Aruba Day 5/6 - SeaBob Making Us Into Mermaids

Future Mermaids

After the back to back days of horseback riding, UTV tours, and Gretchen drinking too much wine our 5th day dawned with a headache and much needed rest day.  We spent the day at the beach again and loved every second of it.  Lots of water, advil and a hamburger under the hut and by noon I was good as new. 

The most exciting thing that happened on our beach day was when Lainey fed this evil pigeon.  You know how birds have those black ice type eyes and they seem to see right through you?  This pigeon was lurking around most of the day and Lainey thought if she fed him, maybe he would finally go away.  Rookie mistake....although trying to scare him away with a 'turkey call' was a very good try.

The beach days allow us time to shower early and do some exploring.  For us, that means basically driving around until we are lost.  Thankfully the island is relatively small and there is not ghetto or bad areas so getting lost is ok with us.  We think we ended up on the 'other side' of the island (where the sharks are, if you are following along) and we found a beautiful deserted beach.  Well, deserted until a local showed up and...well I will leave that part out but suffice it to say Lainey is still deeply troubled by it all.  (Don't worry Mom, it was nothing that bad, she may or may not have seen a naked Aruban...but don't tell her I told you.)

Lainey before The Incident

So we woke up on Friday morning ready to do some snorkeling.  Like you, when I think I am going on a Carribean snorkel trip, I assume a catamaran takes us someplace in the ocean, we swim around a bit, we get back on the catamaran, drink some rum punch, do a conga line dance around the boat, drink some more rum punch, dance, more rum punch...sorry...I got distracted by the thought of rum punch.


To prepare for what I thought was going to happen (see above paragraph), I found a pharmacy and bought some Dutch Dramamine.  Ever since giving birth to my girls, I get sea sick just watching a boat.  Those of you who followed my blog for our Iceland trip, may remember my successful whale watching tour.  I took Dramamine for that and I have been a firm believer ever since. I bought some at the pharmacy and hoped for the best.  Little did I know what kind of 'tour' we were signed up for.

Since I did zero research into this 'snorkeling' tour, I was shocked when we were picked up and taken to a beach...no boat, no ride out to the ocean and, you guessed it, no rum punch.  Drunk Gretchen was a wee bit disappointed, Lainey was ecstatic she didn't have to put up with me again (though she secretly loves it).



To explain, we were apparently signed up for what is called a SeaBob.  By definition, a SeaBob is a 'luxury seatoy for over and under water fun'.  Sounds simple enough, right?  And I would agree unless you were totally thinking you were going to be given a mask and a snorkel and drop off like kids in a pool to swim around (and then drink rum punch).  Instead, we are taken to a beach and in front of us are these mini SeaDo looking things.

We are thinking this is going to be last image of us before they find our bodies on the bottom of the Sea

We were genuinely afraid.  The guide's instructions didn't really help nor did the fact that we had to wear shorty wet suits (the worst!).  Why did we need wet suits?  Snorkeling is done ON TOP of the water, wet suits are for going UNDER the water???  What the hell is going on here?  I need some rum punch if I am going to get through this.

The instructions increased our panic...we were told how to increase speed, how to go under water, how to come up, how to slow down, how deep we could go, etc.  Not knowing the speeds he was showing (15, 30 and 45) were in km and not mph, we thought he had to be insane if the slowest speed was 15 mph.  We really didn't understand and I wish we had a picture of our faces as the guy was explaining it, I know we had to look shell shocked.  I repeatedly whispered to Lainey, 'Where's the boat? I had no idea this is what we were doing...." already making excuses in case she drowned while we are in the middle of the ocean. 

We had no choice but to give it a go.  I have learned that once the initial panic sets in, if I give myself some time to digest what is happening and think it through I can usually calm down.  I also always give a once over to the other people on the tour with us, my self talk then goes to, "If she can do this, I can certainly do it..."  In this case, the other two people on the tour were from Lexington, KY (originally from Columbus!).  The lady hadn't been snorkeling or anything since she was 13.  I snorkel all the time.  She also was putting wax 'stoppers' in her ears and repeatedly told us the story of how she can't get water in her ears and how her husband dunked her when they first met and she had water stuck in her ears for 2 weeks.  Lainey's reply, "I would have dumped him.." (that's MY girl) as the dude was standing right there, still apologizing to his wife for dunking her 6 years ago.  Of course, she couldn't hear him, she had wax in her ears. 

