Hawaii Part II - Kihei: Land of Snorkeling & Volcanos

For the rest of our time in Maui, we stayed in a great little place called the Two Mermaids B&B near Kihei (south side). We liked the idea of B&Bs because it provided breakfast and gave us the ability to have a fridge and kitchen if we wanted to cook. This turned out to be a great idea. Our B&B which was very aptly named (see photos below) came with a fully stocked fridge with juice, coffee, bagels, yogurt, fruit, granola, and even Gatorade. Every morning, they would set a basket with fresh fruit and type of freshly baked muffin or bread. We had our own private hot tub on the deck and the place was stocked with beach chairs, boogie boards, towels and everything needed for a home away from home. Great great B&B!

We arrived just before sunset and decided to hit the beach 1/2 a mile away to watch the sun set over the ocean. Sunsets are beautiful in Arizona, but in Hawaii, lets just say wow.

Wednesday morning, we woke up with the intention to have a relaxing beach day. We wanted to try snorkeling and lie on the beach and soak up the sun. Our B&B host gave us a list of the best snorkel locations and we headed down to the South Maui beaches. We were looking for a place to rent snorkel gear but realized that we had left civilization and so we arrived at our destination without any. We decided to ask the bellman at the resort nearby if he knew where we could rent gear. After a minute of thinking, he said, "well just follow me and pick some out from the lost and found pile". We scored snorkeling gear for free which we used for the rest of the trip! Our first stop was at a beach called Big Beach where we learned how to use the gear. We were not so good at first with both of us getting beat up by the waves. I also had fun experimenting with the underwater camera while swimming, breathing and trying not to drown. It was fun! We also went over the hill to check out the Little Beach next door which was 'interesting' to say the least ;)

After sitting on the beach a couple of hours, we decided to keep driving south to check out the La Perouse Bay area. It is a volcanic rock flow area where you could still see where the lava flowed down the mountain many years ago. It was a very strange place where the piles of dark brown/black rock still chokes out any plants from growing. There were also places where bright white rocks in piles on the black. It seemed very unnatural.

On the way home from here, we saw some people snorkeling along the road in a little cove. We decided to stop and it turned out being the best snorkeling we did the whole trip. It was calm, shallow with tons of coral and millions of bright fish. A great way to end the day.

These blue fish were so iridescent.

Finding Nemo? SO CUTE!

Can you spot the fish in this one?

That evening we ate burgers at a small burger joint and went to bed early because we had to get up at 2:30 am for our next big adventure...

Stay tuned for part 3.