What's Cookin', Good Lookin'?: Hawai'i Day Nineteen

Today I woke up early and felt wide awake, so I got out of bed and got to work on things around the house. When Dan got up a few hours later, I checked in with him and headed down the block to the Kapoho Tidepools, where I've been snorkeling almost every day. It's a perfect place for snorkeling at all levels, particularly at low tide when the series of lava rock pools are filled with ocean water, trapped fish, and lined with coral, but are cut off from the ocean waves and current. With about four rows of pools between the shoreline and the open ocean, the innermost pools are tranquil, safe, and yet still full of life. I promised Dan I'd stick to the enclosed pools, for safeties sake, and he agreed to come down shortly to check in on me.

When I got there, it was mid-way between low and high tide, and the pools were unusually calm. About 4 other people were snorkeling, plus a man was sitting in a chair on some rocks about 1/2 way out, and a young girl was playing near where a couple women were alternating between snorkeling and sitting on the rocks. The other two snorkelers were a teenage guy, also sticking to the enclosed pools, and an older man who I only noticed when I stood up on some rocks and saw him further out, in the more open pools at the Western edge of the area, where I learned in previous days there's a pretty strong current that flows toward shore, and surges can push you pretty strongly.

I was snorkling along, moving from pool to pool through shallow, barely belly-deep passageways connecting them, so wasn't taking my head out of the water. At one point I swam very near the women and teen, even noting the boot-style reef shoes he was wearing. About 10 minutes after that, it struck me that Dan might be at the beach looking for me, so I found some rocks to climb out on and stood up. That's when I heard someone screaming. With water in my ears and the sound of waves off shore, I thought at first someone was just playing, until I heard 'Help!' repeatedly, and then 'Call 911!'. I saw where it was coming from, and realized two people were performing CPR on someone else they had pulled about half-way out of the water on some rocks, about 150 feet from shore. The man in the chair got someone on shore call 911, and then he made his way over to the other folks to help out. The young man made his way to the young girl, who was huddled on the rocks. We quickly heard that 911 had been called, and at that point I realized how many people were out on their decks in the houses along the shore. I didn't know what to do, but didn't want Dan to walk down and see someone getting CPR and worry it was me, so I made my way back to shore and then began running toward the house, meeting up with Dan about half way.

Back at home, we saw the emergency trucks come in, then a helicopter. I suspect the helicopter had to airlift the victim from the rocks to shore, as it's rocky terrain and I can't imagine someone being able to be carried across it. Plus, I saw the helicopter land, then take off again with a cable attached to it, then land again before taking off for the hospital.

Later in the day, we learned that the victim was a 64 yo local man named Hamilton Manley, and that he passed away, apparently having drowned. An autopsy is being performed to determine the exact cause of death.

The experience left me shook up all day, and into the night. It was a good reminder that even on a calm day, in a safe spot, something can go wrong. With just a couple more days left here on the island, I think I'll stick with inland adventures for the remainder of the trip. Perhaps we'll got to the Macadamia Nut farm up the road, or go visit Namaste at the zoo.

Food wise today, I made us some burgers for lunch with bacon, pineapple, onion, tomato, cheese, and avocado.

Then we ran/walked the mile or so down the road to Ahalanui for a safe, lifeguard protected swim in a heated pool. After that we went into town to try to get a margarita at Luquin's, but for some weird reason they weren't serving alcohol today (and were kinda rude about it, too). So we got some beer and dessert treats for later at Island Naturals, and headed home.

I made myself a margarita in a coconut, and we kicked back in the sun.

A little before dusk, we drove down to Kalapana in hopes of seeing some lava flow, but couldn't get close enough to see much more than smoke and steam. Then we headed into town and hit L&L Drive-Inn for some dinner.

I had the Chicken Katsu, and Dan got some items from the Chinese buffet.

Both were piled into styrofoam containers so high that the foam buckled under the weight - giving us plenty for dinner and lunch tomorrow.

After dinner, we indulged in the treats we bought at the store. I had a Triple Berry Trifle, and Dan had a Chocolate Mac Nut Cheesecake. We each ate about half of our desserts, and popped the rest in the fridge for tomorrow.