So, after digesting it all and thinking it through (and sizing up the others), I felt pretty confident that Lainey and I would be okay.  We set out to practice maneuvering in the protected bay area.  We realized that not only was it easy, it was super fun.  I can honestly say the absolute most fun I have ever had in the water.  The SeaBob propels you on top of and under the water, as you hold your breath.  It can go as deep as 9 feet but has a depth meter on it and will automatically shut down at 9 feet, in order to protect your ears.  I made it as deep as about 7 feet, tried like crazy to equalize but could only get one ear cleared,  so I wouldn't (couldn't) go any deeper.  Lainey commented that she 'felt like a mermaid' and that is exactly right.  We ended up going out to a shipwreck that was about a half mile off shore.  Like dolphins, we would alternate under water, on top of water, racing and looking for sea life on the way out.  We saw several turtles and a lot of tropical fish.  The shipwreck itself was pretty cool too, it was huge.  Our guide took his SeaBob all the way in and through the shipwreck. It is amazing how long he could hold his breath and how he could equalize with such ease.  I know it gets better with experience so next time (and there will be a next time!), I will try again. 

By the end of the 90 minutes, we were tired.  It takes a certain amount of upper body strength to continually go into the water and holding your breath repeatedly also makes you tired.  The ride back to the shore was mostly on top of the water, just like a SeaDo we would use around here. 

Pirate Ship of Snorkelers (they had rum punch)

Me - wondering if the pirate ship will pick me up

Mermaid

Manatee

Dynamic Duo at it again

The guide loved this when Lainey hugged me.  Family and moms are really important to them

We loved this activity, it was both of our favorite and we are happy to be ending our stay on such a high note.  We not only survived, we thrived (ha ha).

 Off to the hotel for some pool time and then out for shopping and one last dinner.  We met our first native Aruban working at a jewelry store.  We were able to ask her some questions about the island culture and she was super nice (of course) and informative.  We mainly asked why Aruba is called "One Happy Island"  and everyone is so friendly and nice.  She she said that, culturally, they don't believe in bringing any of the negative aspects of their lives out in public.  Lainey, half joking, asked if they go home and 'yell at each other'?  She laughed and said they don't. She said they, of course, have bad days but it all passes and something good will then come along.  She has never been off the island but speaks five languages (English, Dutch, Papiamento, French and Spanish).  Her and Lainey figured out they are birthday twins and with a high five and a lot of smiles and laughs, we were on our way. 

We ended our night at a Carribean restaurant.  I finally got my rum punch..

Aruba - Day 4 - ATV/UTV There is a Difference

We woke up a little sore on our bums from the horseback riding but, me being me, there is no rest for the weary.  Today we had what we thought was an ATV tour planned but realized we were actually doing a UTV tour.  The difference being the ATV is what you think of, open seating, 4 wheel motorcycle with one rider behind the other (holding on for dear life).  A UTV is actually a mini jeep with a wide base and a steel frame and roof.  We rode it like a regular jeep, side by side with seatbelts.  No helmets required either which was good and bad.  Good because it is so hot but bad because you have never seen dust like the dust that is on these trails.

We were picked up again at the hotel. This time in a windowless school bus.  Immediately upon entering the bus we made friends with some Alabama fans and Tennessee fans...SEC is all over the place down here.  In spite of them trying to convince us that we 'ain't seen tailgating until we tailgate at an SEC game', and that the football players running down Clemson's hill isn't the best entrance in football, we liked them a lot.  Haven't met one person who is the least bit unfriendly or grumpy.  For the record, the UT guys agreed with us about the Clemson entrance - they went to college in South Carolina so they KNOW how awesome it is.  They were obviously afraid to go against the 'Bama fans since UT hadn't beat 'Bama in years, they figure they better just shut up on this one and support the Big Dog in the conference.  We know what they were thinking though.

Once we arrived at the tour's office, they allowed us time to visit their 'zoo'.  They gave us carrots and kibble to feed the various animals and hilarity ensued (if you have been following along with our blog you can only imagine the scene that unfolded).   There were nice deer, some mules and donkeys.  I even fed them from my mouth because I like to live on the edge like that.

YOLO 

The true terror came at the Emu/Ostrich.   First a little background.  Rylee had us all watch this video last year at the Grand Canyon.  It is both the funniest and scariest thing I have ever watched (okay maybe not the scariest but you get my point.  For the record, The Exorcist was the scariest thing I ever watched.  My older cousin Diane was babysitting us when it was on TV and that loser let me watch it, I think I was 8, I didn't sleep for 2 years.  And then my brothers made it all worse by making me believe Uncle Henry lived in my closet and under my bed....I am getting off topic).  Anyway, watch this video and then tell me you would be willing to feed one of these vicious monsters.
 One Eyed Emu Attack....

