Day 6: Snorkeling

Tuesday, June 2, 2015

I manage to get up when the alarm goes off -- after only one snooze!! We hustle; we finish loading up the car, drop the keys in the mailbox and hit the road.

The sky is just starting to change colors when we get to the California lighthouse. We have the place to ourselves except for a lone confused crab and no one joins us while we wait for the sun to come out.

Pretty in pink.

A band of low hanging clouds on the horizon keeps us from seeing a true sunrise, but it was worth getting up early!

Every morning baby butterflies emerge en masse from their chrysalises at the Butterfly Farm, so we use our free return pass to witness the miracle of butterfly birth! 

It's crazy to see how rumpled and dull they look when they first emerge, only to have them turn into brilliant creatures after drying up and “pumping up their wings” for a while.

Monarch preparing for its first flight

This Emerald Swallowtail was a bit overconfident and leapt before it could fly. Luckily it made a miraculous recovery after crawling around for a while.

Finally, a picture of a Blue Morpho. They were all over the place, but for some reason it was impossible to get a picture of one with its wings open even the tiniest bit.

Lacewing?

Cydno

After spending an hour hanging out with the baby butterflies, we return to Diana's Pancake Place for some more fabulous Dutch pancakes.

I order another cheese pancake, while Sandy tries her first savory pancake with a bacon & cheese combo. They are both yummy, but Sandy says she prefers sweet pancakes.

There is just enough time to hit the beach for a while and we head up north to what I think is Boca Catalina. Sandy hangs out on the small sandy area between the rocks, while I climb down the steps chiseled in the rock in search of fish and coral.

The water is calm and warm, but I'm a bit disappointed by how little coral is there – it's mostly sea grass with a few fish here and there. There are lots of sea stars though so that was pretty cool!

Cushion Sea Star

The coolest thing was the schools of fish hanging out under the overhang

An older couple stands near the steps when I get out of the water and asks how the snorkeling was. I tell them that I don't know what to expect for Aruba in general, but there wasn't much to see down there.

Ha! It turns out that we are not at Boca Catalina, but at a “secret” beach visited mostly by locals looking for a quiet swim. Glad they told me!

Even though we are running out of time, we throw everything in the back, and using their directions, drive a couple of minutes north to the real Boca Catalina. This is clearly the right spot: several snorkeling boats are already anchored including the yellow Palm Pleasure catamaran and the Jolly Pirate that we have seen several times this week.

The snorkeling is much, much better here with large schools of fish and a variety of coral. It's not Hawaii, but quite enjoyable and even though my 15 minutes are up before I know it, I was able to find some cool fish.

French Angelfish transitioning from juvenile to adult phase

Lavendar Ribbon Whip Coral?

 Christmas Tree Worms on Brain Coral

 Smooth Trunkfish

 Honeycomb Cowfish

 Beaugregory, juvenile

Random school of fish

My favorite picture of the day

Thanks to my underwater watch I make it back to shore just minutes past my curfew. Time for another quick change in the parking lot! My hair might be a mess, but otherwise I look reasonably put together.

Now we just need to fill up on gas and buy extra cookies, pick up postcards and stamps from the grocery store, then write the cards and address them, and find a mail box to send them. Oh, and turn in the car and also, not miss the plane!!

Not sure what this is, but it looks like a monument to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Aruba becoming its own country within the kingdom of the Netherlands in 1986.

It's funny how you always see things everywhere until you need them and the otherwise ubiquitous mini marts are nowhere to be seen, but when I spot a Texaco sign from off a side street we hit the trifecta: there's a gas station, a mini-mart and a Lotto shop. No, I don't want to gamble, but we have seen these little shacks all over the island and I just realized I never took a picture to show you.

So, here it is in trademark baby blue and pink:

We turn in our little rental car with 350! miles on the odometer. Optima may be a pretty small company, but their service is exceptional! After we complete the paperwork they immediately give us a ride to the airport in the same car we rented. 

While other airlines have a long line waiting to check-in, the Southwest counter is moving rapidly, so after we have checked our bags there is just enough time to pop into the airport mini-mart and look for postcards. A bit pricey, but they know anyone buying cards at the airport is desperate – what can you do? Still no stamps though.

Next, we clear Aruba customs and they take back the Embarkation and Disembarkation forms we filled out upon arrival. You have to keep the bottom portion with your passports during your visit and return it when you leave, similar to the I-94 you (used to) get in the United States.

Aruba is one of a handful of preclearance ports for the United States, which means we will actually clear US immigration here on the island. You need to budget extra time for this, but on the plus side, you don't have to wait in line in the States anymore after flying for several hours.

We have to go through another security check-point to get to the duty free shops. One of them sells stamps and they even offer to mail the cards for us, so I'm rushing to scribble down addresses and write a few lines. Sandy spots my guilty pleasure -- Chupa Chups lollipops --  at the next store over so we pick up two bags before going on to the next step in the process. 

After collecting our checked luggage from the scanner, we proceed to the US Customs and Border Protection booths. They are really cool; you get to play your own customs/immigration officer! You scan your ID, take your fingerprints, snap a selfie and answer a few questions. The machine then spits out a little slip with your info and brand new selfie on it for you to present to the actual officer for further questioning.

Interestingly enough, the line for non-US residents was MUCH shorter this time! Goes to show you; I finally get my green card and then the other side moves faster!

After a couple more questions about our time on Aruba we proceed to the luggage belts where we drop off our checked luggage again.

We pass yet another security check-point; take off the shoes we've just put back on, etc. Should've worn slippers!

Well, that was a bit of a hassle, but at least we will be treated as a domestic flight upon landing.

It will be a while before we can eat again so we check out the options at the terminal and they leave some room for improvement.  The Old Dutch Bar sounds promising, but turns out to serve only hot dogs and "toasty's" ... what kind of Dutch establishment can't spell tosti?! The other options are limited to pre-fab sandwiches, Cinnabon, Auntie Annie's, Nathan's Hot dogs, Sbarro's and ice cream. We have clearly passed US immigration, haven't we? Oh well, Sbarro it is!

And that's it … we boarded the plane and I'm now writing to you from 10,000 feet. 

Until next time!

♥

Breakfast: Diana's Pancake Place
Lunch: Sbarro