Day Nine: Tide Pools and Hula

This morning we headed back to Puako to see the tide pools during the day time. We found out that there were many more active organisms during the evening. However, it was much easier to hike the lava during the day!

While the marine science students were busy in the tide pools, Seth and Nick were headed out for their first dive.

It may not have been the best hula on the island, but we had the best time trying! 

Day Eight: Heiau, Pololu Valley Hike, and Night Time Tidepool

Our first stop today was a sacred ancient Hawaiian heiau. This heiau is significant because there is still a family taking care of it as their ancestors did. We learned that this, Mookini, was a sacrificial heiau where Hawaiian warriors hoped to gain mana (power). We also saw the birthplace of Kamehameha I.

Before heading out for another lab, we stopped at one of the King Kamehameha I statues.

In the afternoon, we hiked down Pololu Valley to do a wave lab. This was a lengthy hike but worth it in the end to get down to a black sand beach. 

After our hike, we had another sunset dinner at Hapuna followed by some ice breaker games. We were treated to another beautiful sunset.

Chanting as the sun went down:

Our final portion of the day was at Puako where we did a night time tidepool lab. Here, we investigated the organisms living in the tidepools. We had a chance to interact closely with many marine critters!

As the blog author, I want to take this opportunity to share with everyone that Kumu Monica said that the crab below was the BEST find of the summer...and I found it :) This is an anemone crab. The crab will attach several anemones to its shell for protection. The crab gets a body guard, the anemone gets a free ride. Credit to Nick for the awesome pics.- Ms. Hartman