Hawaii 2018 - Day 4

Up early was today & down to Waikiki for a Catamaran Turtle Snorkel & sailing tour. We meet at Hilton Hawaii Village bus stop which we know from Day 1 at 10:10am & there were a couple of dental assistants there too in town for a convention. Our hosts Kia & trainee Katherine drove by 2 other hotels to pick up passengers then to the port to board our vessel! After a quick 20 min cruise I realised this must be an inland reef rather than a shore dive. Other boats were there so we circled around & waited for them to leave then we kitted up & jumped in. Mum didn’t snorkel she has a very dicky knee & I could tell she was terrified so I hopped in for a look. The flow was fast on a bland & nondescript reef & visibility was poor. After 10 minutes I saw 3 turtles & climbed back aboard to check on mum as I knew that was it. Rather disappointing as I’ve swum 2-3 metres from turtles before in crystal clear shallow waters before so it was “ok”. Lunch & mai tai’s followed plus a very short nap & sailing in the ocean. It was great! It was a budget lunch of rolls with meat & salad plus chips etc but it was $170pp for a 3 hour tour! (Eek no Gillian!) so no complaints on our first “tourist” adventure. We departed the cruise about 2pm & headed to the shops for a few gifts before we depart the island tomorrow for Maui & Lanai. The drive home was busier than usual with heavy traffic however we were warned it was a long weekend due to Memorial Day Monday. Then another cheese & fruit platter followed with our last beer, gin & tonic. It’s a magical spot we stayed in & well worth the drive away from the hustle & bustle of Waikiki! I still haven’t taken mum out for a proper dinner so after we tour Maui a bit tomorrow & mum had her first Lomi Lomi massage, I’d like to take her to a proper luau to learn more about the culture & experience hula. Now for the shitty job of packing all the shopping in while my suitcase is the same size & was full on arrival 😂😂😂

Word/expression of the day: Aloha au ia óe - I love you