Hanauma Bay

...Continued from yesterday:
      The following morning, Wednesday morning, we met just before sunrise in the lobby of the Hale Koa,

...to grab some breakfast at the Java Cafe in the lobby,

...before leaving at 6 am for a morning of snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, located on the east shore of Oahu and by reputation the best snorkeling beach on the island. 
     Fortunately for us the daily congestion had not yet taken over the streets of Waikiki,  

...or the highways, and the trip to the east shore took us about half an hour.
      Hanauma Bay is a state park with a $7.50-per-peron entrance fee; however since we arrived before 7 am we didn't have to pay the fee.
       And so at 6:30 am we tromped down to the beach,

...toting our snorkeling gear, which Maria had rented for us the day before from an outfit called Snorkel Bob's in Waikiki.

    Our first view of Hanauma Bay in the early morning light.

   We were treated to some breath-taking panoramas during our hike down into the deep basin of the beach,

...such as the coral reefs, visible beneath the water.

      Hanauma Bay beach.

     When we arrived at the beach we donned our masks and fins,

...and swam out to the coral reefs to join the other snorkelers who'd come to look at the variety of colorful tropical fish that inhabit the reefs.

    Except for Tom, who stayed on the beach to keep an eye  our things.

      Me, prior to my first attempt at snorkeling.

     As for me, once I got up my courage to put on the gear, allow myself to be led out to the reef and give snorkeling a try, I lasted about five minutes. The sea was too cold, I don't know how to swim, I couldn't stand putting my face underwater even with a mask, I don't even like being in water, and being that close to live fish gave me the creeps, even the beautiful exotic fish swimming among the coral reefs.
    So I paddled back to shore and handed my snorkeling gear over to Tom so that he could go mingle with the beautiful fish. I then took over sitting on the beach and watching  our stuff and letting everybody else enjoy  watching the fish, which was fine by me.
      When we arrived at Hanauma Bay at 6:30 am there was already a fair number of people on the beach.

     However by 8:30 am the beach was getting crowded,

…and by the time we left at 9:45 am the was a long, slow-moving line of people that stretched from the park entrance all the way down to the beach.

     Stopping for a photo shoot on the way up from the beach.

    Then we packed up our snorkeling gear and headed out for the now crowded freeway back to Honolulu.

    To be continued...