In the Land of Seahorses

Sometimes, when you least expect it, you find a place that takes your breath away from sheer enchantment.  For me, that place was Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm.

It isn't one of Hawaii's big attractions.  You probably won't even find it in most guide books.  My husband and I found it only by sheer luck, having seen a tiny blurb for it nestled in among the huge, glossy ads for helicopter tours and lava excursions.  I knew, immediately, that it was something I just had to do.

The "farm" itself is off the beaten path.  It's in an area devoted mostly to industry and research, and when you reach it, it hardly looks like an attraction worth paying for.

It was, however, to be worth every penny we spent.

The tour begins with a sink and a bottle of sun-warmed iodine.  The well-being of the seahorses comes first at Ocean Rider, as well they should.  After paying, the cashier directs you to the sinks and asks that you scrub up to your elbows in order to rid yourself of sunscreens and lotions and anything else that might be harmful to the creatures that live on the premises.  Accordingly, throughout the tour, floor mats soaked in iodine are placed at strategic locations so that nothing harmful is tracked inside.

The tour begins with the babies -- tiny, tiny seahorses barely bigger than a fingernail.  There are no pictures allowed there (or in any of the indoor sections), in order to not disturb the creatures.

A marine biologist guided our tour, giving us a history of Ocean Rider (it was started by a husband and wife), an idea of Ocean Rider's vision (to better learn about seahorses in order to preserve them in our oceans, as well as to increase their life expectancy in captivity), and a whole lot of information about seahorses.

The tour even included a little fresh seaweed snack for those with a little culinary bravado.

The seahorses are enchanting -- beautiful, friendly, inquisitive creatures that showed as much interest in us as we did in them.

There are other creatures there too, including shy sea dragons and other endangered fish that Ocean Rider hopes to help.

But the highlight of the tour came at the very end of the visit -- getting to hold a seahorse.

I can honestly say I've experienced nothing like it, ever, and I don't know that I ever will.

Visiting Ocean Rider Seahorse Farm was the experience of a lifetime, and one that I would recommend to anyone visiting the Kona Coast of Hawaii's Big Island.

They have a website, too.  Anyone who's interested in learning more about seahorses can visit them online at http://www.seahorse.com/.