Flippers Were Made for Romance

It had been close to 20 years since my last boat trip out to Molokini.  Even putting aside the wistfulness of youthful memories it wasn't exactly what I remembered.  For one, the crew no longer stands on the bow of the boat to toss handfuls of breadcrumbs into the water.  There were still plenty of fish, but I remember thinking last time that it might not be possible to swim properly through that well-fed frenzy.  The sheer amount of marketing for the Molokini tour didn't register last time, either (probably because I didn't have to pay).  We weren't up for a timeshare presentation but Boss Frog made us feel like really smart shoppers by offering us the same $30 discount that they give to everyone who comes through for a $1.50/day snorkel set rental.  The cake and pineapple slices for breakfast, however, were exactly how I remembered.

Molokini Crater is evidence of immense past violence, and looks like it just as easily could have been caused by a meteoric impact as a volcanic vent.  The visibility in the water is unreal, hampered mainly by the volume of tourists bobbing around the inner reef.  The side effect of this clarity is that it ruins any future snorkeling you might try, including the stop at "Turtle Town" later in the morning's trip.  Turtle Town is actually more of a marketing conceit than a specific location, on this particular day it was offshore of Wailea Beach.  Turtles - check.  Whale tail - check.  Sandwich - check. Tip jar - check.  Tour over!

Alas, the S.S. Frogman II was not the fastest nor the first ship to reach yon crater.

A friendly cop from Sherwood Park was fortunately available for portraits.

The view from Gannon's.