Despite the record number that we took of the sunset on July 25, we do have the ability to capture beautiful sunsets in just a few shots.
Here's proof from July 26 (using a camera phone):
1) From our 3rd floor balcony (lovely power lines):
2) From the roof of our 6 story building:
3) A software enhancement of a shot from our roof:
After an early morning rain, we were greeted by a very pretty rainbow where we normally photograph our sunsets (over the ocean, directly outside our living room balcony). As we gazed & photographed, it slowly faded away.
Here are some highlights:
Labels:
Ocean,
SCUBA,
Underwater
And it lived up to the hype! That's right. At long last, we have fulfilled an ambition in our short dive careers, to dive in the Kerama Islands. After last summer's delights snorkeling with turtle in Tokashiku Bay & with stingrays in crystal clear Aharen Bay, we've been dreaming of how great the diving must be. And even though we didn't see all the big guys that we hoped to (reef sharks & more huggable turtles), we were thoroughly enamored with the beauty of the Keramas at up to 60 feet below sea level.
Via the Kadena Marina (for less than $70!!), we joined Dive Master Scott & Cap'n Bruce aboard the C-Falcon. The 50 km ride took us to Tokashiki Island, largest of the Kerama group, to delight in dives at 2 sites.
First, off the southwest coast (just south of Aharen Beach/Bay), our merry foursome (Aaron, new bud Ike, Betsy & myself) decided not to seek out the nearby boat wreck in 60-80 ft of water but delighted in corals & anemones.
But the highlight of the dive was coming across a nice-sized color-shifting octopus:
We also saw some a few gorgeous nudibranchs:
Not that we didn't see some cool fish too:
For the 2nd dive Cap'n Bruce took us around the southern tip & up to the northeast side of the island (just north of the ferry port) where we looked for sharks & turtles. We did see some some fabulous corals:
As well as an abundance of aquatic life:
But no mega fauna were seen this time out (at least not by us, a few other divers saw a turtle nearby). But the waters were comfortable, clear & cool, regardless of our disorientation (thanks for coming to pick us up, Bruce!).
The water was more still than a lake as we headed out.
And the fish were flying!
We had a great day of fun in the water & we hope to be back over there soon!
Full photo set:
Labels:
Ocean,
Sunabe,
Underwater
We convinced our newly-arrived-in-beautiful-Okinawa friend Ana (a PT coworker of Betsy) to come & experience the majestic Okinawan waters via a snorkeling excursion with us, the vetted pros. But instead of the promised mirth & merriment, we actually delivered rather nasty & painful jellyfish stings.
No, not the small larvae drifting about that we've felt before. These were some large, long-tentacled but extremely-hard-to-see-since-they're-translucent "sea wasp" "Habu-kurage" jellyfish (probably Chiropsalmus quadrigatus, now being renamed Chironex yamaguchii)! That's right, the stinging, get-some-vinegar-or-urine-on-me-pronto kind! Fortunately, there at Sunabe south (aka Water Treatment Plant) dive instructor Scott was nearby with a gallon bottle of vinegar (that'd he'd never before had reason to use) to help ease some of the trauma, after having just warned us & showed us the drying & dying specimens that local boys had removed from the area.
Ana was resilient & willing to continue to pursue her first snorkeling excursion in Okinawa's waters. Despite a 2nd failed nearby attempt, in which only Josh got slightly stung (but NOTHING compared to Ana) & also got a couple of good photos of the evil doers:
We eventually found successful & largely-jellyfish-free waters for some nice snorkeling action a bit further north, from the steps of the Kadena sea wall. The visibility was a bit odd (something, maybe pollution, was floating in the topmost foot of water for some of the time), but Ana claims to have thoroughly enjoyed it (we did, as usual).
We're hoping she has a speedy recovery & joins us again & gets SCUBA certified soon!
Highlights:
Since we had to return some SCUBA rental gear to Torii Scuba Locker in Yomitan, we decided to find a new & hopefully delicious place to have lunch near there. And we succeeded! After reading some very good things in comments to a question posted on another Okinawa blog, OkinawaHai.com, I chose Shimauma (which means Zebra) Curry Shokudou Indian Food Restaurant on Hwy 6, directly across from Kanehide (grocery store with green sign & 2 orange birds - we used to call it Ni-Bird as an homage to San-A). Use Kanehide's parking lot, if you drive there. It's a small place with a small sign, so you might not know it exists even if you drive past it often, but it's right next to a bakery (that has fabulous baguettes & flaky pastries, both have a yellowish awning over their doorways). Shimauma is small (2-3 tables plus a counter, which is where we sat) run by Japanese owners that apparently have learned the Indian style of preparing curries, among a few other dishes. Friends have told us it's not quite authentic Indian, but it's tasty & a great deal. We had the Sampler Set that allowed us to try 3 kinds of curry along with saffron rice, a tomato/onion salad, & chapati bread for about 840 yen. And for our other meal we ordered the VERY tasty Chicken Coconut Curry that also came with saffron rice & the salad for about 740 yen. Both meals were tasty & satisfying. Had we been quite hungry, we probably would have ordered a side of Naan bread for only 150 yen. The restaurant serves lunch from 11:30 until 14:30 & dinner from 18:30 until 21:30, but they're closed on Monday & Sunday night (only serve lunch on Sunday). Hope others enjoy!
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