Monday I decided to try snorkeling again. The waves were still big from the wind so I decided to go down to the same place I went before. There aren't a lot of fish there, but I wanted to try using the fins again and needed the sandy bottom so I wouldn't have to deal with rocks while I got used to them. I found advice on the internet to go in backwards. That made a lot of sense since the problem I was having was with the ends digging into the sand.
I also wanted to try out Harry's new purchase, a Go Pro camera. The two photos below were taken with it. It has a definite fish eye effect when set to the wide setting, but it was less pronounced when taking a long view like this one. It did a good job of catching a long stretch of the wall as the waves fountained up against it. I also took some video of the same view that turned out pretty good.
I went in first without the fins to try some of the ideas I gleaned off the internet for getting the mask to seal around my face more reliably. After a few tries I found the position that worked the best and started looking around under water for fish. I didn't really see much of anything, and the water was cloudy again. I soon decided that I had the mask sealed well enough to go back and try putting on the fins. I was moving parallel and fairly close to the wall at that point and about ready to turn toward the beach when I felt a rippling sensation of sparking stings along my bicep, like the first second of brushing against a stinging nettle.
Oh dear. It wasn't very strong or painful, but I was pretty sure it wasn't normal to feel a stinging sensation from just being in the water. I turned immediately toward shore, and as I did I felt further sparks lower down near my tricep and on my upper forearm. I could see some foam and algae on the surface where I was and wondered if there were bits of jellyfish tentacle floating there, or if I had actually contacted a live animal.
When I got on shore I dropped my snorkel and mask on my chair and headed to the other end of that section of beach to the lifeguard's station. They have a kind of little room on stilts with stairs leading up to the enclosed area which has wide windows overlooking the beach. When I got there the lifeguard guessed immediately why I was heading his way so briskly and asked, "Did you get stung?"
He treated it by pouring white vinegar over my whole arm and activated a chemical hot pack. He said the vinegar would deactivate the stingers and the heat would help with the pain. The pain would intensify and last about two hours, followed by four days of intense itching.
I went back to my chair and sat with the hot pack on, feeling like an idiot for ignoring the signs and going in the water. The lifeguard said they actually concentrate on the beaches with the walls becuase they wash in through the baffle and then can't find their way out again.
While I was sitting there I noticed the family in front of me, a mom, dad and about a three year old little girl, were all in the water and their spot was covered with dozens of birds, who were trying to take apart any food packages they had there. I didn't intervene, thinking they would object to someone standing in the middle of their stuff.
Later the mom was focused on her phone and the dad had his eyes closed. The little girl picked up their spray on suntan oil and started spraying it around everywhere. The mother didn't seem to hear the sound of the spray can going off. After the little girl sprayed it towards her face a couple of times I went over and told them what she was doing and they took it away from her. Then they went back to their inattention. The child picked up one of those blow up floaty rings made in an incomplete circle so it can be fitted around the waist without having to step into it. She put it on and went into the water. I noticed when she floated to the edge and started calling out, 'Mommy, mommy, mommy!' She didn't stop for some time, but her parents never looked around at her. They were completely oblivious to her being in the water. I was amazed. She finally gave up calling her mommy and went back to playing in the water.
When her dad got up and went into the water with her I got up and left. The hot pack had cooled off by then. I headed back to the room to shower and dress. The stings didn't hurt very bad. I couldn't see where exactly they were, just had reddened skin in those areas.
I decided to rescue my day by going out after showering and seeing if I could find some geocaches. I ended up walking down to Kapiolani park. I saw this structure there that I hadn't noticed before, even though it is right at the entrance. It turned out to be a burial mound. The ancient Hawaiian bones that are excavated anywhere on the island are interred there.
They take the sacredness of this tomb very seriously, as shown by the warning sign below.
I was headed to the nearby zoo to find a geocache, which I did find, along with two others in the park nearby. At the first one I had a chance to photo this pretty little bird I see occasionally. It has a really sweet little chirruping song, and hops around so quickly it was hard to get a good shot of it!
On the way back to the room I took the following photos of the sparkling water, waves and catamaran sailing by. My feet were tired and sore, but my spirits were good.
I got back just as Harry did. We went to the Times Supermarket for some dinner and got hamburger steak with gravy and onions with mixed steamed vegetables, salad and brown rice. It was good, but too much, I saved enough for lunch another day.
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