Monthly Archives: May 2009

Aruba, Curacao, Vacations

Saturday move to Aruba

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The first beach in ArubaWe said good-bye to Curacao and returned to Aruba on Saturday; the short flight was nice and quick. We grabbed the rental car and were checked into Caribbean Palm Village by two. Pelican sailing shipIt’s nice to be back in Aruba. It’s smaller and cozier, and both of us commented on how we feel comfortable here.

We quickly got our stuff together for a dip in the ocean. We chose a site just north of the wreck, with a nice sandy entry to the water. There was a Pelican catamaran there, so we figured that it was a snorkeling trip. At first, we wondered if we’d picked the wrong spot – then blammo! Did we see some happening stuff!

Porcupine fishAs we went around to the right, there appeared to be a cave. I said to Pam, I just know there is a cave there, but I don’t have the guts to swim into it. Down near the bottom, I saw a movement, that looked like a large log, and turned out to be a large porcupine fish! He’s a shy guy, and when I snapped a picture of him the flash went off, and it startled him. Later on, we found him again, shyly hiding in a small hole in the rocks. I have a small movie of him, that I need to edit a bit, but I’ll get it up tonight or tomorrow. He’s a cute guy.Chain moray

We saw another chain moray and stalked him for a while. I’ve got a cool movie of him slinking around, too. He didn’t seem to really care that I was stalking him, and he spent as much time Chain moray - closeupstaring back at me as I did staring at him!

We hadn’t really seen any hermit crabs, but we’ve seen a couple in the last couple of days. Here’s one who has taken over a conch shell. When I approached, he seemed to get very agitated and tried move off.Hermit crab in a conch

We had dinner at Sole Mare, an Italian place five minutes from the Caribbean Palm Village. It was magnificent. Wonderful food, wonderful service. I had the veal pizzaiola, and it was simply fantastic. So tender, the sauce was piquant without being spicy, and came with steamed vegetables. Pam had lemon chicken and it was great as well. The coffee they served was the best I’ve had anywhere in the Caribbean.

Truly a memorable meal.

Curacao, Vacations

Friday with Herby

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Pam in scuba gearFriday was Pam’s big day with Herby, the gigantic grouper. She got instructions on how to use the scuba gear, since it was a dive, not just a snorkel. She got in a sea water pool with stingrays, tarpons, Herby, and tons of other fish, including a huge porcupine fish.

She was able to feed lemon sharks and nurse sharks, as well as some gigantic sea turtles, stingrays and the other fish hanging about! She was certainly pumped about it, and seemed to have a great time.
Playa KenepaAfter her dive, we headed “north” to Westpunt for more open water snorkeling. We visited a small beach called Playa Kenepa, which had the usual assortment of fish. Entry into the water was easy, with a nice sandy bottom. We got to see quite a few flounder here, on the sandy bottom. CoralAlong the left wall, there was some very nice looking coral that was in surprisingly good shape.

We were hoping to see some turtles, so we bailed out of Playa Kenepa and headed a little south to Playa Lagun, another small cove. As we entered the water, another snorkeler mentioned that there had been lots of turtles here – Yesterday! arghhh… We paddled around and it was very nice as well. Sandy entry to ocean, with lots of nice coral.
Blue TangsThe left side had some really fine coral, with a big school of blue tangs. TrumpetfishHidden amongst them was a pair of trumpetfish, with the mouths and head all turned to a purple color, so they could hide with the tangs. Very cool to see.

The right side was covered in crabs! Was really something to see so many of them, basically everywhere! We saw two little tiny flounder, one about 3 inches, the other Crababout 2 inches, chasing each other across the sandy bottom.

