Snorkeling at Coral Garden on Christmas Day - by Lily

It was Christmas day at Maui, Hawaii, and we had booked a snorkeling trip for the early afternoon. With no rush in the morning, we let the boys slept in while we decided to take a morning walk along the coastline. We drove to a nearby place called turtle rock in hope to see some sea turtles. Walking along the rocky shore, listening to the waves crashing, and bathing in the morning sunshine made us feel relaxed and happy. There were no sea turtles on shore, so we walked on the rocks for a stretch with our eyes scanning the water. All of a sudden, Allan saw a movement near shore, and there it was, a sea turtle was trying to reach the rocks. It got pushed by the waves toward the shore and tried to grab a rock using its front flippers but only to be pushed back by the receding waves. Then it tried again. The rocks were slippery, and the waves were strong. It kept trying and trying. We saw a few more sea turtles in the nearby area, all trying hard to get on the rocks, but none succeeded during our watch.

turtle rocks at Lahaina

a green sea turtle trying to reach the shore

After a hearty brunch at our condo, we drove to the harbor where we were taken to coral garden for snorkeling. The weather was gorgeous and the sea water green and clear. 

Rocky shore at West Maui

typical coral fish at coral garden

Everyone was geared up and excited to get into the water quickly. I decided to take a few pictures of the boys getting into water before jumping in. With some practice the previous day, snorkeling was an easy task. The area was definitely a great spot, I saw fish all around me right away. Snorkeling over the coral reef under the sea was like flying over the mountains. Fish of all colors were swimming and feeding on this fertile ground. There’s black durgeon, yellow tung, blue striped snapper, parrot fish, green and pink colored saddleback wrasse, rainbow wrasse, black and yellow striped Moorish idol, and more. I watched them playing and chasing each other, not bothered by me at all. They were almost close to touch; I couldn’t help reaching out my arms. Following the fish I went further out, and there I found myself surrounded by a school of trumpet fish. They swam right under the sea surface in front of my eyes.

After a while, I swam back toward our boat trying to see if I could find the boys. I saw Nick first, he was really enjoying it. Heading out again, Justin saw me and signaled me to follow him. Wow! There’s a sea turtle! It was almost as big as me. I followed it in the water, watching it head down first to graze on the reef then swam upward and forward. I felt like I was mimicking its motion and dancing in the water.

It was about time to head back when I found Allan. Together we swam toward the boat.

Green Sea Turtle and colorful fishes (from internet)

Note: 

1)we saw more beautiful sea turtle scenes than this, but did not have camera for underwater photography.

2) snorkeling is pretty easy, you can just mimic others who could snorkel, We learned by trial-and-error. a) the foot fins are necessary for open sea snorkeling; b) properly cover nose and eyes, the mouth piece fully in mouth, when wearing the full set, breath with mouse only

3) Hindsight taking a systematic training, such as a video demo will definitely help to enjoy snorkeling on the first try. Here is the link to a youtube class.