Today we just about did ourselves in. We hiked two miles down to Captain Cook’s Monument. “Two miles,” you may say, “that’s a piece of cake for you two.” Oh contraire, this was two miles and 1300 feet down a very narrow, steep path over what another hiker called “giant volcanic ball bearings.”   It was also sunny and hot and we had lunch, towels, and snorkel equipment in our backpacks. It was tough!

None-the-less, we made it down. Just as we reached the flatter part at the bottom, I heard someone behind me call, “Is that Charli up there?” I turned around and there was Joan. She is the one who brought us beer when Tom buried the car – go figure. We hiked the rest of the way and then ended up sitting with her when we all sat down for lunch. It is a small world.

Anyway, once we got to the monument,

we donned our snorkel gear and hit the water – OMG!!!!!! This is one if not the best snorkeling reef I’ve ever found. The reef is huge and teeming with a massive variety of fish – from tiny to large and of every color. The coral ranged from white to rich lavender to brown with pink tips – stunning with urchins and anemone nestled everywhere!!!  Breathtaking!

Snorkeling, lunch, then snorkeling again and it was time to head back two miles and 1300 feet…uggg.  The hike down was bad, the hike up was way worse. By this time it was even hotter with very little shade to be found. Normally we walk at about 3 miles an hour. The trail is about 2 miles one way and it took us nearly two hours to get back up. With the heat and the height, we were stopping to catch our breath and get our heart rates back down every hundred yards.  The good news is that we made it without having to be rescued.

In retrospect, the hike was brutal but the snorkeling was phenomenal and definitely worth the effort. We’ll sleep well tonight!