Hawaii

We landed in our first port today, in the city of Wakikii. The beaches, as well as the landscape, was incredible. I hadn't been to Hawaii since I was very young, but I didn't remember it being that beautiful, although you don't tend to appreciate that kind of beauty as a hyperactive, chocolate covered lip child. The beach looked like one of those tropical paradise posters, fully equiped with torquois water and white sand beaches. People were surfing all over the place, and the way the waves were breaking it looked very easy. I witnessed first timers and older men riding a wave into shore for the first time. I would have loved to surf, however, since we only had one day in this port, I didn't get the chance to surf, because our skydiving vans picked us up in front of our ship early that afternoon. The our drive to the north shore landed us at one of the most run down, unorganized skydiving fields I had ever seen. When they say Hawaiin's are relaxed, I didn't expect them to be so relaxed about such a dangerous activity. Oh well, you only live once. We went in, signed our lives away, and within fifteen minutes (no tutorial of course) we were on our way to hop into the sliding door of a single propelled airplane. We took off, myself, and five other kids who looked like they had already soaked their pants, and climbed higher and higher over the light blue ocea, that shifted shades of blue with its depths. We could see across the whole island. From dowtown and pearl harbor, to the rainforest in the east that had a beautiful rainbow hovering over it. The mezmorizing beauty and relazing hum of the plane was interrupted by the slamming open of the door, telling us it was time to go. I had previously told my partner that I wanted to do some flips out of the plane, he complied, and we exited the plane with three fron flips. Oh how exciting that was. After my one minute of free fall, my chute opened, and my fear of death relinquished. As we coasted to safety, I looked down at my friend and fellow UW student, Bryce, and noticed he was not experiencing the same relief I was, as his chute was tangled upon itself. My instructor told me to look down and watch them, as they were going to cut the chute, and use the safety chute, or last chance chute. A second later, I watched the tangled chute drift with the wind, and Bryce and his instructor plummit to the ground below, which was now about three or four hundred yards from the ground now. Fortunately, after Bryce's big white legs dangled uncontrollably, the safety chute was opened and they descended towards the ground. Bryce's was in high spirits when he reached the ground, and actually said he would like to go again. The day was very fun, and we ate a smal dinner back in town afterwards before we got back on the ship.