Day 5: Now we're Sevillians!

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Today, we packed our bags, and we were off to Seville. We first walked to the train station and got past security pretty quickly. After that, we boarded the train. There was a big foldable table and a nice soft seat. We finished some work, ate a croissant, and played Candy Crush. Once we got off our train, we went to our very nice 4-floor apartment in downtown Seville. The first floor had an empty pool and a bedroom with a bathroom attached. The second floor had a full kitchen, a dining area, and a comfy living room. The third floor had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. The last floor had a washing machine and led to the terrace, which had beautiful views. After the apartment manager left us, we went for lunch and had pizzas and tapas. Afterward, we chilled out for a while and settled into our apartment (when we arrived, the cleaners were still cleaning the apartment). We then went for a little and had a yummy chocolate crepe with gelato. We also had a waffle with drizzled chocolate an
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Day 7: Snorkeling with the Rays

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Today was an experience of a lifetime!

 

Today we woke up in our hotel, had some breakfast in our room, and then went down to our car. We drove to a historical park called Pu'uhonua O Hōnaunau National Historical Park. It was just 30 minutes from our hotel, and once we arrived, we downloaded the National Park Service app and used the audio tour to learn about ancient Hawaiian history. We learned about the old buildings and even a board game called Konane. It's played with white and black stones on a board with slight depressions carved in the rock.

After exploring the park, we took our snorkeling gear and went to Hōnaunau Bay or the Two-Step snorkeling spot. It is a very short walk from the entrance of the historical park, so we got into the water quickly. We didn't bring water shoes, so we were stuck with our feet on the sharper rocks. However, there were many brightly colored fish swimming around near the rocks, so it was worth it.

After snorkeling, we drove back to our hotel and caught some sleep. We were exhausted, and we would need more energy for our nightly swim… with Manta Rays!

We drove to the snorkeling office to pick up our wetsuits for the Manta Ray swim in the evening. Then we went to the harbor, where we would get on the boat. By the time we reached, it was pitch black outside, but the streetlight showed us the way. We then found the coordinator, so we waited until the boat was docked. Meanwhile, we learned that we would be holding onto a giant floating board with our head under the water in a superman style. There would be some ankle floats on the boat, so we didn't have to kick to stay up. This made it much easier to admire the Manta Rays.

Soon the boat was docked, and we got onto the boat. We put on the ankle floats while the captain steered the boat to the snorkeling area in the ocean. Once we reached, we met a person in the water who asked us to jump off the ship and grab onto the board. It looked scary, but once we jumped off and held the board, we felt much safer. All there was to do was look downward. We immediately saw a few Manta Rays having their dinner of plankton as they glided along the water. They were filtering out the seawater and keeping the plankton through their gills. They made some loops to get all the food, and sometimes they even touched you! It was an extraordinary experience watching the Manta Rays, and we had a lot of fun. After our time was up, we climbed back into the boat and we drove back to the dock.

After that, we were cold and wet but it was definetly worth it to see these gentle giants. That was all for today!


Comments

  1. Harvey SpecterFebruary 9, 2022 at 9:38 AM

    Manta Rays will always be a fun to watch. Snorkeling is one of the best underwater adventures you should surely try once in your life. Just ensure you have a proper functioning Snorkeling Gear with you while you Dive.

    ReplyDelete

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