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 Hawaii 2010
Kona

Kona (Hawaiian for leeward, or dry side of the island), or more accurately, the Kona District, stretches for about 60 miles along the western side of the island. Without the rainfall levels of the east side of the island, its terrain is more desert-like. King Kamehameha the Great spent his final years in Kailua-Kona. He had conquered and unified the Hawaiian Islands, and formally established the Kingdom of Hawai'i in 1810. By developing alliances with the major Pacific colonial powers, Kamehameha preserved Hawai'i's independence under his rule.

We took a snorkel tour on a Captain Zoidac inflatable raft (speeds up to 40 knots).

Below: Barbara, Dale and Chip with our guides.

On the way to the snorkel site we saw a lot of dolphins.

The Captain Cook Monument, accessible only by water, is in Kealakekua Bay, a protected marine life preserve. Although Cook was thought of as a God by the local Hawaiians, he was slain by
the locals either in a battle or chasing a rowboat - legends vary.

Once again, only Barbara and Dale went snorkeling. We finally figured out the camera masks but they are distracting and compromised the snorkeling experience.

A lava formation said to be Pele's last resting place (Pele was the Hawaiian goddess of volcanos) -
her face is on the left (esp. note her eyes and mouth) and the highest point is her hip.
On top of the formation, the ground is desert-like brush, a reult of the dryness and lava-rich dirt.
Late on our last night in Hawaii, we cruised past the Kilauea volcano and saw a bit of lava flow.

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