Capturing the Moment

While showing Jack and Moira our secret tidepooling spot we came across some real gems. The secret is to wait for the lowest tide of the day to occur shortly after nightfall. This gives the hidden creatures a chance to emerge. We were greeted with a hunting baby eel in our first pool, a bloom of tiny sea hares, and a couple of dynamite nudibranch finds. There were quite a few bright orange gumdrop nudibranchs, a very rare marionas hawaiiensis, and one beautiful nudi that I had never seen here before.  I had to send in this video clip of the nudi to our local expert, and even she said she cannot say 100%, however she thinks it is this species:  http:// seaslugsofhawaii.com/species/ Polybranchia-samanthae-a.html  , which has lost its cholorplast.  Who would have known a couple of shallow tidepools in the lava rocks could contain such treasures.   

  It has been busy here on Maui. We sptoent the first couple of weeks back putting together our condo, hanging out with Jim and Cheryl, meeting up with a sailing buddy of Heidi's, and I still somehow found some time get a bit of private guiding in.    Two of my all-star guests from a previous Antarctica trip were on Maui and reached out to see if I was around and available to show them around. I always tell people that having a knowledgeable guide can really enhance your experience, so I was very glad they got in touch. And even happier that I could assist!   I spent a couple of days with Danny and Julia, showing them some of the lesser known places of Maui. We took in endemic honeycreepers up in the cloud forest on the upper slopes of Haleakala, ate some of the finest seafood around at Mama's Fish House, strolled through a lush rainforest valley, learned about the history of the islands, and spent some time underwater at one of my favorite snorkel spots.  ...

  Oh it feels good to be back. Shortly after arriving back out to Maui with the family, my dad and his partner Cheryl arrived for a bit to hang with the grandkids and take in some of the tropical vacation vibe. We had a wonderful time with them visiting, from evenings out to beach and pool time at their Sugar Beach condo. Both kids got out on the boogie board with me in small waves which was a big step up from their comfort level in the water last year. Maybe all that pool time back in Stowe is going to pay off.     I wanted to jump in the water and show my dad a new snorkel spot so we headed down to a little secret spot in Makena. Turtles and beautiful coral can be found pretty much anywhere here in Makena, as long as the bottom is rocky. This spot was located on a lava rock outcropping at the very end of a beautiful beach. After walking through the waves we slipped on our fins and kicked out towards the submerged rocks.    The relief of the underwater lan...