The Olivine Pools are natural lava swimming pools that sit in the midst of an ancient lava shelf, offering a safe place to swim with the ocean pounding at you on three sides.
Before making the trek down the loose lava rock in order to reach the pools.
Some of the pools were shallow, some were deep, but they all were fantastic!
This was one of the deepest pools, and was like swimming in a giant fishbowl. There were little fish everywhere and the water was so clear you could see all the way to the bottom.
Mike posing on top of one of the lava shelves. You really have to watch the surf, because in some places, a big wave could come and knock you right off!
Not a great shot, but it gives an idea of how long and treacherous the hike was back up to the top. The girls all did much better than I had expected, and I was very glad that none of us had worn flip-flops!
This is the position Rian assumed anytime we were in the car for more than ten minutes. I don't know if it was the small size of our rental, or the windy roads, but neither helped with her tendency towards motion sickness. We were all starving from all the swimming, and headed to lunch at the highly-recommended Star Noodle- the garlic noodles were the best, but we also had Vietnamese crepes and steamed pork buns. The girls swam in the pool at the condo again in the evening. It was great because Mike could watch the girls swim while grilling on the BBQ, and I could make the rest of dinner upstairs in our condo.
