A Happy Covid New Year

   

     As New Year came, it seemed to promise more of the same with a few minor adjustments.  During the two weeks of the Christmas holiday, Kona was swamped with visitors.  It might not have been quite as busy as a normal Christmas, and organized public gatherings like the Christmas parade were canceled, but those of our fellow mainland citizens who were able to afford it came to Hawaii in surprisingly large numbers. Not since last February had we seen so many tourists.  A large number were from California and very few of them wore masks.  Suffice it to say, we were very careful as we chose our outings, either for snorkeling or just going to the beach.

    With the coming of the New Year, the tourists went home, presumably back to work, possibly back to quarantine.  In their place we have received the snowbirds.  Traditionally January and February are the busiest months for those who no longer work to come to Hawaii for six weeks.  We have several Canadian friends who would love to come, but are unable to do so.  Their government can't prevent them from leaving the frozen northland, but it sure as heck can cancel their health insurance and make it difficult for them when they choose to return.  This year, people from California are taking up the slack.  Angelenos, who would ordinarily have no interest in coming to Hawaii are showing up here in record numbers.  It is safer, the restaurants are open, and nobody seems to care if they don't wear masks.

    A curious index of the older population is found at our favorite venue for comestibles...Costco.  Last week Sandra was reading a list of tips about coming to Hawaii and Costco was the first tip.  We had held off going to Costco during the Christmas holiday and returned to that paradise of inexpensive wine and cheese only a few days ago.  Aside form being blissfully unaware of my surroundings, I can't explain why I was surprised, but kapuna hours, that single hour prior to unregulated opening, had gone wild.  For ten months we have been enjoying a huge store with few shoppers.  On Thursday morning the store was truly crowded.  Yes, Virginia, the snowbirds are back and they need cheap liquor.  Lots of it!  

     If there is one saving grace, in Costco the Californians are required to wear masks and there are employees stalking the aisles to make sure that they do.

The juvenile rectangular triggerfish.  Like a miniature adult.

    Winter storms tend to affect our snorkeling options.  Kailua Bay, that patch of water that reaches out from both sides of the pier, is often calm enough for snorkeling even during excellent surfing conditions.  I tried going there in the morning a week ago.  I wasn't surprised to encounter a legion of recreational swimmers.  It is the nature of swimming and showering after, that makes mask wearing inconvenient.  Snowbirds, as you might expect, are enthusiastic recreational swimmers, so as the  population transitioned from tourists to these older, yet fit, visitors, the number of people swimming has swelled. After my first and only experience, I decided that until I get my vaccination, morning swimming on the Ironman side is just not safe.

      In any event, he Ironman side of the pier has been disappointing of late. After my morning swim, I tried the afternoon a few days later.  There were far fewer recreational swimmers, but this did not improve the number of fish or critters.  I saw one handsome finescale triggerfish and that was about it.  

Juvenile Rectangular Triggerfish.  Kahalu'u  January 2021

    The entry in front of the hotel remains a viable option.  Many of the people on that short beach are young local families, which one has to assume are safer than visitors.  However, as winter time has come, the water in front of the hotel has cooled.  Its hard to be enthusiastic about swimming through cold water to get to a  few of the usual suspects.

   Yesterday I went to Kahalu'u.  We arrived at quarter to nine, the surf was pounding against the Menehune breakwater and there were only a few people in the shelter.  The water wasn't nearly as cold as I had feared, but the current was significant.  I was swimming as hard as I could to make a little headway when a lanky teenage girl in water shoes passed me and, for good measure, kicked me in the face.  It was bad enough that she can swim faster in shoes than I can swim with fins, but that was just uncalled for.

The small stripebelly puffer plays with the raccoon.

   Luckily, all my teeth were where they belonged and I was able to swim around and see some fish.  Three juvenile Hawaiian Dascyllus are still holding court around a chunk of besieged coral.  They are getting older and I was able to nab a short clip so you can check on their progress. 

    On the way in, I spotted a juvenile Rectangular trigerfish.  He is now about a month old and roughly an inch and a half in length.  Paler than the adult, he is still a perfect reproduction.

   Just before I hit the beach, I encountered a small Stripebelly Puffer.  while other species have become far less common, the stripebelly has held his own.  Here is a picture of the my fish with a Raccoon Butterfly.  Everyone knows how big the raccoon is and as a foil, he demonstrates how small that puffer was. 

    It was just after nine thirty when Sandra and I were preparing to leave.  The tourists had enjoyed their
breakfast and were now descending, armed and ready for some full contact snorkeling.  As we walked out I encountered a family with two young girls, each with a small plastic doughnut around her petite waist.  I flapped my flippers at them and gave them a word of encouragement, figuring that the rest was up to the lifeguards.

jeff