Tag Archives: turtle

Weekend blues

December 9, 2012 Maurice Leave a comment

Mike was supposed to arrive on Saturday, but he got delayed in LA and consequently missed his connecting flight to Aruba. He had to spend the night in Virginia, then make his way to New York, then to Aruba. He managed to finally arrive on Sunday late in the day, about 2:30 pm. But at least he’s here!

We got his stuff to the condo, fed him a sandwich and a beer, then we all changed, and headed right over to Boca Catalina. As we got into the water and swam for a bit, I mentioned that the other day, we’d spotted a turtle right around where we were. No sooner had I finished saying that, Mike said, hey look a turtle! It was the smaller green turtle, and we followed him for a while, until two women started tailing him. One reached out and made a grab for him, and he showed us how fast a turtle can go in the water!

We spotted a lot of lobster today – enough for dinner! (No no, we didn’t take the lobster for dinner!) They like to hang out under rocks during the day, so it’s tough to get decent shots of them. I think this one turned out ok.

Later on, we saw another turtle, the little hawksbill, but he took off like a shot. Not sure what spooked him, but man, when those little guys want to go, they can just fly! It’s amazing how fast they can go.

We saw lots of eels, a couple of octopus, lots of French Angels, some porcupine fish, a lionfish… it was a pretty full spectrum of fish. Saw pretty much everything you can see in these waters except maybe the barracuda.

For dinner, we tried a new place quite close to our condo called Barney’s. It’s a rib joint, but we got there too late! The ribs were sold out. I had what was called Ron’s Favorite, which was shrimp in a garlic sauce, served with stir fried vegetables, and au gratin potatoes. It was very nice, although I could have done with a bit less garlic. Pam had the Dutch combo, two skewers of chicken, served with salad, coleslaw and fries, with a peanut sauce. It was very good too, and an amazing deal at $11.50. Mike had the beeftips served in a mushroom gravy with Dutch potatoes and veggies. I don’t think he thought it was great, but he enjoyed it.

We all had appetizers – Pam the rib soup, Mike the leek soup, I had firecracker shrimp – all were very good. BUT – we ate WAY too much food. Certainly did NOT need the appetizers. The service was very nice. They had a piano player, so it was a pretty nice place for dinner. No problem recommending this place at all. In fact we are heading back there Thursday night for the all you can eat ribs special!

Not a bad first day in Aruba for Mike.

Aruba, Vacations

No really, a short post!

December 5, 2012 Maurice Leave a comment

Tuesday we went back to Boca Catalina, but the ocean was a little rougher than it has been, and so the visibility was not terrific. It was ok, just not great. We saw the usual suspects, and of course, our turtle friends made an appearance. The other turtle movie I put up was of a hawksbill, so today’s turtle movie is of a green turtle. He seems to have been in a playful mood, as he kept circling and coming back to the snorkelers.

The beaches have been “crowded”… just look at this picture! Where are we supposed to fit in? I mean really… I think there have been fewer people here this year. Perhaps it has to do with so many people recovering from Sandy’s path of destruction? Pam wants me to remind you that you can make any picture bigger, by clicking them with your mouse, even the larger pictures, like the one here of Boca Catalina Beach.

Here’s a nifty picture Pam took of me looking under a rocky shelf… I didn’t find any pirate treasure, but it never hurts to look.

This last picture is of a blue tang, in the intermediate phase. When he’s really small, he’s all yellow. When he’s in the intermediate phase, like here, he’s got a yellow tail. Full grown he’s all blue with just a small spot of yellow. This is not a big fish, he’s maybe two inches at the most. Full grown we’ve seen them up to fifteen or sixteen inches.

Providenciales

Smith's Reef, Redux

April 19, 2012 Maurice Leave a comment

On Wednesday we headed back to Smith’s Reef. Why? Because it’s there! No seriously, there are five or six pieces to the reef, separated by seagrass, and we’d only explored two of the smaller pieces on Tuesday. We headed to the further point, and while it was slightly more difficult to enter, only a little rockier, it was certainly worth it!

This is really an amazing reef. It’s so alive and gorgeous. The many types of coral give an amazing panorama, any which way you look. In fact, it might be its biggest problem! You can’t just focus on one thing, because you’re worried you’ll miss something fantastic, just to your right, or just to your left, or straight ahead! It’s so amazing. Pam calls it eye candy, but it’s way sweeter than that!

We saw so many things, it’s hard to even put them down on paper. There was an amazing school of horse-eye jacks, ranging in size from eighteen inches up to about three feet, just cruising over the sea grass. The huge leader of the pack just casually kept them on the move. Pam has a nice movie of them, and I’ll get it uploaded over the next while.