We had dinner at a place Pam has been talking about for about 3 months! It’s on Mambo Beach, which is basically a 10 minute walk, or a 5 minute swim, from our condo. We’d read about it on the internet, and people describe it as a fish buffet. That’s wrong, it is not a buffet. It is more like a fish market, where they have displayed fresh fish and seafood. There was grouper, barracuda, silk snapper, red snapper, parrotfish, shrimps, scallops, lobster, moonfish, White flounderflounder…. You chose what you want, how much you want, then pay by the 100 grams. A skewer of 5 shrimps was $12, scallops were $4 EACH, lobster was $19 per 100 grams – some of the fish was as cheap as $7 per 100 grams. They then grill your selection and serve it with coleslaw and potatoes. At close to $150 bucks for dinner, I don’t think it’s good value.

The restaurant is very romantic, with large cushions to lounge on, and it’s right on the beach. The waitress was friendly and good. The only problem is that I want to get a hold of the putz who thought up this serve fish rare idea, and give his head a slap. Fish should be cooked. Period. Those people who want to eat raw fish, oughtta check out this new invention called fire.

Curacao, Vacations

The Royal Sea Aquarium

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Royal Sea Aquarium Resorts We are staying at the Royal Sea Aquarium here in Curacao. The resort itself is on a man-made island, so technically, we’re not even on Curacao! They have a Dolphin Academy, where you can interact with the dolphins, right in the water. They have also what they call Dolphin Therapy, where autistic and troubled kids are given some joy in their lives by interacting with the dolphins.

Dolphin Academy, Curacao We took in the main dolphin show yesterday, and it really was something to see. The dolphins are housed in large ocean pools, and the trainers are clearly in love with them. It was really moving to see the dolphins come to them for a hug and pet.

They do tricks, and some people think this is something dolphins don’t do in the wild, but they clearly do! Jumping over the trainers, somersaults in the air, and breaching and swimming like crazy are things they do. In fact, we were watching Animal Planet last night and the dolphins in the wild were doing exactly these things!

Anyway – it was a total blast to watch the show. And I was glad and a little honored to have witnessed it. Literally, it brought tears of joy to my eyes.

Downtown Rif fortWe were supposed to go fishing this afternoon. Old style fishing, and they’d clean and bbq the fish for us right on the beach. However, it was too windy today, and they cancelled it! I cannot even tell you how disappointed Pam was…. I really felt for her.

So instead we went into town for some sightseeing and a little shopping. The jewelry stores were not as prevalent as they are in Aruba or the Caymans. Not sure if that’s a good thing or not – but the wallet says it’s a good thing!

Juvenile somethingWe snorkeled around the beach here again, and saw some cool fish of course. Always something neat to see. All in all, a quiet day.

Friday Pam is going on an “animal encounter” with a 9 foot grouper called Herby, and she’s going to feed some sharks, by hand naturally. (Hopefully, NOT feeding them a hand….) Then we’re heading out to Westpunt again – to an area where turtles are supposed to frequent.

From the Dolphin show – pretty cool! She throws her pretty high! Must be a riot to do.

Curacao, Vacations

Wednesday in Porto Mari

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Colorful house Playa Porto Mari We went back up to the area we were yesterday, looking for Porto Mari again. We found it this time, and what a find it turned out to be! The beach itself is a labor of love for a family who has lovingly restored it. They’ve added a boardwalk so you can walk the 2 kilometers without burning your feet on the hot sand.

There are lots of chairs and umbrellas, palapas and even some larger shaded areas for large families. There is a dive shop, a restaurant and facilities. Lots of great parking too. The strange thing is, we saw way more scuba divers than snorkelers.
A palometaBUT the snorkeling was amazing! AMAZING. Yesterday I mentioned how we had run out of new fish to see – well was I wrong!! This site provided us with some stunning fish to see, and lots we had never seen before. The highlight was seeing another octopus, but there were several rainbow flounder, and some fish we can not identify, since we forgot our fish book at home! Smart huh? We saw a couple of morays, and one kind of moray eel we had not seen before.

