Ocean Blue Love.

Busy - one of my non-goals in life.  And what I happen to be now.  In fact, stupid busy is a better way to put it.  Ugh, I dislike it to the max. Actually max as in capital letters, like this - MAX.

But guess what?!  Come Tuesday, I will be unemployed yet again and jobless for a couple weeks.  After my race, I intend to do nada (as they say in spanish) for a few days.  Well, not entirely nothing, of course, cause that's just not my style.  But spending my days on the traffic-light-free island of Moloka'i with my one and only Mama sounds quite like a lovely way to unwind.

My first day off in well over three weeks was totally worth not booking myself for housework in the lands of Russell - a post on my three kiwi jobs is soon to come...

But get this - I shot water!  Thrilling, right?!  ok, maybe not.  But the guy who's spear gun I shot water with actually used it to shoot..........fish - yeah, what it's purpose is for.  Check out what he caught for dinner apparently a not sooo successful venture.

Boy or Girl?

He ended up taking it (the dead fish) to a local fish and chips restaurant, where they deep fried it into divinely smelling goodness with a side of delicious looking fries - all of which I was able to enjoy by looking...and smelling.  But that's about as far as it got for me.  It got devoured by everyone else in a nanosecond, though.  And I did enjoy some crayfish he caught...which was entirely satifisfying seeing that one of them attacked me (well, it snapped its tail while I was holding it and it scared the living schnitzel out of me and I actually dropped it on myself.  way to go.) 

I also got to 'enjoy' this via eating: . 

Mmmmm, tasty (if you heard me via noise and ears, you'd totally hear sarcasm in that Mmmmmm, tasty, btw).  Perhaps it's an acquired taste this kina (as it is named here).  I still think these are some of the most photogenic creatures out there.  Especially their skeletons.  At least they've got that going for them.  And now I know what to hunt down in the event I get stranded in a coral-filled sea.  Somewhere.  out there...

  

So we went freediving in one of the most gorgeous coastlines I've yet experienced in the country.  Well, maybe not entiiiiire country, but at least my time in the small radius of land I've visited in the Northland.  I could have easily spent hours snapping pics - but we were on a mission.  Food!   And ocean.  More specifically, getting inside the ocean.  I donned my only-once-worn-prior wetsuit that I had intended to sell.  It kept me warm.  It's purpose is finally served.  Mr Spearfisher had a spare mask/snorkel, head warmer (more like alien maker) and gloves for me to use.  I rented some fins, booties and weight-belt down the way and we were off to Mahinepua Bay with Mr Rodfisher and Miss I'm-French-I-Don't-Care.

Beautiful Coastline/Mahinepuna

I swim in the ocean  4-5 times a week, so I'm comfortable in the water.  But being COMPLETELY covered head to toe in neoprene and plastic has a little claustrophobic inducing qualities to it.  I survived...especially once the cold water started dribbling through my zippers.  As was mentioned prior, I shot water.  But holding a speargun is a good first step.  One day I will kill my own food.  But in the end, it was my first time properly freediving again in nearly two years so focusing on killing animals was probably not the best idea.  I needed to focus on keeping air in my mask to keep my eyeballs from turning bloodred, and I also needed to focus on making it back to the surface. breathing.  I love the ocean. Especially being immersed in it.

The amount of snot in my nose is worth noting.  by the way.  Too bad I don't have a picture of it.  next time...next time.

My apologies.