We spent more time there than we planned, making it late afternoon when we arrived at Hanauma Bay. We plunged into the water and headed straight outside the reef. It was slinking its way in and out of the rubble about 20 feet beneath us. Gail took it well, but you can bet she was not one of the group to dive down for a closer look. Spotted snake eels are mostly nocturnal, coming out in the late afternoon or early evening to sniff around the bottom for small fish and invertebrates.
Eels are common residents of Hawaiian reefs.
But even though all eels are called puhi in Hawaiian, not all eels are alike. Of the snake eels, the spotted is the only one I've seen while snorkeling or diving. This was my second viewing. The other was near Magic Island, a prime spot for the eels in the late afternoon. It's also descriptive of these true beauties.