Kilauea sends lava down to the sea near Kalapana
Traversing the lava fields at night is a downhill hike with flashlights
And, on the way, the sky is lit up in oranges and reds and bright yellows
Volcanic Reds, Oranges & Blacks
Descending and Ascending
I was just thinking about the deep blue color of the ocean water. So, here are some photos from a recent trip showing other divers descending into, and ascending from, the blue ocean.
Sometimes we come across another group from our boat at the end of a dive
Hau’oli Makahiki Hou (Happy New Year)
Happy New Year!
Let’s celebrate with some turtle pictures from Punalu’u Beach in Hawaii.
Really? People bring balloons to a beach where turtles are known to live, and then leave them on the ground where the turtles could eat them?!
California Natives
After a trip to the coast for some nice sea air and some lunch outside overlooking the ocean, we stopped at a native plant nursery up in the mountains. We took the scenic route on a winding road through redwoods.
Leaving the front yard water off for three months this summer showed us which plants were really drought tolerant. Our watering mistake also killed some plants, and those need to be replaced now that fall is coming. The drought tolerant California natives we are using in the yard should be planted in the fall. While finding replacement plants for the ones we killed, it was also time to finish the landscaping in the backyard by adding a few more plants in the empty spots left by the landscaper when he couldn’t, or didn’t, find the required plants years ago.
Although the native plant nursery delivers, I enjoy going to this mostly open air nursery and walking around. Huge oak trees and plants showcased in the gardens are interspersed with the many potted plants waiting to be taken to a permanent home.
I’m already looking forward to seeing fried egg poppies bloom in the back yard as well as the front yard next spring.
Large Rays
A mobula and two spotted eagle rays on one dive. Beautiful.
Swirling Schools Video
Video taken on the dive that inspired the “Swirling Schools” necklace and earring designs.
Sea Lions Frolicking
We had hoped to be able to see some Sea Lions on the trip to the Loreto National Marine Park in the Sea of Cortez, because we knew they liked to hang out there at least part of the year.
Our dive guide, Rafael from the Dolphin Dive Center gave us the opportunity to watch the sea lions underwater on our very first dive. The video below was taken with my small Sea & Sea 860DXG underwater camera.
Dolphins As Far As the Eyes Could See
The boat ride with the bottlenose dolphins was great. The very next day, on our boat ride out to the dive sites, we saw this ~ 200 member pod of common dolphins. If I turned my head to the left and looked I could see dolphins, and if I turned my head all the way to the right I could still see dolphins. Amazing.
The pod apparently had somewhere they either needed to be, or there was something they were trying to get away from, because they were serious about their travels.
Experiences = Inspiration
Recently I was down in Baja California Sur, Mexico doing a little SCUBA diving. Loreto National Marine Park was chosen for all the endemic species I’d yet to see. The underwater and above ground park sure impressed! I’m glad I took a sketch pad, because I drew some new earrings that I hope to create in the very near future.
In the meantime, I’m sorting through many many underwater videos and photographs; as well as some great photos of two different dolphin species, osprey, blue footed booby birds, and other above water delights. Here are some of the above water delights when they were playing with the boat.
Taking the last picture is what saved my camera. Just as I had finished taking this photo of the amazingly high jump, a huge dolphin did a body slam into the water in front of the boat, drenching us all. Luckily I was turned around facing the back of the boat, so my body shielded the camera!
Logs of Inspirations
The question came up recently: When was the last time I dove in Baja? I took out my old dive logs and took a look. I dove twice at the Cabo Pulmo Marine Park and remember all the huge boulders underwater and the fish that were on the same scale. The trip was before I started creating jewelry inspired by my dives, yet all the images built up in my head over the years certainly have helped.
While looking through the logs looking for Baja entries, I stopped to read the log of my favorite dive site: Alcyone in the Cocos Island Marine Park area of Costa Rica. As the second diver down, I was priveleged to experience a huge school of hammerheads before all the diver bubbles drove the sharks farther out from the sea mount. The best way to describe it is as follows: if I was in a snow globe all the snowflakes would be hammerheads.
The dive on Alcyone was also when I realized that sunscreen on the face was keeping my mask from sealing properly. Now I skip the sunscreen until after I dive, for visibility and because the ingredients in most suncreens are harmful to the marine life.