New fishThe entrance to the water is fairly good, some minor rocky bits, but we both got in quite easily. Right away, we saw these amazing silver fish, quite large, 12-20 inches long, with long dorsal fins. They schooled in groups of 8-15 and swam with us for a long time! Quite cute actually…
Chain moray eelOne thing that has surprised us, is that the Sergeant Major is not as prevalent as it was in Aruba and the Caymans. We’ve seen them, but in nowhere near the quantity we’ve come to expect, and the Dusky Sergeant Major is far more common than the yellow/black banded one.

For dinner we went to The Wine Cellar. We chose that particular restaurant because they provide a free shuttle from our condo! Pretty scientific huh? Well, it was quite simply fantastic. The Wine Cellar is a French restaurant, owned by a Dutch couple who have been on the island for 39 years. The restaurant is indoors, and very cozy with wonderful art on the walls. Service, food, ambiance – all impeccable.

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OctopusA couple of movies — first, here is a picture of the octopus. Do you see him? They can blend in very very easily, and sometimes the only way to notice them, is if they move.

Well, I dove down to take a picture of the black fish above, we thought was a grouper (turns out it is called a coney). I thought I’d spied something, so went back up to get my bearings then went down again. Well, when I came around a piece of coral, I startled an octopus and he flashed his warning color.

I’ve added two movies here – the first is the “discovery” video, and the second is a short 15 second piece of him getting agitated.

I thought I had an amazing movie of him flashing color, then moving across the ocean floor, while a blue peacock flounder moved beside him – but guess I forgot to turn the camera on! LOL Same thing happened with the moray – had a great movie of him moving across the ocean, then raising his head to me and opening and closing his mouth to flash his teeth at me. Sigh – ah well – guess we’ll have to find another moray to get a movie of!

Another short movie of the octopus.

The domed shapes are called reef balls, and are used to help coral reefs recover. Fish love ’em! When the coral covers the domes, they kind of just fade away. They are made of a material that will eventually just disappear, and leave the coral that has encrusted them to start a new reef.

 

Octopus in the garden Good sized octopus Octopus Small octopus
Curacao, Vacations

Tuesday on Curacao

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Kalki beachWe spent part of the day driving around checking out the island. It’s quite a bit larger than Aruba, and the road system is very poorly signed. And when there are signs that point you down a street, it’s not THAT street you go down, but the NEXT street… it’s all very confusing.

Fisherman at Kalki Beach We drove up to the north of the island, where they say the best water for snorkeling is located. We were looking for a bay called Porto Marie, but we never did find it. Instead we found Playa Kalki Beach, a nice beach with a few palapas for shade (all taken) and a small restaurant for snacks and drinks. Pam said that the calamari she had, was the best she’s ever had, anywhere.

School at KalkiThe water was lovely and clear, but the coral was pretty badly beaten up. We saw the usual suspects, but nothing terribly new. It was nice, don’t get me wrong, it’s always great to be in the ocean! Guess we’re getting to the point where we are expecting to see something new each time, and we’ve got to face the fact we’ve seen most of the fish around!

Blue fishWe came back to the Seaquarium and snorkeled around here, too. The water was a bit murky, but was fun. We’ve just read that we’re snorkeling the wrong side of the barrier here, and so tomorrow we’ll have to try outside the breakwater.

Dinner was another disaster, this time at the restaurant attached to the condo here. People had said that dinner was dodgy here, but we were tired and decided to give it a try. I ordered tuna, well done, and it came so rare, it was cold in the middle. They asked if I’d like it put back on the grill, and well – anyone who has cooked more than a hotdog knows that putting things back on the fire is the way to make it rubbery and gross… anyway – lesson learned. Stay away from Augusto’s! Guess we should learn to trust people when they say they don’t like it!

We checked out a little casino in the Breezes resort right next door to us. Very small casino. Quirky set up too. But like most casinos, it managed to take our money quickly!

