The purpose of our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii was to swim with Manta Rays. Click here for more information on Manta Rays
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manta_ray
Another body suit for us ladies! We wore wet suits to keep us warm because we were snorkeling at night. We prepared to board our boat just as the sun was setting.
Once on board we took the 5 minute ride to the "special spot". A naturalist talked with us about manta rays before we got in the water and snorkel gear was passed out.
We were lucky enough to have 7 manta rays in the water with us that night. The picture above is the belly or underside of a manta ray. The markings on their belly are like our finger prints.
They swim in circles while they feed on plankton with their mouth wide open. When they circled up by us we were belly to belly.
They swim like birds fly and flap their wings. Skeleton is made completely of cartilage just like a shark making them part of the shark family.
Close up picture of the manta ray looking into the camera. They really liked eye contact. The wing span of the mantas during our swim were up to 9-10 feet in length.
This picture is looking into their mouth. You can see through their gills that they use to breath and to filter plankton. That's a random blue fish in the middle of the picture.
Look at these silly creatures snorkeling at night. Lauren on the left and me on the right.
We really enjoyed swimming with the mantas and even got brushed on our arms a few times...that's how close they get to you! Very unique experience you can't do anywhere else in the world. Such graceful and curious creatures!
Went for dinner at
Bubba Gump's in
Kona at my dad's suggestion after our manta snorkel.
Made a little graffiti on our way back to the airport the next morning. North of
Kona they use coral to write message on the lava rock. It was about to be Mother's Day...so our graffiti was dedicated to Mother's Day.
The purpose of our trip to the Big Island of Hawaii was to swim with Manta Rays. Click here for more information on Manta Rays http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manta_ray
Another body suit for us ladies! We wore wet suits to keep us warm because we were snorkeling at night. We prepared to board our boat just as the sun was setting.
Once on board we took the 5 minute ride to the "special spot". A naturalist talked with us about manta rays before we got in the water and snorkel gear was passed out.
We were lucky enough to have 7 manta rays in the water with us that night. The picture above is the belly or underside of a manta ray. The markings on their belly are like our finger prints.
They swim in circles while they feed on plankton with their mouth wide open. When they circled up by us we were belly to belly.
They swim like birds fly and flap their wings. Skeleton is made completely of cartilage just like a shark making them part of the shark family.
Close up picture of the manta ray looking into the camera. They really liked eye contact. The wing span of the mantas during our swim were up to 9-10 feet in length.
This picture is looking into their mouth. You can see through their gills that they use to breath and to filter plankton. That's a random blue fish in the middle of the picture.
Look at these silly creatures snorkeling at night. Lauren on the left and me on the right.
We really enjoyed swimming with the mantas and even got brushed on our arms a few times...that's how close they get to you! Very unique experience you can't do anywhere else in the world. Such graceful and curious creatures!
Went for dinner at Bubba Gump's in Kona at my dad's suggestion after our manta snorkel.
Made a little graffiti on our way back to the airport the next morning. North of Kona they use coral to write message on the lava rock. It was about to be Mother's Day...so our graffiti was dedicated to Mother's Day. 
1 comment:
man it looks like you are having a blast!! and what a tan :) i love looking at your pictures and seeing what you are doing.
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