Tag Archives: snuba

Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

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Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

Oh COVID how you’ve clipped my wings! But that doesn’t mean I can’t revisit the places I’ve been. Today I thought I’d take a trip back in  time to re-visit some of the places I’ve been. Care to come along?

Key Largo Fla – 2019

John Pennekamp State ParkNature at it’s finest. This northern most Island in the Florida Keys offers diving, snorkeling and a lot of Ocean Fun. My favorite spot- John  Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park. But be prepared with water shoes . The shoreline is sharp coral that can bruise and cut bare feet.              

Great White Heron in Mangroves – Key Largo 2019

Iguana at Pennekamp Park 2019

 

Busch Gardens – 2018

Colonial Williamsburg, VA (and Busch Gardens) – 2018

Just weeks before my hip replacement surgery I made a trip to Colonial Williamsburg. It was much colder than I expected Virginia to be even if it was November. I was joined by family and friends. 

Colonial Williamsburgh 2018

 

Carriage Colonial Williamsburgh 2018

On the South Rim, Grand Canyon 2008

Grand Canyon Arizona- 2011

If you have not been to the Grand Canyon you are missing an amazing sight. I’ve been twice and can’t wait to go again. When I first saw the canyon my mind could not embrace it all. It was too large, too majestic. I was with a guide and he warned us but I still felt dizzy and overwhelmed. Something this magnificent just couldn’t be real! But it is. 

Grand Canyon- 2011

Grand Canyon 2011

Maui Hawaii – 2020

Hawaii is one of my favorite places. I’ve been to the  Big Island, Oahu and Maui.  My latest trip was right before the pandemic. I was back on Maui and had a chance to go SNUBA diving. It’s like Scuba but your tank is floating on a raft on the surface and you breathe though a hose. The other big difference is that you do not need to be certified to SNUBA making it something everyone can try.

snuba at Turtletown 2020

Wind Surfing 2020

Oh, the Places I’ve Been!

This was fun. It’s nice to reminisce now and again. And I have so many other trips to share. Maine for Puffin watching, Sedona and my first helicopter ride . The amazing state of Alaska and Denali National Park. I can’t forget Yellowstone and Old Faithful, Florida and swimming with Manatees or the Big Island and snorkeling with Manta Rays. Not to mention Bears and Moose and Elk in Wyoming. The Teton Mountains are magnificent rising from the valley floor. We have a lot to talk about!

The Grand Teton

The Grand Teton 2017

Is it Scuba, Snuba or Snorkel?

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Molokini Crater

Scuba, Snuba or Snorkel

On Calypso we have choices. Its not just a snorkel trip to Molokini. You can choose to Snuba and if certified, Scuba. And don’t forget those glass bottom windows for those who don’t want to get wet. I’m a certified Scuba Diver but I can’t prove it so I opted to try the Snuba Dive. Turns out it’s pretty close to scuba.

Scuba, Snuba & Snorkel explained

For scuba think Jacques Cousteau. Scuba stands for self contained underwater breathing apparatus. Wow that’s a mouthful! You squeeze into a wet suit, strap  20-30 lbs of weight around your waist, then add a metal canister of air and voila, you’re ready to SCUBA dive.

Snuba is the same thing. You squeeze into your wet suit, strap on those weights and add a harness with a regulator. Plastic tubing runs from that metal canister which is located on a small rubber raft to your regulator. Now you’re breathing underwater. The big difference? In scuba you carry your tank around on your back. In Snuba you drag it behind you on an inflatable raft. Why you need to be certified for one and not the other is beyond me. 

For snorkeling you just float around breathing through a “J” shaped tube . Try not to get water in it. Most beginners just float on top of the water. More advanced snorkelers may dive underwater but return to the surface to clear their snorkel and get a breath of air. 

Snuba at Molokini & Turtle Town

Only 2 of us went in the water to SNUBA at Molokini so we each had our own rafts. The water was calm and visibility was amazing. For someone accustomed to diving in New England with 2 ft visibility this was great. There were large schools of black trigger fish. Breaking up all that black were bright yellow butterfly fish and we even spotted a rare sergeant major fish. There were several Moorish Idols swimming around that made me think of Gill from Finding Nemo.

We moved on to Turtle Town for the 2nd dive. This time there were 4 of us. One couple on one raft and myself and the other diver each had our own raft. Turtle Town did not disappoint. The first one we spotted was a huge male turtle who seemed content to just hang out on the ocean floor. The visibility here wasn’t as good as Molokini but still  better than New England.

We spotted several smaller turtles swimming about when the photographer, Marley, came swooping in to grab a “money shot” of me with a turtle. Way to go Marley! Thank you, Dude!

We also saw a snowflake eel. It looked like a tiny sea snake. 

The corals here seemed to rise out of the sea floor in ridges with sand deserts in between them. Too soon it was time to return to the boat. Absolutely great experience!

 

Not In Vegas

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All of my co workers are off in Las Vegas for the annual company meeting so it is very quiet here at work. This is the first time I’ve skipped the annual meeting and everyone wants to know why.

las vegas

 Originally I had planned to go but the company would only fly me out for 2 days, all work meetings and then I’d be jetting back. I didn’t feel the jet lag was worth it. I considered using some vacation time and staying in Vegas at my time share, Polo Towers.

polo towers

Its right on the strip and I could have used the time to do some more exploring. Vegas is a fun place even if you don’t gamble. But in the end I decided my vacation time was better spent going back to Hawaii. That trip is only a few weeks away, my birthday present to myself.

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I’ve booked one excursion which is a combo whale watch and snorkel trip. I’m looking forward to that. I’m still on the fence about trying a “Snuba” dive. Snuba is a cross between snorkeling and scuba. The mouthpiece or regulator that you use with snuba is connected to an air tank that is on the water’s surface either in the dive boat or on a raft with an air hose connected. You get to breathe through your regulator just like with scuba but you don’t have any clumsy tanks attached to your back. On the downside you are limited to the length of your air hose. On the plus side you don’t need to be certified for snuba. That’s important to me as I foolishly let my scuba certification lapse. I tried to get it reinstated but NAUI couldn’t find my records so to scuba dive means getting certified all over again. Not an inexpensive endeavor especially since I’d probably only go diving if I was on a tropical vacation.

 snuba-dive2

The excursion I booked is with one of the many tour companies on Maui but I also want to go out with the Pacific Whale Foundation. I follow their posts on FaceBook . They are a non-profit organization that was founded to help save the whales from extinction. Everything I’ve heard of this organization is positive and since 1980 they have been leaders in educational wildlife watching and eco-tourism. I’m just waiting until I get to Maui to book anymore tours. I can probably get a discount at the concierge desk at my time share. pacific-whale-foundation

Speaking of the Pacific Whale Foundation, they present a Festival on Maui on February.  That’s World Whale Day, a celebration of all things humpback. The annual celebration is used to raise awareness and inspire action to protect the whales and their ocean habitat. It’s on the Saturday before President’s day each year but sadly I will not be there that day. I’ll have to keep that date in mind for next year.

Close to the Boat

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In addition to my quest for the perfect breaching whale photo, I was hoping to be able to see the Iao Valley and the Iao Needle but it was closed due to rain and flood damage when we were there in November.

iao-needle-2048-cq8

  I keep checking the official web site for updates on when the area may be re-opening but so far it is still closed. Since February’s the rainy season in Hawaii they probably won’t have made enough progress to re-open but I’ll keep checking.