Cape Zampa

A sunny and windy day in Okinawa inspired us to try a new snorkeling spot. Ryan said he had a place in mind that he'd visited before but that I'd not yet seen.

This sign did not have a calming effect, but it was a great day and I wanted to get in the water. We brought a friend and the three of us suited up for an afternoon in the water. After a brief but warm walk in our wetsuits to the water's edge, we prepared our masks and began our entrance. The current was stronger than I'd anticipated, and the reef break looked more rough than it did from the parking lot.  I thought about going for it, but just did not feel comfortable.  Since Ryan had another buddy, I told the guys to go ahead without me, that I would spend the afternoon birding and taking pictures.

I'm not sure what quasi-national park is, but sometimes I feel as though all of Okinawa's waters should be completely protected rather than sort-of, kind-of, sometimes.  Perhaps that's what this means: a truly valuable area in terms of natural resources, but inundated with people and other "constituency groups," as we say in conservation.  There are two hotels near the lighthouse that is at the tip of Cape Zampa, and a very nice beach just south of the cape.  This means lots of people, and a bit too crowded to go marching through with Hawaiian slings and then carry out fish on a stringer.

Cape Zampa has walking paths and lookouts for those who are not inclined to go into the water. Other than the wind, today was a beautiful day to be outside.  I took some time to appreciate how the Japanese create some beautiful sitting areas, and did a bit of birding.  

Every now and again, I would look across the rocks we'd passed on our way to the water's edge to look for Ryan and Mike.  Turns out it was a bit further away from the parking lot than it seemed.  If you look closely, here's Ryan's yellow float:

Can't see him?  I needed binoculars.  Here's a close-up:

Turns out I made the right decision to stay on land.  The guys came back from the water empty-handed in terms of fish, but not in terms of battle scars.  Ryan wore some new snorkeling clothes I'd surprised him with, and returned with holes in his leggings and the bottoms underneath.  The water was rough when we arrived, and even more treacherous on the way in.  The rocks that house coral and provide shelter for fish are beautiful and unforgiving when a wave crushes you on top of them.  More battle scars for him to tell a whale of a tale.