©2009 Kunz&Kunz
Seal watching at Gerstel Cove
There’s nothing like taking your feet on a vacation that you too can enjoy. Or so one would think if following us around on vacation. Vacationing in Maui will find us up at the crack of dawn. If there’s scant sun for tanning on the beach, no matter. We’re there for the rocks our feet can enjoy anyway. Driving a hundred miles so our feet can visit their favorite beach in northern California?
No problem.
Okay. So we’re there to sun and enjoy nature too. Our rock walking hobby has given us unforgettable scenes. There was the time we were walking on the ocean-smoothed lava rocks at Grandma’s Beach in Maui when two male humpback whales decided to give us a show, fighting over a female and performing a full range of behaviors usually seen only in books (breaches, tail slaps, head slaps to name a few). Seal moms and pups and sea lions and sea otters have waved at us (or so it seemed) as they swam by in Northern California.
The eroded rocky ocean-side terrain of Gerstel Cove at Salt Point State Park in Northern California, gave us an opportunity to experience tafoni, a rare geological surface found in only a few places on earth. Like kids turned lose at Disneyland, our feet couldn’t decide where to go next. There were so many things to see and do: big rocks, little rock, rocks embedded in stone and, most incredibly and most challenging, the honeycomb-like tafoni all while surrounded by sea creatures and some of Mother Nature’s most unusual geographic formations.
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
Tafoni forms when erosion from wind and water shapes the sandstone, previously leached of its moisture with deposits of hardened rock on the surface. The result is a visually interesting and foot-stimulating ridged surface. The word tafoni is from the Italian for perforated and examples of this type rock are also found on Sardinia and Corsica. (To create this effect at home, we’ve first visited the aquarium section of the pet store and purchased the shallow rock basin for the bottom of the tank. A word of warning: this is extreme.)
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
Point Reyes National Seashore close to San Francisco offered tide pooling opportunities to keep us busy as our feet enjoyed the varied rocky surfaces..Point Reyes National Seashore
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
Maui
Lovely smooth rocks of all sizes and lovely views make Grandma’s Beach in Maui a favorite natural walking reflexology site. Viewed to the east is Haleakala, a volcanic crater rising to 10,000 feet; to the south is Kahoolawe and to the west is the island of Lanai.
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
Looking to the east and a cloud-shrouded Haleakala
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
Looking to the west and the island of Lanai
©2009 Kunz&Kunz
Close-up of ocean-smoothed rocks
The Reflexology Path kit from Barnes & Noble
2 comments:
The scenery there is beautiful. I will take pics of where I walk on my 'staycations'. I am fortunate to live near a lake where I walk bear-foot on a variety of stoney textures. I like to finish with deep sand. My feet are sensitive so if I do it for too long it hurts. Or is that the idea?
Peter
Peter Start slowly and warm up first. Calf stretching is a good warm up. A foot roller can help. It should not hurt after you have walked. It may be too much. Find your comfort level. Hope this helps. Kevin Kunz
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