Falling Back In Love With The Ocean

When we moved to Hawaii back in August 2021, getting settled on land was our first priority. We focused on setting up our little cottage in the jungle, tried our hand at gardening, and got a puppy. You would think that moving to an island meant that tons of ocean time would be in our future, but after a few months of living an hour or so from the beach, Lou and I realized that we had not been swimming in weeks. Anyone else who has experienced life with a puppy knows that those first few months can be all-consuming. The puppy needs so much attention and when it doesn’t it needs naps. It can get tired, over-heated, and over-stimulated quite quickly.

Not to mention, we moved here after literally living on the water. We might have only been aboard Penelope a few months, but between getting ready for the ocean crossing, the 8 days on the Atlantic, and then a few weeks in Bermuda, we did feel quite saturated with ocean time. The jungle felt so good. The sun was shining almost constantly. In every direction, we could see from our porch the world was bright green, with mango trees and starfruit trees, and now our little garden beds growing too.

But as the puppy got older, we started to feel this pull towards the water. We would drop Freja off at a friend’s house and spend the morning snorkeling, diving deep below to swim alongside the fish and the turtles. Then we started hearing the most incredible sounds with our heads underneath - the whales had arrived in Maui for the winter and they were singing! Just from shore, you can watch them play on the horizon and sometimes even closer too. They’re giving birth to their babies in Maui’s warm water after swimming thousands of miles all the way from Alaska. It feels so special to be pregnant in the water with them and see them nurture their babies. We were lucky enough to go out on a boat and see the whales in their element and there really is nothing like watching a female gigantic whale leap from the water so gracefully and then have her “little” baby copy her and jump right out too.

Now we try to get to the ocean at least once a week to spend time underwater. Lou has been getting really into underwater videography and photography and while I might be able to go snorkel for 30 or 40 minutes, he’ll stay in for hours. Lounging with the turtles, experimenting with different camera placements, and always keeping his eyes peeled for an octopus, which is quite a tricky thing to spot since he’s color blind!

There is something so healing about the saltwater and the sun, which I’ve always known, but was completely reminded of after a 3 week period of rain here in the jungle this past December. When Lou finally took me to the other side of the island to escape cold, damp, rainy weather, jumping into the ocean with the sun on my back is a memory I will always cherish.

So now we are finding the perfect balance of island life for us. Our cozy little one room cottage in the heart of the jungle and also finding space in our weeks for the big drive to the West Side, so that we can be with the ocean. After our sailing adventures, there were moments were I wasn’t sure if my relationship with the ocean would ever be the same, but I’m so grateful to say that our time in Hawaii is healing all of that fear. I have such a deep respect for the ocean and all her power, and with each time back in the water I feel more connected than before.