Whales, Sea Turtles and Eels

Sunset last night followed by pics of us in our lagoon and the pic above is the Fairmont.
We spent an amazing day snorkeling. Our crew saw so many brightly coloured fish, sea turtles and an eel. Most spectacularly, a few giant whales kept leaping from the water just off the beach. One in particular was very frisky and threw herself out of the water repeatedly. Of course, that was during the time the camera was back in the room. Not to worry, whales seem to be plentiful here in Hawaii, so I shall get some pics soon. Pippi has really taken to Hawaii–she LOVES the ocean. Mist and Tabs are expert snorkelers now. Kyran is fearless–charging deep into the ocean to find sea turtles. Snorkeling is hard work–my neck gets sore from looking around underwater so much. The Fairmont is dreamy. The sunsets dramatically at 6PM and then all the torches are lit on the Fairmont grounds. Very luxurious. We had supper by the ocean in the outdoor, sand bottomed restaurant listening to Hawaiian guitar and song. The sea turtles sleep on the shore just beside the restaurant. We counted four large turtle backs. Thankfully, they are a protected species and no one is allowed to touch or interact with them. Then we walked over to the sand-bottomed hot tub and soaked our feet as we sat on the grassy edge.
Yes, Hawaii is paradise, almost surreally so.
When our flight was circling the islands ready to land on Tuesday, it was windy and the ocean very choppy–dotted with white caps. I couldn’t help noticing how small the islands are. And how they all come to a volcanic point in the middle.  Being in Hawaii one really feels that one is off, isolated in the middle of the South Pacific. It is an eery feeling–all that I know is so far away across an ocean of water. We are here, on a small volcanic island, separate from the rest of civilization. It is a cool feeling, I’ve never felt that before on my travels.
More snorkeling today.