Curacao, Vacations

Busy Monday

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Caracas BayWe had a busy day Monday. We started by snorkeling in Caracas Bay (Caracasbaii). It’s a beautiful big bay on the South coast, with very clear water for swimming. The picture we took was taken from a hill, near a souvenir shop, that is the best signed attraction on the island! haha

The Tugboat in Caracas Bay Once we got to the beach, we were looking for a submerged tugboat. It’s in about  20 meters of water, and it’s easily visible once you get there. It’s only about 50 meters off shore, so it’s a simple little swim, by some HUGE steel towers. We were rewarded with some very cool fish to see.

Spotted Moray EelOne of the coolest was this three foot long spotted moray eel. It’s not often you see morays out in the open, since they are usually nocturnal creatures, and the spotted moray is usually in sea grasses. We followed him around for quite a while, and he posed nicely for us! Apparently this is the most dangerous of all the morays… who knew? He seemed friendly enough!

After a couple hours in the ocean, we headed downtown to do a bit of shopping and site seeing. I didn’t buy any jewelry (but the week is young!), but we did see some fun handicrafts and checked out the floating market.
The PundaThe bridge in the picture yesterday is a movable bridge, Moving bridgeand here’s a picture of the bridge in motion. The ferry is a people ferry, running from the Punda (literally – the Point – the main business part of Willemstad) to the Ortobanda (literally – the other side – meaning the other side of the bay). This part of Willemstad is on the UNESCO World Heritage protected sites list.

After lunch, we headed back to the Seaquarium, and took an afternoon dip in the ocean. We cruised around the bridges and saw lots of barracuda, including a school of about 30 tiny barracuda, no more than 10 inches long.

Spotted drum, reduxHere is the better picture of the spotted drum I promised! He was still in the same spot we saw him yesterday. Guess it’s his house.

BTW, there is a link at the top of the page to “GALLERIES”… this has all the photos available on the website, divided into Albums, so you can see every picture we upload. Some of the pics uploaded don’t make it into the text of a message, but they are online. You can view them as a slideshow (full screen even!) or as thumbnails.

About Bailey, Curacao, Vacations

Dining in Curacao

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Sunday night we had dinner at the Sea Side Terrace. It came highly recommended by the Royal Aquarium staff, and we’d read nice reviews on line. Well, last night must have been an exception, because I’m not sure I’ve had worse service, worse food or a worse meal.

The owner raved about his rice and beans, that his fish was wonderful and fresh, his fish soup was home made and delicious. So I ordered the fish soup, fresh fish and rice and beans. Not sure how the soup was, since we never got it… The rice and beans had zero moisture in them, were cold, and were crispy – I’m not positive, but I don’t think that’s how it should be. The “fish” was three thin strips of something, coated in rubber, then deep fried til it was so overcooked that I couldn’t cut it with a knife and fork.

And the kicker – it only took 2 hours to get it! TERRIBLE!! DO NOT GO!

View from El GauchosOn a brighter note – Monday we ate at El Gauchos Steak house. When we were in Aruba last December, we ate the best meal we’ve ever had at El Gauchos. This restaurant has a complimentary shuttle, that picked us up at the hotel, drove us to the restaurant, then returned us to the hotel after dinner. Now that’s service!

The restaurant is situated on a hill, so you have an amazing view of parts of the city, and the island. The soccer stadium was lit up, with a game just finishing up as we sat down. It’s owned by a pair of Dutch brothers, but is not associated with the El Gauchos in Aruba.

The service was impeccable. Attentive, informative, friendly. The meal was delicious, starting with home made chicken soup. Now I thought I knew what chicken soup tasted like, but this was a unique creation with wonderful flavor and aroma. A nice all you can eat salad bar was also there. It was nice, but would have just preferred they bring a salad lol.

The steaks were served on large wooden chargers, and were quite simply, amazing. Easily as good as the El Gauchos in Aruba. I had mine with the roasted vegetables. They were very tasty!

For desert I had tiramisu, and Pam had some wonderful concotion called “Pyramides” — order it – you won’t be disappointed. Not that I was in anyway disappointed with the tiramisu. All in all – WONDERFUL. The view, the service, the food, and best of all the company!