Kona, Hawaii (Captain Zodiac Snorkel Tour)

Wednesday, March 23

Kona, Hawaii - 7:00 am to 5:30 pm

The sun had not yet risen when I first looked out the window and could see the lights of Kona. The Pride of America does not dock at this port, but rather anchors off shore and shuttles passengers back and forth using the lifeboats.

In my research for what to do in Kona, I ran across a video for the Captain Zodiac snorkel tour. Knowing that we were spending most of our time at the other ports just driving, this looked like a fun change of pace.

Captain Zodiac Snorkel Tour Video

I could have booked the tour online and saved quite a bit of money, but Kona is a tender port. Sometimes weather can prevent the tendering process and if for some reason we would have had to skip this port, we would have been out the full cost of the tour. (Usually tour operators will give a refund if a ship doesn't make a port...but not Captain Zodiac.) Instead the four of us reserved the tour through Norwegian at a considerably higher price. This gave us the benefit of knowing we would not lose our money if the ship skipped the port of Kona...and it gave us priority boarding so we didn't have to wait in line for a tender.

The tickets that were delivered to our room instructed us to meet for the tour at 7:30 am in the Hollywood Theater. From there we were taken as a group to the waiting life boat for our ride to shore. Once on the dock, we boarded the zodiac rafts for our tour.

There were 11 passengers and two crew on the raft...Captain Colin and Tatum. We sat on the inflatable sides of the raft and in order to hang on, we slipped our feet under a rope that ran across the bottom of the raft. (The tops of my feet were bruised and swollen for a few days afterward!) Our snorkeling destination, Kealakekua Bay, was several miles away and we were going very fast when we left Kona.

As we were flying across the water, Tatum saw something in the water and had Colin stop the raft. She thought at first she had seen a ray swimming near the surface, but it turned out to be a WHALE SHARK!

Whale sharks are the largest species of fish and can grow up to 40 feet or more but are not dangerous. They are filter feeders and live on a diet of plankton. When Tatum realized it was a whale shark, she grabbed some snorkel equipment and dove in with the fish! (She was so excited!! She had worked for Captain Zodiac for three years and this was the first time she had ever seen a whale shark!) We sat motionless in the water and watched as Tatum and the whale shark swam around the raft for quite some time.

Swimming with a whale shark has been something I have wanted to do for years...and even though I wasn't able to get into the water, being so close was amazing! I was able to get a few photos when the whale shark came close to the raft...

...but Captain Colin was able to capture even better photos with his underwater camera.

Word spread quickly through the two-way radio about our whale shark sighting and it didn't take long before another boat showed up...and scared away the fish. :(

We continued on our way and everyone was still excited over seeing the whale shark when we came upon a large pod of short fin pilot whales! The whales surrounded our raft and there were so many, I didn't know which direction to look!!

Once Captain Colin stopped the raft the whales kept coming closer and closer. They seemed to be just as curious about us as we were about them!

The guy in the middle just poked his head up and stared at us. Captain Colin referred to this as "spy glassing!"

At this point the tour could have ended and I would have been happy...but we hadn't even snorkeled yet!

The snorkeling destination at Kealakekua Bay was right by the Captain Cook monument. Snorkel equipment was provided as part of the tour, but the four of us had all brought our own. The water was incredibly clear and I was amazed at the variety of fish and how different they looked from ones that we have seen in the Caribbean. Bob was excited because after many years of scuba diving he finally saw his first octopus!

Captain Cook Monument at Kealakekua Bay.

An eel!

The blue stripe below the fin almost looked like a neon light!

Back on the raft, Colin had set out chips, cookies, granola bars, fresh pineapple and oranges and bottled water and soda for everyone to enjoy as we got dried off and put our snorkeling equipment away.

The ride back to Kona took us along and close to the shoreline to see caves and lava tubes in the cliffs. Legend has it that this one particular spot is the face of Pele...the fire goddess. Can you see her eyes, mouth and red teeth?

The face of Pele, the fire goddess.

Colin showed off his skills as a boat captain by rushing towards the cliffs at full speed...and just at the last minute...he would turn and avoid the crash that we were all expecting. Quite the thrill ride! At one stop along the cliffs, we saw wild goats and parrots.

