Hawaii day 2

 Waterfall along a path to the Pacific

       We began our enlightenment tour this morning with a trip to the Queen’s Bath, anticipating a tour of the palace of one of the earlier rulers of Hawaii.  The signs led us through a long, steeply descending, muddy jungle path to the edge of the Pacific, where we discovered the queen may never have immersed herself at this particular place.  It’s a natural pool, surrounded by volcanic rock, into which the ocean waves come crashing from time to time.  We are told that when the ocean is really angry it’s risky to swim here, and the signs indicate several fools have died trying.  But since others were trying it, Charlie donned mask and snorkel and headed down the rocks and into the water.  It was an interesting swim in a most unusual setting, with several kinds of tropical fish accompanying the four or five daredevil swimmers.

 Queen’s Bath on a calm day

       Following the long hike back up, we decided to postpone the cultural tour, and we headed down another long muddy path to an isolated cove named Sea Lodge Beach.  There we relaxed—well, Tricia relaxed, while Charlie snorkeled over the shallow water coral and watched countless varieties of beautifully colored fish.  We would love to show you photos of the fish, but the underwater camera disappeared before we left home.  It was a lovely morning.

 

Sea Lodge Beach and snorkeling paradise

       Returning to the condo, we ate sandwiches and took short naps that lasted until 5:00 p.m. or so, at which point we realized that the museums and art galleries will have to wait for another day.

       Having read on TripAdvisor that the number one eating establishment is Lapperts Ice Cream, we just had to stop by after dinner to try the Kauai pie and pumpkin crunch flavors.  The pumpkin seemed to have a bit of ginger added, which made it the preferred flavor of the night.

      This promises to be a grueling trip.

Charlie and Tricia

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