Wednesday's Boat Tour

We boarded a 55 foot catamaran to tour the Nepali coastline this morning which is really inaccessible by car. It is a stretch of about 45 miles of stark cliffs and canyons covered in various shades of green on the northwest side of the island. One area was used in the filming of Jurassic Park. There are some beautiful beaches, obviously very secluded since the only way to get there is by boat or an 11 mile hike over rugged terrain. We chose the easy route by motoring in the boat.



We set sail about 8:00 and a breakfast of water, juice, coffee, pastries and fresh pineapple was set out for us. After cruising about 30 minutes we anchored and everyone who wanted to snorkel jumped in. The snorkeling was great once I got used to it. I got to see some beautiful, vibrantly colored and striped fish of all different sizes and shapes. The water was so clear, you could see the very bottom of the reef. My only disappointment in snorkeling is that I didn't get to see a turtle underwater. We did see several from the boat however.



Once everyone was back on board, we continued following the stark coastline. Our captain did a wonderful job of showing us all kinds of hidden coves and beaches all along the coastline. One of the highlights of the day was the pod of spinner dolphins that came out to play with the boat. It was a beautiful sight to see the pod of dolphins in merriment. It's a memory we will carry with us forever.



We had lunch on the boat which was a choice of hamburger, cheeseburger, chicken teriyaki sandwich or a veggie burger, along with coleslaw and beans. They even baked fresh cookies for us on board which were wonderful. It was a great 5 hour cruise.

We came back and got ready for dinner which was at Merriman's which is a local restaurant here in Poipu which has always followed the locally grown trend. Their menu even lists the fisherman that caught the fish you are eating that night. They source their fish from two or three local fishing boats and fly in what they can't get in the area (such as scallops since the chef believes the best scallops come from the northeast). All of the produce they serve is locally grown and organic which made for a wonderful dinner.

I started with the Kauai Fresh Farms Tomato, Moloa'a Beets and Papaya Salad served with a Macadamia Nut Vinaigrette and Kunana Dairy Goat Cheese and it was wonderful except for the green Heirloom tomatoes which I thought were not quite ripe enough.



My entree was a "Create your Own Duo" which is a half serving of two of their entrees, along with the sides all on one plate. It is the perfect choice when you can't decide which entree to order. I had the Pan Roasted Diver Sea Scallops served over creamed sweet corn, and slices of asparagus topped with crispy bacon. The other side of my plate had grilled ahi which was served over a bed of rice with a sweet tomato relish. I really preferred my scallops over the ahi.



Being completely satisfied after my wonderful meal, I decided to skip dessert.

Another wonderful day in paradise.