Aruba, Vacations

Monday must be a shopping day!

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Entering the oceanMonday was very busy. We took in three beaches, did some shopping downtown, spent some time in a casino, then in the afternoon….

French angelsFirst we took in a beach just south of where we dove yesterday. It was nice, saw tons of fish of course, but mostly the usual suspects. One thing I saw that was unusual was five French Angels swimming together. Usually they are pretty solitary guys.

Lunch spot Next we had a quick bite at the end of the highrise hotels, in a small beach cafe. Food was soooo cheap, and very good. It’s near the Divi Palace, so we decided to try their fancy beach. It’s protected by two breakwaters, and has an incredibly sandy entrance. It was fairly cloudy, and difficult to see – but we did see a lobster – most unusual as they are nocturnal. Shark maybeAnd I saw what I thought was a shark. Pam kinda pooh-poohed the idea til she saw the picture! I leave you to judge….

TrumpetfishWe got in the car and headed north back to near where we dove in yesterday. It was really cool – got to see a triggerfish, and the world’s largest trumpetfish – well over 5 feet long – and we actually swam over to where we saw the porcupine fish again. He was still in his cave hiding.

Queen TriggerfishWe got out of the ocean, made a quick pitstop at the condo and headed downtown for some shopping. Guess what? My underwater camera died again. So this one is headed back to Olympus – but we picked up another at the same shop we bought this one last year!

We went into the shop that sells Inti masks, and the lady immediately recognized us! The Inti make masks, carvings of animals, birds, religious icons etc then “paint” them with this vegetable matter. It is not a liquid, but a kind of coating, that they knead, and mold, and stretch using their hands and teeth! It’s then put on the carvings, in intricate patterns. The final result is a gleaming, colorful statue or wall hanging that is uniquely Aruban.

Porcupine fishWe had a great dinner at Iguana Joes. We both had the keshi yena, a typical Aruban dish. It’s a bit like lasagna, without the noodles! Its origins are from the old sea vessels. They carried cheese, and scooped out the soft interior. The hard exteriors were filled with spices, meats, raisins, currants, and then baked. Marvellous! The woman who served us was unbelievably over worked, but did such an amazing job! She was visibly pleased when we ordered the keshi yena. Most people were there for nachos, burgers and fries.

Then it was over to the Crystal Casino to win back our money! Guess what? Didn’t happen.

Tuesday I think we’re heading down to Baby Beach.

Aruba, Vacations

Lazy Sunday in Aruba

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Hawksbill turtle After breakfast we decided to check out Arashi Beach, the northern most beach on the island, near the California Lighthouse. We thought we’d swam this beach last year, but we had not. It’s very popular with locals, and most of the people there on Sunday were not tourists.

Arashi BeachIt’s easy to see why this beach is popular – it’s got a wide white sandy beach that goes out into the ocean for quite a while. It’s great for simply being in the ocean, without fins or masks – just to swim and play. But the snorkeling is amazing, too!

We finally saw our first turtle in the wild! That was very cool, very special. He was a hawksbill turtle, about 3 feet long. He was under the surface, and I was diving to get a shot of a little fish, when suddenly this beauty was there! We’ve waited a long time to catch one of these guys in the wild, and it’s so cool we did…

Columns of FishBut there was something else at Arashi that was truly stunning to see. It’s difficult to describe what it was we saw – but there were literally millions and millions of fish, all involved in some intricate movements, flowing through the water. It was like a giant ballet – unique columns of fish like ribbons of moving color would flow and move and dart, all in perfect harmony, seemingly being directed by some underwater conductor. Columns of FishIt was not some local thing – it was over hundreds and thousands of square meters – we swam for 20 minutes or more, just totally and completely surrounded by this mass of fish. It was intoxicating. I kept expecting the phenomenon to end, but it seemed to just go on and on forever. It was truly humbling. We are going to go back to Arashi in a couple of days to see if they are still there. Trust me, these pictures do not do this phenomena justice. Really, we were in awe.

Malmok BeachWe headed slightly south – less than a kilometre, to Malmok Beach, a beach we had visited last year while a baptism was going on. No baptism this year, just lots of families enjoying the ocean. It’s got a very sandy entry to the ocean, and there were a couple of Red Sail catamarans there, so you know the snorkeling is good!

French AngelfishWe saw some “big” French Angels, and then each subsequent French Angel we saw seemed to get bigger! I’ve put up a pic of the largest we saw. Now the guide book says they grow to a maximum of 18 inches, but this guy must have been hanging around with A-rod, cuz he must have been two feet at least!

There was a huge peacock flounder – they are so cool to see move. They remind me of a magic carpet ride! Thin as a sheet of paper, they just wiggle a bit and they are gonzo! We also saw what we thought was a “miniature” porcupinefish – about 8 inches long, which was a webb burrfish. He’s a real shy guy, and tried to hide in the seaweed, but didn’t move off, even when I came within 6 inches of him.

Sunday is not a shopping day in most of Aruba, but they are trying an experiment near the high rise hotels, whereby they have created a mall of sorts, with lots of nice shops and restaurants that stay open late into the evening. Most shops close at 5 or 6 every day, so it’s nice to be able to walk around in the evening while the sun is down and do a bit of shopping.

We strolled around, watched a light show with dancing waters in the fountain, with Enya singing Caribbean Blue in the background. Very nice. We had dinner at Scala, a restaurant on the second floor, so we could watch the people stroll by below us. Dinner was amazing again. Wonderful food, wonderful service, wonderful ambiance, wonderful company. A brilliant conclusion to a brilliant day.

Turtle at Play Grandi Smile buddy Turtle in the bay Playa Jeremi Down low Swimming with turtles Turtle picture
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 Octopus in the garden Good sized 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!

Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao