A Return To Kona or Mind That Burrito

     The morning  after we returned from Mexico, we went snorkeling with our house exchangers.  This was the last morning in Hawaii for Anne and Eric, who had been foiled in their efforts to find some good fish

Anne and Eric Out on the PAR

watching by the persistent high swell.  Lucky for them, I had the best kept secret in my pocket.  Despite the waves battering the coast, it was calm enough on Paul Allen's Reef for the four of us to have a good snorkel.

    At the outset, Anne was determined to explore the area around the end of the pier.  Being raised in New York, she has that "if I can make it there, I can go swimming anywhere!" mentality.  I was reminded of Kozlowski's boy friend in Crocodile Dundee.  He saying, "We don't have any crocodiles, but a fast moving Chevy can sure make a mess out of ya."  My opinion is that those UFO boats that come zipping in to the pier with their rubber nosed parasailors can give a fast moving Chevy a run for its money in a New York minute.  Luckily, Eric was able to prevail upon his bride and we

Stripebelly Puffer, Kahalu'u  March 2016

swam together out to the reef.  The fish watching was pretty much the usual suspects, but if you have been stuck on shore for a week or so, the routine swim out on the PAR is undoubtedly pretty impressive.

   I would like to report that we all made it back to Casa Ono unscathed.  But I wasn't even close to being over the URI that I contract on virtually every airplane trip.  Just after crossing the threshold, I collapsed in bed.  I fear that my swim buddies were a bit horrified by this relapse.  A couple hours later I returned to the land of the living long enough to get them to KOA.   By all accounts our good friends and snorkeling buddies are once again safely ensconced on the rain soaked slopes of Mount Tabor in the Rose City.

    It took a couple weeks, but the swell finally subsided and my immune system won the battle with that tenacious virus.  So at long last, this week we went swimming.  My first outing was to Kahalu'u.  Before

Coral Blenny female,  Kialua Kona Pier March 2016

going in, I was able to secure a report that squid were seen in the bay about two weeks ago.  What I discovered first hand was that all the sand has been scoured form the sand channel, making entry here more uncomfortable than ever before.  Sadly, I saw no squid.  The only thing of note was a brief look at a handsome stout moray.  A large stripe belly puffer was the most interesting denizen I found to photograph.

    A day or two later, I talked Sandra into going swimming with me down at the pier.  The water at K Bay had been surprisingly warm, but we were shocked back to reality as we entered the frigid water at the pier.  The people we met while getting ready to swim had boasted about the clarity and, indeed, the water was remarkably clear.  Swimming out there was precious little to photograph.  Back in by the pier, however, I found  a few animals to admire in the clear water.  A female

Bling!

coral blenny  was begging to have her picture taken.  The coral blenny used to be called the short bodied blenny and it was fairly unusual to see one.  Now on both sides of the pier it is a very common fish.  Last summer, our friends the DeLukes impressed me with their pictures of this odd fish, one that is easy to see but darts for cover when you point a camera at it.  As one usually takes a photograph of this fish from above (it darts away when you try to take a picture from below the surface) I often end up with some odd looks.  Let your eyes go out of focus and see if you can find some other image lurking within those spots. 

    A few minutes later I saw a nice sponge clinging to the base of the pier.  And right beside the sponge was fine bit of bling for my honey.  Sandra is usually the one who finds things, most recently a crisp (well, actually soggy) twenty dollar bill.  Imagine my pride when I presented her with this lovely bracelet bedecked with frolicking honus.  She tried it on and remarked that it

Oval Butterflyfish, Kailua Kona March 2016

was large and that was why it had slipped off a wrist and into the sea.  I commented that it was perhaps made large to fit on the wrist of Bruce Jenner or one of his ilk. 

    I swam around a bit more, hoping to find the cushion star.  (Neither the starfish nor the blacklip butterflyfish was seen this day.)  As I was paddling slowly,  I was approached by a slow moving pair of Oval butterflyfish.   This is hardly an unusual fish on the Ironman side of the pier.  But it is always one step ahead of me, swimming just out of range as I attempt a photograph.  Here I had two oval butterflyfish radiating that inner glow and posing just a few feet away in clear water.  Suffice it to say, I'm very pleased with the resulting picture.

   The word from the PNW is that things are cold and raining.  Sandra and I wish you were all here with us  to enjoy the best weather on the planet as winter comes to an end.      

jeff