Capturing the Moment

  A school of goatfish glide next to the sunken hull of the shipwreck off the coast of Lana'i. Today was a blustery day in the Hawaiian Islands. All of the snorkel and whale watching boats canceled for the day, but not us. We are an expedition ship, so we can operate in conditions that others deem undoable. We spent the morning cruising under 3,000ft sea cliffs on the North side of Molokai. These cliffs are some of the tallest in the world, and there are numerous waterfalls tumbling off of them into the ocean. Snorkeling at a shipwreck off the coast of Lana'i. This is a rare adventure, as this coastline is usually pounded by surf and high winds. The wildlife was out in abundance. It is the time of year when humpback whales migrate here, so we had plenty of encounters throughout the day. We had several brown footed boobies flying by, as well as a mom and baby bottlenose dolphin swim over for a visit. But the big adventure of the day, was snorkeling at a huge shipwreck off the No...

  Long exposure of the dense rainforest and stream of Iao Valley. Wow! What an amazing few weeks in Maui. There are many adventures, both on and off the beaten path, that are so worth it. It may seem like after a long flight you might want to just sit at your resort pool with a mai tai in hand, but if you are the go-getter type, then the island adventures are just waiting for you, as they were for us. Most of the resorts, and our condo are on the dry side of the island. This means maximum sunshine and calm waters for snorkeling and whale watching. Which we did a lot of! You can whale watch from your balcony even, if you are there November thru April. But I would suggest getting over to the wet side of the island at some point. This is where you find lush valleys, beautiful exotic flowers, rocky rivers, and beautiful waterfalls. Iao Valley is the easiest valley to go explore, only minutes away from the airport. I often send people here on their last day, especially if they have a la...