Don't be afraid of the dark.

We recently have been doing some pretty heavy exploring to continue with our bucket list. This past week we did two of the most incredible things we have done since being on the island.

Our dear friends Danny and Zulay took us on a lava tube dive a few days ago. At first we, (okay, just me) were a little weary to climb down in to a cave in complete darkness and snorkel in freezing cold fresh water in the dark. But once we got down to it, it was amazing.

We only had to squeeze into a few small spaces until the entire cave opened up. Though it was dark, you could see with the dive lights that the water was about twenty feet deep. We snorkeled around enclosed by the lava tube and felt completely separated from the outside world. It was amazing, but we were pretty excited to see sunshine as we climbed our way out of the cave.

As an aloha gift, the boat Tommy works on gave us free passes for the manta ray dive. Close to the Keauhou harbor is the Sheraton hotel. The Sheraton puts dive lights out on the water which attracts plankton. Plankton then attracts Manta Rays. Each night boats, kayakers and divers go out in anticipation of a manta ray show. It's hit or miss and manta's don't always show up. However, we got lucky.

We got all suited up in our wetsuits in anticipation for a show. After the first 15 minutes or so of laying in the cold dark water we were just about ready to call it quits until a manta with a wingspan of about 8 feet came to eat.

Despite the size of the manta rays they are surprisingly not scary at all. Even when their enormous mouths are shoveling in tons of plankton 2 feet away from your face (literally). It was magical. Hands down one of the most amazing things we have ever done. I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance.

We ended the manta dive with hot soup, about 10 cups of hot chocolate and memories that will last a lifetime.