The breeze rustles through the palm trees as you store your gear on the boat and get everything ready for today’s dive. Once in the water you have the feeling of almost being weightless as you glide effortlessly and gracefully through the warm tropical salt water.

As you enter the open-top Sea Cave you start to watch three playful Hawaiian Monk Seals swimming overhead. As they watch you they become curious, and finally venture down from the surface to investigate.

For what seems like hours the playful seals gracefully glide past, seemingly performing an underwater ballet with you. They rub their whiskers on you to investigate you almost like a dog sniffing you. They stare inquisitively at you only inches away, cocking their heads from side to side. From time to time sipping off of the air bubbles released from your scuba system so that they can stay down longer with you. You then realize that you are one of the fortunate few that will ever have the opportunity to swim with or even see the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seals this close in person.

Scuba diving is an experience like no other. Once you become comfortable underwater, you start to feel at one with nature. On a Drift Dive, the feeling of floating where the sea takes you underwater is like no other, it is one of the most free feelings I have ever experienced.

Unfortunately living in Hawaii everyday you start to take it all for granted. You begin to just think of it as just another day like any other. You no longer notice the breeze as it gently drifts through the palms, or the slight salt mist in the air. You no longer appreciate the gentle tropical flower scents all around you.

I have lived in Hawaii for the past eleven years, and I do not know when this transformation happened to me. I did not even realize that it had happened until I started scuba diving this year. The more I dive the more I start to take notice of things again, like a veil is being lifted off of my senses. I start to appreciate again that yes, I truly do live in Paradise.