Difficult choices

We’re down to our last week on Maui and we’ll have to make some tough choices as to where we’ll snorkel. Will it be the coral, the fish, the turtles, the eels, the octopuses, the rays or all of the above?
On Wednesday, we head for the black sand beach at Oneuli. Even before we put on our snorkel gear, we’re treated to a turtle display. Clearly visible from shore, there are several turtles feeding on the sea grass at the edge of the beach. The visibility isn’t great here as the breaking waves are stirring up the bottom sand so we head for deeper water to the left. As the water clarity improves, we see more and more turtles–a dozen or more during our out-and-back. The corals pretty good also. On the way back, we spot a couple of octopuses but can’t get any decent pictures. Another site to add to our list of favorites. If only we had time for a return trip.
Thursday finds us headed to West Maui for another crack at Honolua Bay. This time the river is back to its normal trickle and the visibility is much better. The coral has been taking a beating though since our last visit in 2003 and there’s a lot of debris on the bottom of the bay. Still, lots of big fish and some nice coral. Then Doreen spots a large moray eel who puts on a show for us. He’s swimming from one coral outcrop to another until he finds one that is riddled with holes. Then he proceeds to show off his flexibility by playing hide-and-seek through the coral head. There are times when we can see pieces of the eel in three or four gaps in the coral. There are even times when the eel runs into a dead end and has to back up. We backtrack to Kahekili and enjoy another snorkel before lunch. After lunch, we spend some time browsing the shops in Lahaina and Doreen finally finds her blue bed cover. (Now all she has to do is quilt it.)
We don’t get to snorkel on Friday as the water is too rough at the spots we visit so we settle for some sun time on the beach at Mokapu. This beach is virtually deserted since the Renaissance hotel is closed and being replaced. Doreen doesn’t have much energy so she spends the morning reading on the beach while I take a stroll along the pathway that meanders between the hotels and the beaches along this stretch of Wailea.
Saturday, we finally get to snorkel at Chang’s Beach and head to the right which puts us right back in the same area we’d visited from Po’olenalena a couple of weeks ago. The turtle convention is still in full swing but Doreen finds the surge a little disconcerting and we cut our session short. We talk to another couple on the beach and learn that the left side may be even better. Another place to put on our re-visit list. Because we got an early start this morning, we have time to make another trek to the Fishbowl to top up our fish quota.
All that’s left now are the rays. We’ve been back to Ahihi II a couple of times since our first visit but water conditions haven’t been conducive to snorkeling. Tomorrow is our last chance. We fly to Oahu on Monday morning and won’t be doing nearly as much snorkeling there.