By Scott Shephard
Yesterday was the second time our group had gone to Two Step Beach on the Kona side of the Big Island to snorkel. But, like so many places around the world, it is overtouristed and abused. Among the many things that have reduced the number of colorful fish, the most intriguing was the presence of high levels of pharmaceuticals in the water.
“How do prescription drugs get in to the water?” you might wonder. One word: pee. Ugh! It turns out that rosuvastatin, amlodipine, xanax, ritalin and others either repel or kill tropical fish.
Nevertheless, Two Step Beach is also know as a place that spinner dolphins visit from time to time. On day one, we struck out. About 15 minutes into our snorkeling on day two, we had seen some yellow tangs and a few other things but nothing to write home about.
And then, on my left, three or 4 dolphins swam by. Soon there were 20 or 30 of the agile creatures playing around and below us in the blue Pacific water. It is against the law to come within 50 yards of dolphins but it is no crime when the curious animals come to you. And so we spent 30 minutes or so enjoying the show.
My brother-in-law Scott D. said that he had three things on his list for Hawaii: To see an active volcano. Check. To swim with dolpins. Check. And to feel an earthquake.
For the last one, we’ve go 3 days left on the Big Island, but the rest of our group would be more than happy to leave that one unfulfilled.
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