Headed back to the Pride of America...at full speed!

Once we were back on land, Kent and Laurel left to spend the afternoon with some old friends that live in Kona. Bob and I took the first tender back to the ship where we showered and then had lunch in the buffet. We had no specific agenda, but did want to go back to shore and walk around Kona.

We wandered down the main street, stopping to look in several shops and also the Mokuaikaua Church. The church dates back to the early 1800's and is the oldest Christian church in Hawaii. Across the street was the Hulihee Palace...a summer residence for Hawaiian royalty. 

An interesting tree!

Having to tender is a bit of a hassle, but it does provide good views of the ship at anchor!

As the ship was sailing away from Kona, Bob went out on the balcony while I was getting ready for dinner. I heard him yelling and I went out to see dozens (or more?) of dolphins jumping and swimming alongside the ship! It was such an incredible ending to our day!! 

Here is a video I took (and uploaded to YouTube.) I couldn't resist adding a little music...

Evening entertainment was juggling comedy with Barry John followed by the White Hot Dance Party! Attendance wasn't huge, but it was fun!

Bob with Michelle (DJ Secrets)...his dance partner from the Celebrity Dance-Off!

Akumal Day 5 - Sunday, October 11

Bob and I were both awake as it started to get light. (Leaving the curtains open helped!) The two of us went down to the main part of the beach together for the morning ritual of 1) claiming a palapa, 2) photographing the sunrise and 3) getting my latte!

A rainbow was an added bonus for the morning!

Bob had an additional reason for being up early. Since he had been doing the SUP (stand up paddle boarding) class multiple times a day, the instructor, German, had suggested just the two of them go out early (7 am) Sunday morning. Bob was tickled to death!

I watched them head out and then went back to the room to get organized for the day.

I met Bob on the beach as he returned and I suggested that we do a little snorkeling while the water was fairly calm AND before the hoards of snorkel tours arrived at the bay. We were fortunate enough to see turtles...and a stingray.

Although we snorkeled for quite some time, Bob was still not ready to come in when I quit. I headed back to the beach and he took over possession of the camera. 

Bob doesn't usually want to be bothered by a camera, but this time he photographed everything under the water that moved…and some things that didn’t move. (Thank goodness for digital photography!! Buying and developing film for that many photos would have cost more than our vacation!)

Hunger pains were starting to hit, but I waited until Bob returned and then we had a nice breakfast at the snack bar…followed by lunch at the snack bar just a few hours later! Have I mentioned how handy it is to eat there? Good food and no need to leave the beach!

Interspersed between Bob’s additional paddle boarding sessions at 11:00, 1:00 and 4:00 we took a walk, heading south down the beach. We didn’t go too far, but it was fun seeing all of the turtle nests and checking out the condos along the way.

It takes me much longer to get presentable for dinner, so while I was showering and primping, Bob decided to take another walk…in the opposite direction. He went out onto the opposite point of the bay, near the cannons. The waves were splashing up on the rocks, but nowhere near as big as we witnessed the last time we were in Akumal.

On his way back to the room, Bob ran into Marianne...and German...and stopped to get some photos!

We chose to eat dinner at one of the outdoor tables by the buffet. It was lovely being able to sit so close to the water, but around dusk the pesky mosquitoes caused us to rush a bit through dessert . That was a shame because it was so yummy! We both discovered the homemade lemon ice cream at the buffet and had it several nights! I combined mine with an extra scoop of strawberry ice cream…a great combination!

Following dinner we sat awhile by the main bar until the smokers got going. While we were sitting there a coatimundi ran right next to us and started raiding the garbage! There was another animal that we saw several times (no photo) roaming around behind the building where our room was. From looking online I think it might have been an agouti.

When the smoke started bothering us, we moved down the beach and just sat and looked at the stars before heading back to the room. (We really are boring people in the evening…) 

A surprise was waiting for us back in the room…a plate of chocolate covered strawberries. I’m not sure, but I suspect it was because I had mentioned that Bob was celebrating a birthday while we were there. Or…maybe everyone receives something and we really aren’t special afterall. ;)