Oct. 10th, 2011

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I was almost asleep when I heard the music. Guitar.. then to my surprise,,, harmonica... and percussion chimed in. Cyrus flopped down exhausted beside me. He snickers... "they found a harmonica". "Who's playing the harmonica?", he asks. I lie there, then say "I would bet Mac on guitar, Brett on Harmonica and Peter on some sort of percussion". We lie there listening to their improv jam session. Cyrus finally stands up and pops his head out of the hatch like a gopher. He flops back down beside me and laughs. "I am right, aren't I", I say. "Yes... Brett on harmonica, Mac on guitar and Peter is playing that giant bean pod he has been carrying around since Rarotonga". perfect. It was a wonderful way to go to sleep.. listening to our crew sitting under the plump moon, playing music together... Pete plays a mean bean pod.

4am, Mac is sleeping on deck and is awakened by the blow of 2 humpback whales right against the hull of the boat. A bit of a surprise.

After doing a boat clean and clearing all of our customs/immigration/agriculture... Cyrus, Colby and I are picked up for our dive. We feel like rock stars, since no one else is signed up for the dive and they have to go past our boat anyway, so they come pick us up at the stern of the boat. How nice!! BJ is our Niuean dive guide. He is dark and soft spoken with that lovely Kiwi accent. We noticed that about Niueans.. they are not shy and very friendly in a soft spoken sort of way. They just seem peaceful and balanced in a way that is hard to explain. So our soft spoken guide glides us around pinnacles, through archways and down through tunnels and tubes. The magic we found above water yesterday is the same below water.. just add fish.

Sea snakes make each dive a bit more interesting since these lovely ribbons of striped snake are quite curious and gentle. They can be nestled under a ledge and as you peek at them, they raise their head and come on out to say hi. They are not shy and very friendly.. in a soft spoken sort of way. Oh wait, those are the Niueans. I guess these snakes are Niueans as well, so it fits and they do have similar features.. their personalities, beauty and lovely coloration. Wear a bright shirt and have a soft voice. That seems to be the motto around these parts. The snakes follow suit. As we slid beneath ledges and through dark caves, we surfaced inside the island in a cavern. Stalactites hang from the ceilings and columns sweep from ceiling, down into the water and into the sea floor below us. The best part? The air compresses with the wave surge, creating sea mist coming and going inside the cave.. our ears pressurize with each compression. BJ points out a small snake only about 6-8 inches long.. like a lovely girls ribbon, slowly gliding across the rock. The snakes lay their eggs in the caverns right on top of the rock.. after they hatch, apparently they stay in the caves awhile until they learn how to really be fancy striped grown-up snakes that venture into the deep blue. Apparently, we are in a teenage hangout spot. Then I spot another and point it out... then another, and another... some are very small, like a squirming striped worm.. others sit still.. one stretches the front third of it's body.. suspended from a ledge near the ceiling... right over Colby's head. I comment, "It is like the Temple of Doom in here". Once we look around, this cavern named 'Bubble Cave' could also be named 'Cavern-o-snakes' or something similar. It was spectacular. Lion fish dance in the crevices and Gobi's dart from holes in the rocks... The visibility averages around 80 feet+ here! There is little rain (outside of Cyclone season) and no rivers or other run-off, creating some of the cleanest, clearest water on Earth. So calling all divers... this is something to see. Come during June & July and you have a very good chance a humpback whale will pay you visit while you are in the water too.

😊

We depart early tomorrow for Tonga.. the winds are filling in and it is time to move on, though we wish we could stay much longer~

Brooke

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