Hanauma Bay snorkeling: Electrochemists travel well
One perk of living on the West Coast is that it has the shortest flights to Hawaii. I’ve taken advantage of this twice, once with Honolulu as the final destination and once with a second flight to Hilo. During the trip to Honolulu, I got the chance to do one of my favorite activities, snorkeling. Specifically, I did Hanauma Bay snorkeling.
My reason for being on the island of Oahu was a work conference. Electrochemistry can be a dry subject, so we need to take any opportunity we can to go somewhere hot and humid. While there, my coworker Tina tipped me off about Hanauma Bay snorkeling, and on the weekend she, her mother, and I traveled there with a tour company.
Our van driver, who originated from Haiti, picked us up and provided the snorkeling gear. It was 2016, before the cataclysmic Clinton Trump election. He let us in on the fact that many Haitians have a bone to pick with the Clintons (something about earthquake aid). In addition, he said that in Haiti, if a stranger threatens you with a machete, don’t waste time calling the police because they’ll tell you to run away.
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
Hanauma is a Hawaiian word which means curved bay. I can attest, it is a very curvy bay. It is also very popular. There is a waiting line to gain access to the area, and over a million people go there each year to snorkel.
Snorkeling is perhaps my favorite pastime. I’m hesitant to officially declare it my favorite, because I’ve only done it on three occasions. Each time though it’s been pure bliss. Floating around in warm water, looking at tropical fish, and hoping to see something exotic, there’s few things like it. I’d imagine the land equivalent would be taking a ride in a hot air balloon.
The big-ticket item that everyone wants to see in Hanauma Bay are the Green Sea Turtles. It’s hit or miss, as they travel in, out, and around the Bay. In Hawaiian they are called Honu, and legend has it they guided the original Polynesians to the Islands of Hawaii. Also out there are the humuhumunukunukuapua’a, the national fish of Hawaii (the video below will pronounce it). I bustled with excitement while waiting in line, eager to swim.
Fish everywhere
Once through the line, along with Tina and her mother, we made our way down to the beach. The weather was typical Hawaii, warm and sunny. The beach itself was clean and bright, with scattered palm trees all around. Although the lines were crowded, once down by the water there was plenty of space for people to spread out.
Once we picked a spot on the sand to throw our towels, I put my goggles and snorkel on and rushed into the water. Compared to the snorkeling I did in Ecuador the water was choppier and tossed me around a bit more. Still, once below the waves I had good vision of everything going on.
Fish darted around everywhere, in and out from behind rocks. To use the classic analogy, it was being in an aquarium. Furthermore, to use another classic phrase, those little fish sported all the colors of the rainbow. When I swam by the larger fish they tended to linger in place, seemingly unconcerned that I would come up and spear it for lunch. The floor of the bay was a mix of sandy and rocky, with little vegetation.
Horror and Adventure
The best part was swimming above the many rocky, underwater caverns and channels. I approached them with apprehension, unsure of what could be lurking below. Sometimes there’d be nothing, and other times it would be a large fish or eel that would send a jolt of adrenaline through me. Just like when coming across a snake in the grass, I’ll never cease to be spooked by those slippery eels.
I looked all around for those big Honu, but to no avail. There were rumors being tossed around by fellow snorkelers that they were hanging out where the bay met open water. This was much too far than I was willing to swim. Ironically, two years later I returned to Hawaii and encountered a group of sea turtles during a walk in the park at Waihonu Pond of Hilo. It’s the time I most regretted not packing my swimming trunks.
During a break in the snorkeling action, I made a friend at the beach, a rare occurrence for me. He came to Hawaii often with his wife, and they spent most of their days snorkeling. They rented motorcycles and drove around the island, hitting up every destination where they could swim and look for fish. For other vacations they picked other tropical destinations, such as Costa Rica. One of these days I’ll have to dream up a snorkeling and cycling trip.
Hanauma Bay snorkeling: Are there sharks?
Tina’s mother brought snacks for us so that we could, in her words, satiate our cravings. Once my cravings were satiated, I returned to water to continue snorkeling. I went out a bit further to a drop off, another mysterious site where it becomes difficult to see the bottom. To answer the question on everyone’s mind, yes there are sharks in Hanauma Bay.
To answer the next question, no, I did not see any sharks. I wish I had though. Reef sharks are known to live in the bay, but sightings are rare. Furthermore, the biggest they get are four feet and they don’t feed on humans. They’d only be good cast in a Jaws trailer if the audience was a flock of small birds.
The rest of the time I spent close to the shore, where the water was bright and the little fish plentiful. Then, as the sun began to lower in the sky, I spent some time getting R&R on the beach. The sun beat down on me, baking off the water until I was ready to bid farewell to Hanauma Bay snorkeling. Our Haitian driver picked us up again, and we mostly snoozed on the ride back to the hotels.
