Day 7 in Paradise

Our last full day on the island.......... We had a few more gifts to pick up, so we headed to the Marketplace and I couldn't resist another shaved ice treat. Seriously. With time to spare, we made our way to the Ma'alaea Harbor to catch a charter in order to do some snorkeling. 

Again, we made the perfect choice for this excursion. We left at about 1:30 pm with only 13 people on our tour, when we arrived at Molokini Islet, there was only 1 other charter boat anchored. (the early tour left at 7:30 – yes, that's a.m.--- they had over 100 people on board, and 30+ boats anchored at Molokini). Again, a perfect choice. 

However, all this paled in comparison to our snorkeling experience.....the first time Jaime and I have snorkeled.

Here's what Jaime posted on facebook: “Spent the afternoon snorkeling at Molokini crater. It was almost a spiritual experience. The fish (all very colorful) would swim right up to you. The water was crystal clear...all the way to the bottom. Wow...” It was truly amazng.... Molokini is basically a bird sanctuary and nature preserve. There are rules against touching anything/everything. This became a little challenging because, as Jaime said, the fish would literally swim right up to you. Still can't believe how crystal clear the water was, yet so blue from the surface. 

After almost an hour in the water, Jaime and I were shocked to realize we were the last ones left in the water !!! Sadly, as the boat began to move away from the island, we saw our one & only sea turtle in the water.....almost as if he realized we were leaving and it was now safe to come out!!! On our hour commute back to the harbor, we were served a delicious bbq lunch and then simply relaxed on the top deck, taking in the sunny day. When we left the island, the crew set up about 4 fishing poles across the back of the boat, and surprisingly enough, they snagged a fish!!! Huge fish !!! I mentioned to Jaime that I almost wish we had snorkeled earlier in the week, but at the same time I was afraid that had we done that, we wouldn't have wanted to do anything else the remainder of the week !!!

So, how did we finish this day? Well, we had to see one last sunset on the beach, and then our last meal --- dessert at Ono Gelato!!!