Starting off the fourth day, we got breakfast and drove out to the harbor to go out to open ocean. The first plan for today was to all get on zodiac boats and cruise open waters looking for whales, dolphins, sharks, and other animals. We got to learn a little about the migration patterns of the animals, for example, dolphins tend to hunt at night, so they turn parts of their brain off during the day. Also, we learned how to tell the differences between male and female pilot whales, which is by their dorsal fin. After the boat ride was over, we saw a tiger shark, spinner dolphins, two groups of pilot whales, tuna, and a Portuguese man of war. After being on the open waters, we headed more in to the shore where we learned about the ancient Hawaiian traditions and we got to see the effects of the lava. For one, we got to see Pele, one of the ancient Hawaiian goddesses. On the sides of the rocks, the lava had bored holes all the way to the water, and the rocks had been mixed with different minerals and metals to create a mural of sorts. Using your imagination you could see her face and her body laying across the rocks of the island. Later we went snorkeling along the reefs where Captain Cook had been murdered by the Hawaiians. We got to see crazy schools of triggerfish and their was an arch of coral we could swim through and mess around in. After the zodiac adventure we got lunch and headed out to the dive boat to prepare for the main course, the Manta Ray dives. We headed out to the sight and did our first dive to familiarize ourselves with the sight where the Manta dive would occur. We got to see the eel gardens, where eels would poke their heads out of the little holes in the sandy floor. After finishing the first dive, we surfaced and briefed for the Manta Ray dive. We learned about their feeding habits and other little facts about Manta Rays. For one, they eat plankton, which is anything that can’t swim against the current, and also they have Gill filters to filter out the food and the water. After the briefing we headed down into the water to get to the site. At the bottom we situated ourselves in a circle, and we sat on either our butts or our knees. I decided to sit on my butt and put a rock in my lap to help keep me down. Then we shined our lights up to the surface and the show started. First we had one Manta Ray start by feeding in the middle where the big stage lights were. Then they would do crazy cool flips and they would pull these huge turns across the edge of the circle opening their mouth to eat above the people. I personally had a Manta Ray eat over my head and flip over my head like four or five times, and the third time, a Ray hit me in the forehead with his fin. At sixty minutes, we grouped up and headed up to the surface to take off the wetsuits and head home. Getting ready for bed, I could only think about the next two days, the black water and The Valley hike. The black water dive has been on my mind since the start and each day that passes I get more and more anxious to explore the pitch black water. Also, The Valley sounds so sick because it’s a black sand beach and the other group said it is beautiful.
