Makua beach is a lovely crescent of golden sand framing unbelievably bright turquoise waters. The green Waianae Mountains add another dimension of color and ambiance. As the sun rises, people make their way to the water listening for squeaks and clicks. A large pod of spinner dolphins lives here, using the clear water to rest.
With a handful of friends, we swam way out into the ocean to listen for these small indicators. We saw graceful green sea turtles, vibrant reef fish, but nothing resembling the curved dorsal fins and bottle noses we sought. We swam back in. Two of our group were having equipment malfunctions.
When we arrived, people started heading out in force (all fifteen of them). Mike and I shrugged at each other and followed. After a few minutes, we started hearing the chatter of ocean mammals. Then they were suddenly right next to us! A pod of twelve including two babies swam and spun, exhilarated from a night of hunting. We followed for a while, but were just too slow to keep up. As I surfaced, I noticed they were coming around for a second pass. The group had actually combined with another pod. Beautiful silver spinner dolphins were everywhere! They gossiped and played paddy cake and did little flips in the air. It was the coolest thing! 
Once we lost the pod, we played in the ultra blue water and dove around looking at the fishes and coral. What a perfect morning!