We saw a second turtle out over the reef, just nonchalantly weaving in and out of the big coral heads. He had metal tags on both his front flippers, but they didn’t slow him down! I’ve uploaded a movie of him that Pam took. It’s a bit jerky, but it’s well worth watching. Note the amazing coral he’s swimming through. It’s a terrific thrill to paddle along beside him as he cruised about the reef.

There was a big stingray, nestled snugly in the sand. I dove down trying to get him up and swimming, but he just watched me. His big eyes followed me around, but wasn’t too worried about me! I dove down a couple times, but I wasn’t a threat, or else he thought he was too well hidden! You be the judge!

We saw this cool sand tilefish. He was a longish, thinnish fish, that moved really elegantly. His dorsal fins rippled in the current, and his bright white body bend and twisted around. Apparently they are a shy fish, but he didn’t seem to be too concerned, when suddenly he bolted down the rabbit hole! Check out the little movie Pam took of him taking a powder.

There were lots of Queen Angels, some very big. There were times three were within a foot of each other! Pam even caught a little juvenile with one shot. Not sure we’ve seen this many queens all in one spot. It’s been amazing to see so many of them… they are so colorful with their bright blue and yellow bands, your eye is just drawn to them.

We saw blue chromis, a beautiful bright blue and black fish, about four to six inches long, there was a big scrawled filefish, lots of coneys, and on and on. We saw a fish called a graysby, which looks very much like a coney, but is distinguishable by his distinctive black dots along his dorsal fin.

It was tough to get out of the water. An amazing amazing day of snorkeling.

Usually when you are served by so many waitresses, it can be a disaster, but they were fantastic. They quickly brought us a basket of hot garlic bread, and took our drink order. We started with the antipasta mista, a selection of meats, cheeses and greens with a balsamic dressing, and a very nice caprese salad, served on a big beautiful platter for two ($16.95). For dinner, we made a mistake and ordered a pizza. Not that the pizza was a mistake, we ordered the large! And it was HUGE! We only managed to eat half of it. A small would have been more than enough. Total bill was $59 – and VERY well worth every penny!

Providenciales

Smith’s Reef, Redux

April 19, 2012 Maurice Leave a comment

We had been in the water about two minutes when we saw our first turtle, cruising over the seagrass. He was a good size, and it sure made us think that today was going to be a good swim. And it was… We saw so many things, it’s hard to even put them down on paper. There was an amazing school of horse-eye jacks, ranging in size from eighteen inches up to about three feet, just cruising over the sea grass. The huge leader of the pack just casually kept them on the move. Pam has a nice movie of them, and I’ll get it uploaded over the next while.
We saw a second turtle out over the reef, just nonchalantly weaving in and out of the big coral heads. He had metal tags on both his front flippers, but they didn’t slow him down! I’ve uploaded a movie of him that Pam took. It’s a bit jerky, but it’s well worth watching. Note the amazing coral he’s swimming through. It’s a terrific thrill to paddle along beside him as he cruised about the reef.

It was tough to get out of the water. An amazing amazing day of snorkeling.

For dinner we were going to go to a place called the Tiki Hut, where Wednesday is “cheap night” for bbq ribs and chicken, but the place was packed. So, we decided to give Baci’s another try. And we were glad we did! What a nice restaurant. Everything spot on, and enjoyable. From the maitre d who seated us, and told us of the specials, to the many waitresses, to the view… Usually when you are served by so many waitresses, it can be a disaster, but they were fantastic. They quickly brought us a basket of hot garlic bread, and took our drink order. We started with the antipasta mista, a selection of meats, cheeses and greens with a balsamic dressing, and a very nice caprese salad, served on a big beautiful platter for two ($16.95). For dinner, we made a mistake and ordered a pizza. Not that the pizza was a mistake, we ordered the large! And it was HUGE! We only managed to eat half of it. A small would have been more than enough. Total bill was $59 – and VERY well worth every penny!

Aruba, Vacations

Finally!

January 12, 2012 Maurice 3 Comments

Today we headed south to Mangel Halto, a place we’ve only been once before. You walk down a ramp into a grove of mangrove trees. Birds chirp all around you, and there are a couple of openings through the dense mangroves that allow you to walk along sandy, shallow water until you hit the open ocean.

The water is shallow for quite a ways, then you hit the
coral. And what a coral forest it is! It’s a wonderful spot, filled with every kind of coral you can imagine, and it goes on for miles! It’s really quite a remarkable swim. The only downside is that the current is tremendously strong, and you must constantly swim against it.

