“Land is the other way,” I yelled over the roar of the
outboard motor.
“Thought you might like to see some whales.” he said with a
sly smile.
After spotting a few flips of tales in the distance, he
careened the boat toward the shore of the Big Island where jagged black walls
of crusted lava meet the sea. Our
captain slowed the engine as we glided into the serene bay where Captain James
Cook met his demise at the hands of Hawaiians. We were greeted by about a
hundred petite spinner dolphins doing back flips, triple spins and riding in
our wake five abreast!
Once back on board we
were told that the walls above the bay are filled with the bone of great chiefs.
A young boy was lowered on a rope to place them there. When the deed was done,
the rope was cut and the boy plunged to his death. He also explained with accurate and vivid
detail why the great navigator was stabbed in the back. I was glad that his rendition supported my
theory that it was justifiable homicide.
Enough talk. Next, we were off on a full-throttled ride on
the back of huge swells crashing into caves and blow holes sending huge plumes of
white into the sky. An abrupt halt in a
small crescent bay brought us to a fierce looking rock face attached to a
reclining torso said to be an altar where sacrifices were made to the volcano
goddess Pele.
Jack, our second in command, lay prone to help us imagine her voluptuous
outline. I’ve done more research than I
should into sacred sites on the Big Island and this one was news to me. I was very excited to make this discovery,
but I think it might have been a story our Captain thought would make for a
more exciting ride. This spectacular day with Captain Zodiac is part of the
all-inclusive “Un-Cruise” Adventure holiday aboard the Safari Explorer.
Adventure-travel writer, Linda
Ballou, shares Great Outdoor days in L.A, as well as a host of travel articles
on her site, along with information about her travel memoir, Lost Angel Walkabout-One Traveler’s Tales,
her historical novel Wai-nani, A Voice
from Old Hawai’i and her latest action-adventure novel The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon at-www.LindaBallouAuthor.com.
Her quest today is to get to
as many beautiful places as she can before they are gone. Subscribe to her blog
www.LindaBallouTalkingtoyou.com and receive updates on her books, and travel
destinations.
