It's Turtle Time!

Half expecting this turtle to hail me with a " Yo, dude!", I was surprised when this guy showed up at our private little beach. Janene and I had searched the island for some new beaches we hadn't seen. Back in a little cul-de-sac, we found the familiar Shoreline Access sign and headed down the small trail that ran through the undergrowth. We came out , not at a sunny sandy beach, but at a rocky outcropping at low tide. We were there for a while looking at stuff in the tidal pools, when we noticed about seven of these guys feeding on the rocks.

We couldn't figure out what they were eating, but they were pretty intensely focused on it. The waves would crash against the rocks and we expected to hear a loud "Crack" every time as their shells were dashed to pieces on the rocks, but it never happened. Every once in a while, they would have to come to the surface to say hello to us.

Who would have ever thought that sea turtles have teeth? Each one of these guys was a little different. You could tell the difference by the markings on their shells. One of them was a good size, about three and a half feet across. We stayed here about half a day on our last day, watching turtles and watching whales in the distance. We had the whole place to ourselves most of the time.

When it came time to leave, our new friends popped up to wave good-bye and wish us luck on our journey. I never thought I would like Maui. It is the most commercial of all the islands, and definitely the most expensive, but it also seems to have the most abundant sea life. The trade-offs appear to be worth it.