The visibility was very good, and there were lots of fish to see, but it was just so much work to stay in place! Constantly battling the current really tired us out quickly, so we were not able to stay out there very long. We saw some cool stuff, but man, I’m not sure I’d come back here unless it was dead calm!

We came home for a quick bite to eat, then Mike and I headed over to one of our favorite, go-to locations, Malmok beach. Pam was too tuckered out from the swim at Mangel Halto. She’s been doing really great with swimming, and walking. Her physio coach is going to be impressed with her improvement! Even some of the ladies around the time share have commented on how much her walking has improved.

The ocean at Malmok was really clear, with great visibility. We saw some cool stuff, then we finally hit the jackpot! Yup, we got to swim with a turtle! First swim with a turtle this month! Mike had never been in the wild with a turtle before so it was pretty special.

He wasn’t a really big one, but hey, it’s the biggest one Mike’s seen! He cruised straight out into the open ocean, and we followed. After a while, we realized we were probably a kilometre or two off shore! It was indeed a tough swim back, especially after all the effort we’d expended in Mangel Halto earlier in the day. But it was worth it!

There is something special about swimming with a turtle. They move through the water with real ease, flicking one front paddle or the other. If you get too close, or he feels threatened, he kicks it into overdrive with both paddles flashing, and he can leave you far behind in a hurry!

We saw some palometas, a pretty cool looking fish, which we have seen many times. But these ones were so big! They were easily thirty per cent larger than any we’ve seen. The pic doesn’t really show how big there are, but you can see they have some orange color on their underside, which we’d never noticed on other palometas before.

About Bailey, Aruba, Vacations

Last Monday in Aruba

November 30, 2010 Maurice Leave a comment

Today we took it easy, just one swim at Boca Catalina. Whenever we go in at Boca, we swim up to Malmok, because that’s where most of the reef is located. It was a pretty clear day, and nice clear water, for the most part. Sometimes close to shore it gets a bit churned up from the sand and waves.

Today we saw some nifty stuff, including several new fish. There was a quillfin blenny, which we had not see before. It’s kind of a large blenny, and rather strange looking. It’s a shy fish, and quick to take cover, so we’ve never been able to photograph it before. There was another blenny, a two-toned blenny that we managed to get a shot of too… it’s another fish that won’t sit still for a shot, so we were lucky to nail her.

We saw a queen angelfish, which have been very few and far between. I think we’ve only seen her once before, and Pam was the only one who saw her. It’s a really colorful fish, bright blue and bright yellow/orange.

There was a yellowtail jack – in a school of four or five. The look and act just like a barjack. The other fish get nervous when they cruise by. They come out of nowhere and blow by you in a hurry. You have to have your camera on and ready to take a pic in order to get a shot. We got lucky today!

I managed to get a shot of a queen triggerfish with her front trigger raised. The first time we’ve managed to do that I think. They use the trigger to lock themselves between rocks, when they feel threatened (I know this because I read it in our fish book!)

We saw another turtle today, a hawksbill. She was quite a bit smaller than the one we saw yesterday, so that means there are least three turtles in this area! It’s been a treat each time we get to swim with them. They only use their front paddles to move, unless you startle them, then they kick with all four legs.

We followed the turtle out quite a ways from shore. Then we saw this large school of fish we’d never seen before. They were quite large, about two and half feet up to about four feet. They moved quickly, darted around in a huge circle. We think it might be a rainbow runner, or a guaguanche, which are related to the barracuda class of fish. They are long and thin, and amazing swimmers.

There was a Spanish hogfish that I managed to get a pretty cool shot of… I dove down, and as I was coasting along the bottom, he popped up from behind a rock and I had my camera ready. I think it’s one of the best shots I’ve taken the whole trip!

This is one of Pam’s favorite fish, so I was glad to get this shot! I guess it’s the color of them… they do stick out in the ocean! But I still can’t figure why this fish is called a hogfish. Maybe it has strange eating habits!

I also got another pic today that I’m pretty happy with as well. I was diving down to get a shot of a scorpionfish, a fish we’ve taken enough shots of! I saw this great photoscape and just took it. It came out better than I dreamed! Really happy with this shot.

On the way back, we saw a balloonfish. They are cute little guys, with weird psychedelic eyes. They have a green pattern, like some pattern you’d see on a disco light show! Usually they are under a rock, peering shyly out at you, but this guy was laying in a depression of the ocean floor. Maybe he thought he was hidden! Quite a cute little fish.

I’m going to add a second one, just because he’s cool. He’s about ten to twelve inches long. He has these little quills that he will stand on end, and he’ll puff up to be about two or three times his size, if he feels threatened.