Alex Polson's Personal Blog

The Tunnels

Posted: 2007-11-07T05:17Z[UTC] by Alex

Yesterday was a bit disappointing but we made up for it with what we did today.

Yesterday, we wanted to do some more snorkeling so we decided to give Poipu a try. It was the first place we tried to snorkel during our first trip. We both must have looked pretty foolish given we were only sticking our faces in the water and promptly freaking out. We really wanted to make up for that embarrassment and hopefully enjoy the location a bit more than we did the first time. Unfortunately when we got there the water was clearly too rough to do any sort of swimming. The crazy weather around the islands was still causing a few rough spots, especially around the south side of the island. It was recommended by the guys at Snorkel Bob's that the North Shore would be a bit more calm so we eventually decided to head to Ke'ee beach, regardless of the reasonably long drive from Poipu.Ke'ee beach was our favorite snorkeling destination the last time we were in Kauai. It takes crossing several single lane bridges as you get closer to the beach. Unfortunately, we weren't there long before it started to rain again. Even the time we were there we saw almost no sea life. After the array of fish that we saw last time it was a real disappointment. After Ke'ee we were pretty tuckered out given we'd been driving so much. We went back to our hotel and spent an hour or two by the pool reading. We then went to the Coconut Marketplace for dinner (the first time since our last trip). We wrapped up our Monday by watching our NBC shows Heroes and Journey Man. Normally we have to record the shows and watch them the next day because of having to get up early so it was a nice treat. :-)

Today we decided to get going reasonably early because we wanted to try out another snorkeling spot just east of Ke'ee called Tunnels. We ate a quick breakfast and then were on our way. We ended up arriving a little bit before 11am and luckily there was some parking left. There are two main entrances to the beach, both of which are narrow dirt roads and the only parking is along the fences at the side of the roads. We parked at the end of the road and started the short hike to the beach. It turns out the effort necessary to get to the beach was well worth it. The water's only up to about 8 feet deep for about 5 yards from the shore at which pint it drops off sharply. There was plenty of corral with lots of sea life swimming around it to enjoy. To top it off because of the limited parking there weren't really that many people around.We went in a few times and took several underwater pictures. We spent in total about three hours on the beach and swimming. I also wandered up and down the beach taking as many pictures as I could. My long walk ended after I accidentally bumped into somebody sun bathing nude on the beach. That seemed as good a sign as any to return to our resting spot on the beach and enjoy some more snorkeling. Around 1:45 we returned to the car and drove to Hanelei where we stopped at a local cafe for some coffee and a delicious paninni. We were tired enough at this point to head back to the hotel and spend the rest of the afternoon by the pool reading, again. We wanted to spend as much time as possible outside before returning to the cold Seattle.For dinner we went to a restaurant called Wahoo which is just north of our hotel on the west side of the freeway, just past The Coconut Marketplace. The last time we were in Kauai we ate there and really enjoyed it. I had seasoned sea bass on a bed of garlic mashed potatoes and spinach in a pesto sauce. It ended up being the same thing I had last time which was absolutely delicious. If you ever come to Kauai and would like a fancier place to eat (dinner was about $90 with salads, desert, coffee and tip) I highly recommend it. The food was wonderful and the service was top notch. The scenery wasn't bad either.

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