On our first full day in Hawaii, we didn’t really know what to do. So, after an eventful breakfast, we headed to the south shore of the island to hit the beach. Located on the Kaʻū coast, Punalu’u Black Sand Beach is famous for its black, volcanic sand.
We found a shady spot under a large palm tree to set up our home base for the afternoon. We laid out our towels and dug our toes into the black sand. Since the Big Island is the newest of the Hawaiian islands, the volcanic rock hasn’t had the opportunity to erode into finer grains, so the beach was rather coarse.
Nonetheless, we dug our hands into the sand searching for sea glass and tiny seashells. We rested our eyes under the shade of the palms as the fronds crackled like a kindling. We picked at our leftover papaya from breakfast and enjoyed the late afternoon rays.
After our lazy beach lounge, we decided to explore the shores of the beach. We put our bags back in the car and headed to the rocky coastline to search the tidepools for life. As our shadows crept over the pools, little crabs scurried back into the crevices. I spotted my first barnacles, like tiny well-fed octopi clinging to the rocks as the waves crashed in. We even saw anemone on the rocks in the pools.
As the sun started to set, we headed back towards the main part of the beach. A small crowd had gathered near the shore, and a family with young children stood in the water pointing excitedly at a sea turtle surfing in the waves. They were within a few meters of the turtle as it looked for a warm place to bask in the fading light of the sun, but with the large audience gawking, there was nowhere for it to go besides waiting in the waves.
We stood further back, at the crest of the hill along the shore waiting for the crowd to disperse. The sunset colors danced on the rough ocean, a masterpiece above the surface with a treasure just below.
After a while, the family removed themselves from the turtle’s space and it was able to come closer to shore. Eventually, we were the only ones still watching, not pointing or causing a commotion, just purely enjoying the presence of the turtle as it bobbed up and down in the waves. It was just barely visible; as the wave curled, the turtle could be seen in the clear arc of the wave before it crashed in on itself. A dance in the shallows between the turtle and the ocean.
In honor of our first-ever sea turtle spotting, we both treated ourselves to t-shirts from the little gift shop on the beach. It was a magical first day in Hawaii.
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