Snorkeling and Scuba diving

The last time we went Snorkeling and Scuba Diving was for our Greece vacation, 2 years ago.  The kids have been dying to try it again.  Hawaii is a much better place to do these activities as the Mediterranean sea is not really full of colorful sea life.  The first time the kids put their heads down into the water they cried out with excitement and it made my husband and I smile:).

We took two trips one for just snorkeling near Turtles cove were we saw lots of green Hawaiian turtles which are native to the area and another trip where Firedrake and Daddy could scuba dive.  MarioFan is still not old enough to do beginning dives so he and I went snorkeling again.  I can't wait till he is of age to try scuba diving so I can try it out:)

Going to Turtle cove we rode on a catamaran which the kids loved and the got to sit  on top above the waves:)

I didn't have a underwater camera for this trip so you just have to take my word for it that we saw lots of Green Hawaiian turtles:)

The next trip we took out for was a joint snorkeling and scuba diving trip.  The hotel had underwater cameras for rent so I was able to get a few snapshots of what we saw underwater. It was amazing!  While Daddy and Firedrake were getting their safety training on the ships deck, MarioFan and I sat up top with the ship's captain who pointed out landscapes and sea life for us.  While going out in the ship we saw a Monk seal, which is pretty rare, spinning dolphins and on the radio we heard there was a whale near by but we never saw it:(

Getting their lessons with their scuba instructor

Taking the test and signing papers saying they agree that this is a dangerous sport.  Also found out if you scuba dive you can not fly for 24 hours due to the nitrogen in your system.

 My husband and daughter both swam with a buddy diver since they are beginners

 It was quite shock to the system to jump into the cold water but once in the beauty of the fish made you forget the cold water and I of course took a great big mouthful of sea water, yuck!

 My son and I were not able to scuba dive (as my son is still too young) so we went snorkeling instead and still captured lots of amazing shots, of the fish and of Firedrake and Daddy.

 Here my husband and daughter are being taught how to climb down a rope to the bottom of the ocean, they went down about 20 ft

 suddenly about of nowhere a Hawaiian Green turtle pop up right in front of me to take a breath

I tried to follow it

Until it rested on the bottom of the ocean

 Then I went back to taking pictures of my family.

Mario fan was hard to keep up with as once his head was down he just kept swimming after the fish, so I had to keep looking out for him to make sure he didn't wonder off to far.

My poor husband's mask kept flooding due to his beard so he had to quit scuba diving a bit early.  He announced that the next time we go scuba diving he is going to shave off his beard:) so that won't happen again!  For him to want to do that you know he loves to scuba dive!

Exhaustion after a wonderful morning out in the ocean:)

The scuba instructor afterwards told me Firedrake is a natural in the water and must have been born a water baby.  It suddenly occurred to me that she was born under the Aquarius sign;)!  Both MarioFan and I can't wait to join in next time a scuba dive with the other two.