Day 8 - Shopping, strolling....

Today was an ultra-laid back day for us. I slept in pretty late (8:30 - latest so far). I realized I had not completed a mandatory online training for work so, reluctantly, I logged on to do that - between having to update the software I use to connect (because I forgot to when we upgraded our operating system) and doing the actual training, I was on the computer for a couple of hours this morning.

After cleaning up a bit, we headed to the Kauai Medical Clinic so I could get my ear examined. I've had a severe case of swimmer's ear ever since Monday's dive. The good news is, there is no infection that threatens my ear's health. The bad news is that water is trapped in my inner ear and nothing but time will actually clear it, about 10-14 days. The blockage is wreaking havoc on my hearing - I am probably down to about 50% of my normal hearing. It is driving me a little crazy, but oh, well, it's a small price to pay for the experience of diving Kauai's reef's.

And that brings me to the best news of all...we finally got our pictures from the dive company's camera. A lot of them didn't really turn out, but a few did and, after some Dianna's expertise in retouching...they are ready for public viewing. Mind you, these were taken with very little flash to bring out the actual colors (red, yellow and orange disappear at these depths). Here are the best of those were salvageable.

Yep, that's Dianna, blowing bubbles at about 45'.
If you can see, them note the color of her fingernails. They are actually a "tropical pink" but because of the lost reds, etc., they look purple.










A spiny black urchin.














I'm not sure what kind of coral it is, but it's pretty, especially against the lighter surface waters.











This is a group of Moorish Idols. I think it's a family grouping. The larger one there is without doubt, the largest Idol I saw in two dives...and we saw upwards of 50 or so of that species. I had a heck of a time getting this shot. The 'Mama' Idol would not be still for the photographer. But I at least I got a shot.







Topside - between dives.













Okay, it's a corny shot, but hey, it proves I was actually on a dive, right?










And finally, the stars of the show - the green sea turtle of Hawaii (known as honu, to the Hawaiians).

They like to hide in the rocks. Aloha!