The whole lot of us went to the North Shore for a couple of adventures. Several of us wanted to see Queens Bath, a pool that is ringed with lava rock and has an area that opens up to the ocean. We parked the cars and unloaded, found the little trail to take us down to the ocean (which wasn’t difficult, there were several people coming up the trail that had just been down there) and started our hike. The path was beautiful, and not too difficult. We followed a stream and saw a small waterfall. Rounding a corner, we saw the ocean smashing into a “beach” of hardened lava.
As we were making our way across the lava, I couldn’t help but think about what the area looked like before the volcano erupted. It is a striking contrast between the blue ocean, white ocean spray and black, porous rock. My thoughts were interrupted by someone telling us where to stop and watch sea turtles. Making our way over to the spot, it took a little while to find them, but there they were. It looked as though they were getting pounded into the rocks, they were so close to shore, but they just kept hanging out there. To me, watching the turtles was like watching a fire. It’s mesmerizing. They are graceful and aren’t in a hurry to get anywhere. A flipper would roll up out of the water, then a head, then the turtle would go underwater and
swim for awhile, then repeat the process, sometimes in the same place, sometimes in a different spot. After turtle watching, I continued on my quest to find Queens Bath (and to catch up to the rest of the group).Upon spotting the pool, I sat down to observe. I could see the bottom from where I sat. The tide appeared to be low, but every so often, a wave would splash on the side of the lava rock and make its way into the pool. Fish were in the pool, being observed by snorkelers, being observed by me. I felt that I could sit there a good portion of the day without getting tired of the view. But the time came that we should start on our next adventure, so we got up and headed out.
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