Our plans to climb Diamond Head were thwarted, as Jer had to work. So, he got up and started working, while Jess wrote in this journal. She dozed in bed for a while, then we got up, showered, dressed and headed down to breakfast. The spread was about the same as the previous day, except that there was no fresh pineapple. In spite of that lack, we ate well. Jer went back upstairs to work, and Jess headed out for a walk along the beach. There were tons of sun-worshippers, plus paddle-boaters and swimmers out in the water, and Jess admired a number of neat tattoos.
Jess stopped at Na Hoku and considered buying a pendant made from an antique mother-of-pearl gaming chip (similar to this), but decided it was a bit too pricey. She then headed back to the Aqua Coconut Waikiki, so we could pack up and check out. We then caught the No. 19 bus to the airport, and Jer continued working while Jess watched Waikiki, various malls, the Central Business District and Chinatown go by. At Honolulu Airport, we checked in with Mokulele Airlines, went through a quick security screening, then grabbed some lunch (Chinese for Jer; peas, corns and mashed potatoes for Jess — the Lahaina Chicken Co.’s fried chicken looked a little too greasy for her, so she just got sides). Jer finished his report and paid for airport wifi to send it off, then it was time to board the plane.
The flight to Kona was quick and uneventful. We got great views of Diamond Head and Hanauma Bay upon ascent, and in the air we were served Mokulele Airlines passionfruit punch. Upon landing at Kona Airport, we were confronted with volcanic black rock all around. We took the shuttle to Alamo and pickup up a Pontiac G6 (after a false start with a PT Cruiser). We then drove to Big Island Divers and got fitted with snorkel gear, wet suits and fins.
From the dive shop, we stopped at Long’s Drugs for provisions, then headed into Kona (which is a very cute town). We passed Hawaii’s oldest church, built in 1820, as we walked along Alii Drive (the coastal road). We headed to Island Lava Java, a great coffeehouse overlooking the water. Jess had half a roast beef sandwich (made with cream cheese, which is way better than mayo) and homemade chips; Jer had a large California salad with ginger-lilikoi (passionfruit) dressing; and we split a chai. Everything was tasty and served promptly (which was good, as we didn’t have a ton of time). On our way back to the car we passed a coffee store and bought Jess’s mom some decaf Kona coffee. We also called and booked our Lava Ocean boat tour.
We drove to the harbor and located the Big Island Divers boat. We changed into our suits in the restroom, then met up with our fellow passengers and boarded the boat. After a 25-minute ride we reached a spot offshore by Kona Airport and joined the 5 other boats anchored there. Once it got dark, the snorkelers and divers got in the water (Jess had a hard time edging off the boat, as she always does, but she made it). The mantas are attracted by plankton, which is attracted by the lights of the boats and those carried by the divers. To get the plankton, the mantas get close to the lights and do belly-rolls under whoever is holding them. It’s beautiful, but a bit unnerving the first couple times. (A manta belly-rolled Jess twice when she was briefly separated from Jer, and she was pleased at her sang-froid.) All in all, there were 12-15 mantas feeding while we were there, and they belly-rolled us multiple times. (You’re not allowed to touch them, but they smacked us with their fins or tails a few times!) It was awesome. The only downside was that, because there were so many snorkelers, we got kicked by other people a number of times, which made Jess queasy. Still, it was easily one of the coolest things we’ve done.
Once we arrived back at the harbor, we got dressed and headed south to Captain Cook, a little town 15 miles south of Kona. There, we headed for the Manago Hotel, an old-style motel on Route 11 (the main road). The rooms are a bit worn and very basic, but cheap and immaculately clean. The front desk closes at 8:30pm, but we’d made arrangements to have our key left for us. After a bit of exploring we located it and went to our room. We looked at Jer’s awesome mantagraphs, washed the seawater off, then got ready for bed.