What did Hawaiian's snack on? One hint is the word pupu which is from Hawaiian but now used in North America as well to refer to a little snack or hors d'oeuvre. Ironically, in Hawaiian, the word pupu is also a general term referring to both seashells and land snails, some of which ended up as snacks or pupus. One of the favorite seashells to snack on is the Opihi (or limpet) as seen in the photo (white w/ black stripes). Just as abalone is considered a delicacy in the mainland, in Hawaii, Opihi is considered "ono" (i.e., really delicious). Thus, imagine my surprise to see these decent-sized opihi on an easily accessible Maui beach, living unmolested. As best I can figure, the mainlanders that have moved in have not acquired a taste for the little algae eating Opihi and thus, these little guys got a reprieve. The purple guys are called wana (general name for the urchin family in Hawaii) and were also eaten although I cannot attest to having tried one myself.
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