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Oahu
Monday 24 November 03
Hanauma Bay
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| Our first stop was Hanauma Bay, a nature preserve/beach.
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 | The bay itself was formed from a volcano crater that filled with ocean water. Most of the floor of the bay is coral reef.
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| We did something called Snuba -- it's a cross between snorkeling and scuba diving.
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 | Essentially, it's snorkeling, but with a 25-foot snorkel tube attached to a scuba tank that floats on a raft above you.
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| A guide (a certified scuba instructor) was with us the entire time. I don't know how many people he can take by himself at a time, but today was just me and Michelle.
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 | We bought an underwater camera for this specific purpose.
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| Most of the pictures came out well, but still didn't begin to capture the colors of the fish and the coral.
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| Our guide said that the fish seem to know that they are protected, because they didn't mind swimming right up to us.
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 | You used to be able to feed the fish, but that's no longer allowed. They are studying the natural dietary habits of the fish.
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 | The next three shots were an orange eel darting in and out of a hole in the reef.
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| Me and Michelle leaving Hanauma Bay
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 | A couple of shots of Waikiki Beach from our hotel
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| Michelle liked the pink hotel
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 | Our second stop that day was a submarine ride through/around another coral reef
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| These shots are Waikiki from the boat that took us to the submarine.
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| The submarine arrives to meet us.
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 | We tried to buy a low-light (800-speed) camera, but the submarine pictures didn't come out too well.
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| Not just low light, but we were shooting through 2-inch-think plexiglass windows.
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 | But hopefully, you can at least see that we saw dozens and dozens of fish.
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| We also saw a green sea turtle swim by, but it was gone before I could get a picture.
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 | Waikiki beach after the submarine ride.
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| The hotel on the left was ours.
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