Again, Aloha to my many friends who
might be reading this blog. We have been on Maui for a little over 2 weeks and every day we sit out on our lanai and watch the beautiful Pacific ocean. It has been living up to it's name...peaceful. Many days it has been almost as smooth as a lake, with just gentle waves that lap up on the beach with a gentle flow. Well, all of that has changed today. Last night we had one of the first winter storms that hit the Islands, and it rained and rained and rained. I thought from watching the weather forecast on the TV that we were going to have rain for a couple of days, but woke up this morning to a beautiful bright blue sky...an absolutely perfect day here in paradise! We had closed the windows before going to bed due to the terrific rain that was falling, so when I saw the sun shining and the air sparkling this morning I opened up the windows to the sounds of an ocean that I was not used to!
The rain may have passed, but the aftermath of the storm stayed behind with a wild and angry ocean letting out it's rage on the beaches outside of our condo. We are staying in Kahana, and to be truthful, the ocean here is not known for having too many big waves. You very seldom see the surfers out on the ocean here as the waves just don't get that big. Well, today is an exception to that...as I am writing that I have been observing waves at about 5 to 6 feet high. Now that isn't really a very big wave, but for Kahana it is a pretty good sized wave. The noise from them crashing up on the beach is terrific and loud.
It's very interesting to sit and observe the waves and the beach, and as I have sat here watching, I've thought that the ocean is behaving like a stingy child that doesn't want to share anymore with it's friends. Normally I have watched many people walking along the beach, leaving footprints as they walk along and the ocean waves will eventually gently wash up and erase the footprints leaving the sand smooth and shiny until the next person or group walks along and leaves more footprints, aways changing and changing depending on how many people are walking by, and how lazy the ocean seems to be at that particular time of day.
Today however, not many people are venturing out on the beach, and with good reason. The few that are, have very little beach to walk on, and those who choose to walk close to the water are being surprised by how strong the waves are as they crash with a fury and cause many people to stumble and reach for one another to keep their balance as the massive waves rush about them. In many places the waves are rushing up higher than I have seen before, right up to the shrubbery that marks the edges of the resorts property! All the footprints in the sand are being washed away in a matter of seconds as people are walking by, kind of like the selfish child smoothing out the sand in the playground after the other children have "messed up" that sand that he thinks is his!
As I look out to the foamy waves, I can see a couple of surfers out there waiting to catch the perfect wave...and every now and again, I see them positioning themselfs, and then standing up and riding the wave into the shore, only to turn around and repeat the process all over again.
I look closer to the shore and I see a large sea turtle come to the surface for a breath of air, and then watch as the choppy waters toss it around for a few minutes before it again dives under the waves, and back to the bottom where it rests and stays safe from the turbulant ocean.
What a marvelous experience it has been to see the ocean so different...just another thing that makes Maui such a wonderful place to be and enjoy!
Mahalo for reading my post.
Take care,
Ron, the Plant Man
No comments:
Post a Comment