A little sun, sand,salt and a few seals...

I have been knee deep in garden produce, grateful to have plenty to freeze and can for later this winter, It's difficult to think of winter when it's over a 100 degrees. Anyhow, I had a  few spare minutes to gather some vacation photos to share with you--maybe even cool you off a bit!!

First order of business once on Molokai was a trip to La`au Point with my dear friend and seal pal, Diane. The hike to La`au Point is a little over 8 miles--8 miles of pure beauty and solitude. As I walked along I just breathed deeply, the sea was sparkling blue, the sand had a golden hue and the air was just fresh and clean.

 In the above photos you will see turkeys, yes turkeys!! Who would ever think there would be turkeys in Hawaii, but there are LOTS of them!! After approximately 1.25 miles we encountered our first seal(RI13). My friend Diane is pictured here documenting the seals location and identifying the animal for a report for NOAA.  The poor eel in the middle picture met an ugly demise, as it was probably caught on a fisherman's line.

Large adult seal and a weaner!!

 Our next seal encounter was a large adult male known as RM38 and a seal pup born this year, now referred to as a weaner.  If you look closely the the photo on the upper left you will see the difference in the seals size. RM38 probably weighs close to 400 lbs and the weaner RL03 is roughly 100 lbs. RM38 is known for being somewhat of a bully, so we watched and observed this pair for quite some time.

More seals at La`au Point...

Normally we would observe seals just snoozing and resting on the beach.  This day was full of action as these two seals were in a "fighting" mode. Actually one was just sleeping on the beach when the second seal approached (looking for a female) and an all out battle ensued.

  They wrestled for a few minutes and then both swam off. 

In the upper left photo can you find the 3rd seal in the shot?? Looks a lot like a rock!!

The shot of the seal in the upper left is of RH42 (Scar Face) can you see why??

It was finally time to stop for lunch...but not until we investigated a newly dug turtle nest...actually 5 nests were dug...4 would be "false" nests and the final nest will probably contain 80-120 turtle eggs that will hatch approximately Sept.1. The turtle experts can tell the hole with the eggs by the direction that sand was displaced by the female once she left the hole. AMAZING!! Diane, not only is she a "seal lady" but she also helping with the turtle monitoring as well, so she gave me all the turtle scoop!! The upper right photo shows a stick in the middle of the hole, this is presumed the nest with the eggs. Time will tell the story.

Once on our way back to the car we stopped to enjoy the view and collect a bit of sea salt. The sea water is captured in this tide pools, water evaporates and leaves the wonderful sea salt to be harvested by Diane and me....can't beat it, we use it all the time!! Salt is abundant in the summer time.

When we lived on Molokai I did this hike at least twice a week. I knew every rock and nearly every seal along the way. I miss it, the air, the sea, the sand and the seals...but mostly I missed spending time with my friend.

til tomorrow, when I share my seal experience at Kalaupapa...Aloha