September 11

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Miraculously, David’s foot feels good today – still red and a bit swollen, and frankly tender on the top side, but he was able to put his snorkel bootie on, and also his flippers. So we were back in business.

Off we went to Two Step again, which is 45 mins to the south. It was amazing, and we stayed out in the water 2 hours and 40 mins. In fact, we chatted to a couple who had been in and out already, and said, well goodbye because you won’t see us again. (And later, when another couple was in this spot, they said – we wondered if you’d gotten lost because the previous people told us they’d met you.)

Because the tide was reasonably high, we went in the same way we’d gotten out the other day – through the boat dock. Yes, it’s quite shallow, but mostly rock there, and we didn’t worry about skinning our knees on coral. In fact there are many lovely fish right there in the “baby” pool.

We covered the entire bay this time, as different species can dwell in different environments. We did well in our sightings, especially with eels. AND an experienced scuba diver convinced us to treat ourselves to an app that helps identify Hawaii fish. You see, our current book is over 1” thick, and covers all of the Pacific, Japan, Philippines, you name it – so some fish are NOT in there, and most of the photos are irrelevant. So we have gained quite a few by better identification now. No time to add them up tonight.

A great find also was the "Crown of thorns" starfish, which evidently is also very venomous. We've been looking for it a long time.

On dry land, we sat for over an hour chatting and drying out – shaded and lovely area. One couple from CO was very knowledgeable – and they have been coming annually for like 15 years. Another very young family was from Brazil, and was taking 9-12 mos to travel the world with what looked to be a 2 year old and 4 year old. And the scuba-ers, who were ex-Navy, had sold up their house and now lived in a big 5^th wheel. Evidently they catch a great break on the nightly charge.

We went on quite a hunt after that for more ahi tuna to buy, but the fish store had moved. Found another and bought another pound+ of the most delicious, tender, fresh ahi tuna. Had the Kahlua pork for dinner, just with rice. Must say, I miss my veggies and salads. Will we return home with scurvy? Maybe all the rambutans have vitamin C. (photos of the rambutans and mangosteens included).

Tonight, while we were minding our own business doing this blog and downloading the photos, an ENORMOUS centipede came running across the rug. 3” or more. I’m thinking of putting the legs of our bed in saucers of water!

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