B is for Bonaire, and of course we snorkel!

Our last port is on the island of Bonaire.   We will be looking under the water at this port as Bonaire is famous for its pristine coral reefs, diving and snorkeling.  It is one of the world's top four diving destinations.

But we will snorkel.

We had reservations with Compass Bonaire for a 3-hour snorkel and sailing on a 44-foot sailboat, with only a maximum of 12 people on board.

Photo from their website

We met just outside the port gate and then were transported over to the dock where we were welcomed with a fruity drink and the captain explained the safety rules on board.

And then we left the dock...

Outside the harbor we set sail  along the coastline of Bonaire, passing by our ship, the Crown Princess.

After about an hour sailing we tied up at one of the moorings of Bonaire’s Marine Park.
It was then time to don our snorkel equipment (all provided) and jump into the water.

The splash is Terry hitting the water.

 And then he pops up!

And off we go.  A nice thing about this company is that they take photos and post on their Facebook page.

A turtle was a great sighting

We didn't see a lot of fish...

 but the coral reef was nice to look at.

After we set sail again we had about an hour to enjoy the sun, sea and wind, along with delicious snacks and drinks on the way back to the harbor.

Then it was back to the ship, where we lounged on the back deck awaiting sailaway.

The color of the water was amazing.

Soon it was time to leave.

We headed north back to Fort Lauderdale.

We spent the next 2 days at sea before arriving back in Fort Laudedale.  Then we had a few more days to visit with our daughter, son-in-law and grandpuppy before returning home to Colorado.

The next adventure is coming up quick....Terry will fly to Kathmandu, Nepal and join a trek to Everest Base Camp.  When he returns, he will help me write up his adventure in the blog.

A is for Aruba and we ride trikes!

Aruba is another island just off the coast of Venezuela in the Dutch Caribbean.

We have been to Aruba a few times and we always spent our day here at one of its most wonderful beaches.  It's hard not to want to float away the day in a setting like this:  white sand and blue waters

With all our visits, this is all we have experienced in Aruba.  So, we thought, this time let's see more of the island.

With the recommendation from our friend, Susan, we chose riding trikes as a fun way to see what lies beyond the beautiful beaches of Aruba.  We were picked up right outside the port gate and driven to the office of Trikes Aruba.

With a little orientation we are ready to take off.
No, I'm not going to drive...

It will be Terry's job.

Off we go.  This island, too, is full of cactus.

Our guide, Gabriel, is very kind to stop and take photos of us and post them on Facebook.  At this point he had just squatted down and sat on some cactus needles.

And all of the photos he took after that had a blur from a smudge on the camera lens.

We stopped at the Alto Vista Chapel.  This is supposedly where Spanish missionaries converted the island's Indians to Christianity.

 The California Lighthouse is named after the steamship California, which sank off the coast of Aruba in 1891.

Onward we travel toward the beaches.

Ahh...it is a very hot day and this looks so inviting.

Then Gabriel said a prayer and led us through the busy streets of the capital, Oranjestad.  Our parade of 4 trikes was quite the sight and many people snapped our photo as we drove by.

Gabriel's smudgy photo as we passed by the I "heart" Aruba sign

Then we tried this photo instead.

 Back on the road...

We stop by the ruins of an old gold mill.

The abandoned gold mill  once processed ore from mines in the nearby hills during Aruba's gold rush of the nineteenth century. In 1824, gold was finally discovered in Aruba, and eventually, the industry produced more than 3 million pounds of gold.

And wander around inside.

Back on the trikes...

We pass colorful houses

 and colorful flowering bushes

 Almost back to where we started our tour of Aruba.

It was a lot of fun to drive/ride the trikes and a great way to see what lies beyond the beaches...but those beaches are hard to beat.

Our next port is Bonaire.  Click on "Newer Post" below the comment section for:  B is for Bonaire, and of course we snorkel!