Day 3 - Maui 2020
"Admiral, there be whales here"
Day three may have been our greatest adventure. We started with our breakfast of Maui coffee, Maui bread and Hawaiian pineapple. It doesn't get any better. Our friend Myrtle the turtle was back feeding on the rock reef just off the beach.
An endangered Hawaiian monk seal was also feeding. We named it Lucille. "
The Hawaiian monk seal (Neomonachus schauinslandi, formerly Monachus schauinslandi), is an endangered species of earless seal in the family Phocidae that is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. There are only about 1300, so we felt privileged to see one.
Today was our whale watching trip - a Christmas present from our daughter Tammy, our son-in-law Tory and our granddaughter I'mani Childs. We headed to t he pier early to scout out parking and what might be needed for me to be able to board the boat. Yes, my legs can still be problematic if I have t o climb too many stairs or a ladder, and my hands and arms were burning in pain. Discovering that parking was close and access to the boat was easy, we headed to Whalers Village.
We did some shopping and found a shave ice stand at Down the Hatch.
The number of flavor combinations was endless. Adult shave ice (with alcohol of course) or generic flavors. Then we had to decide whether or not to have ice cream on the bottom. The flavors of ice cream was endless. Since we were headed on a small boat out into the ocean, we kept it general with coconut ice cream on bottom with passion fruit and dragon fruit flavors on the ice. Yummmmm. We highly recommend enjoying the shave ice while in Hawaii. We had a little time to kill before our boat trip, so we headed to the Lahaina Banyan Tree Court to get some much needed shade.
We headed to Makai Adventures at slip 16 to begin our great adventure. It was a beautiful, sunny day to be on the ocean. The ocean was a magnificent blue:
The humpback whale, a mammal, migrates from their summer Alaskan feeding grounds to Hawaii during the winter to bear young and mate. There is no food source for them in Hawaii. The whales live off their body fat. Females are the larger of the species which makes sense considering that young humpback whales drink 100 gallons of milk a day.
We saw 7-9 whales (we may have seen the same ones repeatedly) doing various whale activities. A blow is the mist that occurs when they breathe. We saw a lot of this activity. Once we learned what to look for, we saw several off the lanai off our condo. No whale pictures were obtained from the boat. The activities happened too quickly. It was fun to just enjoy the whales in the moment. They are forever imprinted on my brain, but that I can't share with you.
Fluking is when the tail is visible. This is the iconic figure we are all familiar with. Yes, we saw fluking. We also saw some backs and some heads.
Our captain put a microphone in the water so we could hear the sounds of the whales. Oh my goodness. A sound to remember a lifetime. We have heard them on TV, but to hear them in person is unforgettable. It is amazing that they all sing the same song. When there is a mutation to the song, all whales adopt the new song. How is that even possible? We have so much to learn!!! I wish I could put a sound clip in for you.
The highlight of our trip was seeing four whales blow and move toward the boat. Two went under the boat, one off the bow and one off the stern. They were so close that it almost seemed like we could reach out the boat and touch them - a highly illegal move. Law requires the boats to approach no more than about a football distance from the whales. The boats need not move if a whale approaches it. The whale was truly magnificent. The white shone like fluorescent blue. Very hard to describe, but a sight that will never be forgotten. Imagine seeing those white spots shimmer like blue lightening:
There are quite a few whale watching companies, but we highly recommend Makai Adventures. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They truly seemed to care about the whales and the ocean. We went all over the ocean looking for whales. They did not just stay in one spot. They said the whales going under the boat was a rare sighting.
We were famished after our great adventure, so we headed back to Down the Hatch to split an enhanced appetizer of coconut shrimp with mango sauce, rice and vegetables.
If you get a chance, you must go there! The food is plentiful and delicious! And if possible, you must book a whale watching trip. A bucket list item f or me for sure.
We must thank our daughter Tara Biles Robinson and our son-in-law Ricky Robinson f or the gift card for Christmas. We used it today for our food. There will be more good eating to come. So thank you to our daughters and their families for a lovely day!!!
In case you are wondering, the quote in the title is from Star Trek 4 - The Voyage Home where Gracie and George, the last two humpback whales on earth, are rescued and brought to the future. And, It is streaming on the TV right now. A highly recommended movie!
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