Kati and I dove at the Hawaiian preserve called "Ho'ona".  It was a
moving experience.

The following is my dive log entry.

We were exploring the shore line access behind the Natural Energy Lab.
At the end of the dirt road is a gate.  As we stood at the gate, some
locals drove up in a car, opened the gate, and a man said, "the young
girl will lead you in and tell you about this place".  The girl told
us she was 10.  She showed us the grave sites.  Some of the graves
were for women, some for children, and some were for men.  She told us
about the ceremonial area for the noontime dance.  As we entered the
campsite, "Joe" (not his real name) told us more.  He pointed out the
taro-root field and the canoe house.  He, his family, and friends
are caretakers for this place.  It is a preserve of a village from the
late 1800s and early 1900s. We guessed that 100s of Hawaiians lived
there.  They smoked meat in a smokehouse and swam with Dolphins in the
cove.  "Joe" told us the young girl pats the rocks at the water's edge
and feeds a shark.

"Joe" did not allow us to drive our car in to the site, but said we
could carry our gear in and dive.  As we returned with our SCUBA gear,
he met us and we walked to the water's edge.  There "Joe" said a
blessing, first in Hawaiian, and then in English.  He referred to the
protective shade of the mountain volcano, and the veins of the rivers
leading to the ocean.  He asked for our safety and that we return with
more knowledge and strength after our dive.  He welcomed us to come
again and mention his name if others at the site asked who we were.
He told us he was the Hula and Martial Arts teacher.

The dive was great!  The entry was via a ledge.  There was some surge,
but the ledge was shielded from surf.  It was about 20 feet deep at
the entry, and dropped to 40 feet 100 yards from shore.  Then it
dropped to over 100 feet deep.  We swam south.  Since we had seen 50+
dolphins from shore, we swam looking up and out hoping to swim with
them, but no such luck.  After turning back, Kati grabbed my arm...a
Manta with an 8 foot wingspan was just 25 feet away!  The Manta soon
disappeared into the depths.

We got out of the water OK.  We will do this dive again!  Perhaps next
time we will turn to the north at the entryway.

I hope we meet "Joe" again.

Rank this among my top 10 dive experiences ever!

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