A shuttle picked me up at my hotel and we drove to Kailua Sailboards and Kayaks where we carried our boats down to the beach for a five mile paddle out to Moku'lua Island. To say it was windy would be an understatement. We were actually paddling against (and sometimes sideways) white-capped waves. We made it halfway out to the island and our guide debated going back. There were about 10 of us and at this point none of us wanted to give up so we dug down deep and made it there. We ate a packed lunch on the beach and the snorkeling turned out to be just as challenging as the waves rocked me around the sharp coral reefs - both my knees were bleeding - but I did see some pretty marine life and a sea turtle. On the way back in a rouge wave came up over me and rolled me out of my kayak. It was a desperate feeling to be scrambling for my boat out in a rough ocean but at the same time it was thrilling to be able to experience it all...counting the blisters on my hands.
