele. It was here that I finally had an excellent cup of Kona coffee. Lemony, and sweet, the coffee at Cafe de Pele exemplifies the unique acidity of Kona coffee. Not a fan of acidic coffee myself, I could even appreciate how good a cup of Kona coffee can be. For dinner we ate at Mi's, an excellent Italian restaurant on the Kona coast which combines Asian and Italian influences.
Dive Details
-turtle
-ugly brown tang/butterfly
-trumpetfish being cleaned by purple and yellow fish
-eel
-shrimp
-mark saw interesting barracuda but smaller, and unique triggerfish with unicorn fin that popped up. Saw puffer fish
-70 foot visibility
-interesting topography, including small cave like structure being pounded by waves
-not a lot of variety, lots of little fish. Mark says aquarium.
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Feral cats on the porch Lucky Farms |
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| Flowers at Lucky Farms Big Island, HI |
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| View from the Coffee Shack Kona, Big Island, HI |
Despite the fact that it was the Saturday on Labor Day weekend, we were the only divers in the water. And what snorkelers were there did not venture more than 20 feet from shore. The water was teeming with healthy coral structures, schools of butterflyfish (something I have never witnessed anywhere else in the world), and interesting topological structures to dive under and through, such as this coral overhang that Mark explored:
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| Coral overhang, Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI |
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Mark swimming through a cloud of butterfly fish Place of Refuge, Big Island, HI |
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| My attempt on an "overwater/underwater" shot of snorkelers Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI |
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| Crown of Thorns, Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI |
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| Pair of Moorish Idols, Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI |
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| Mark underneath a rock overhang Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI |
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| Spotted Moray Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI |
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| School of Raccoon Butterflyfish, Two Step Dive Site, Big Island Yet another Turtle video (check out Mark in the back) Two Step Dive Site, Big Island |
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| Mark getting out of the water Two Step Dive Site, Big Island, HI |
The beautiful dive made me wonder whether there are energy fields, or something unseen that are simply more present at certain special places than others. There are spiritual places on earth that have been treasured by humankind through the ages. Macchu Picchu comes to mind, as does Mount Everest in the Himalayas. Pu'uhonua O Honaunau, otherwise known as Place of Refuge, has been a sacred place to the Hawaiians since ancient times. It was so special, that it was saved, even when many other ancient Hawaiian sites were being destroyed.
I like to believe that modern Americans also felt the sacredness of this site (a sentiment that was echoed by a park ranger we met there), and made it a National Historical Park in order to preserve the site for the ages. Could these energies extend underwater as well, creating a strong concentration of marine life for us divers to appreciate?
After a 1.5 hours underwater, Mark and I were tired and decided not to pursue a second dive. A retired nuclear physicist who was also diving at the park provided us with some entertaining conversation, and some dining recommendations. In Kailua-Kona, we had coffee at Cafe de Pele. It was here that I finally had an excellent cup of Kona coffee. Lemony, and sweet, the coffee at Cafe de Pele exemplifies the unique acidity of Kona coffee. Not a fan of acidic coffee myself, I could even appreciate how good a cup of Kona coffee can be. For dinner we ate at Mi's, an excellent Italian restaurant on the Kona coast which combines Asian and Italian influences.
Dive Details
Dive #205: Two Step (Place of Refuge, Pu'uhonua O Honaunau)
Depth/Time/Temp: 69'/1:32/? deg F
Sightings:
-lots of grouper, one being chased by cleaner fish-turtle
-ugly brown tang/butterfly
-trumpetfish being cleaned by purple and yellow fish
-eel
-shrimp
-mark saw interesting barracuda but smaller, and unique triggerfish with unicorn fin that popped up. Saw puffer fish
-70 foot visibility
-interesting topography, including small cave like structure being pounded by waves
-not a lot of variety, lots of little fish. Mark says aquarium.
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