So now you have some context.  My fear doesn't stop me from trying to force Lainey to feed the Emus though.  She wasn't having it.  (sorry it is sideways...I am not good at the technical aspects of the blogging bit)

Peacock Equivalent of Flexing at the Gym

There were a lot of other animals, all seemed happy and well fed.  There was even grass which is unseen anyplace else due to the lack of rain fall (<15" per year).  I was so busy bullying Lainey into feeding the Emus that I didn't get to see many other animals.  I did catch this beautiful peacock.  He was trying to impress the ladies outside the bathroom.  It was pretty cool to see him strutting around, I told Lainey I hope someday she makes a boy spread his pretty feathers for her like that....I think her eyes got stuck in the back of her head for a minute from the overly excessive eye roll she gave me. I think the human ladies were much more impressed with him than the peacock ladies.  

We were finally ready to go get on the UTV's and head out.  Thankfully, they give out dust masks/bandannas to protect your eyes and mouth.  Lainey pretended she was on Survivor the entire trip..."Do I look like I am on Survivor?"  "YES, Lainey for the 50th time, you look like you are on Survivor..." (insert mom eye roll here)

Survivor Here She Comes 

The terrain was just like the horseback riding but we were going super fast for the conditions.  Lainey was driving because she drives like this on a regular basis so I figured she had the experience.  Plus, I wear contacts and I was very afraid the dust would cause me to not be able to see once it got into my eyes.  I was right and the first stop, I took my contacts out in favor of my glasses.  Every stop, the glasses were covered in dust and had to be cleaned off.  If I hadn't had my glasses, I would have had to keep my eyes closed as we drove, not a good idea! 

The first stop was Santa Ana Chapel.   I missed a lot of the history due to dealing with my contact difficulties but I did hear him say the chapel was only used for a few years.  He said a drought came and they blamed it on worshiping at the chapel and went back to worshiping pagan gods of fire, water and rain.  At that time they only got 7" of rain a year and it was their only source of fresh water.  The chapel was quaint.  

If you have read any of my previous travel blogs you will know that I light a candle whenever possible for my parents, my daughters and for my partner, Steph.  I was thrilled to see the candles lit up at the front of the chapel.  I lit one and said some prayers, so grateful for this wonderful, privileged life I lead.  I also asked for God's watchful eye over all of us, especially my Dad with Father's Day this Sunday and the tough winter he made it through health wise.   I prayed for strength for my mom in continuing the caretaking of my dad.  I also prayed for strength for me, because when I get home, I have a long summer ahead, crusading for something I believe is necessary and right, but is going to be so much emotional hard work.  I asked God to bless Stephie as she embarks on her new career of Retirement and, of course, to continue to guide my daughters as they reach more milestones in their lives.  It was a nice time for me to just 'be' and to remember who is important to me and why. 

We were off again for more dusty, death defying off roading (another good reason for my talk with God at the chapel).  We visited the same sites as yesterday with the horses but we got to get off and get in the water.  At the natural bridge, I got a cute picture of Lainey but then proceeded to get nailed by a wave, totally soaking me for the rest of the day (did I mention how dusty the ride is???  not a good combo with water. ugh.)  Lainey also got nailed and lost her flip flop (which she chased down) and her sunglasses (which she didn't).  The UT guys laughed their SEC asses off and the dad from a family of Boston couldn't breathe he was laughing so hard at us.  It's fine...I have a feeling lots of stories were told about us from the others on our tours.  :)

Cute Pic Under Natural Bridge
Pre Tsunami

A stop at the gold mine was next and since we had already seen it we went to the coastline instead and waited and waited and waited for the wave to hit juuusstt right so the spray would make for a cool picture.  Those of you with teenage girls know what I am talking about.  This resulted in ten minutes of bad pictures, a location change, lots of arguing and I am not even sure if we ever got a good picture.  Honestly, though, it was just stunning being that close to the power of the ocean.  I can't even begin to describe it. 

This was the best I got with the spray after 1000's of pictures 

(Note...if you are doing a tour like this, it is best to wear hiking sandals instead of flip flops. Aruba is all volcanic rock and it is sharp. I was thankful for the proper footwear and that I didn't wear my tennis shoes).

We were off to our last stop, Natural Pool.  This is very remote and the rental car companies will specifically say not to take the cars/jeeps here.  I was super excited to get to see it.  Lainey did a really great job driving and navigating. She was the only female driver in our entire group and kept up better than most.  The tour guide was awesome, super funny, informative and a take no prisoners attitude.  

Natural Pool is just what it says, it is a pool that has formed between rock formations in the ocean and is safe for wading and swimming.  Locals kept it a secret for many years but due to the growing popularity of Aruba, they just take the tours there now.  It took some doing to get down to it but was well worth it. 

Natural Pool is Way Down There

View From the Top of the Cliffs at Natural Pool 

Obligatory Selfie at Natural Pool 

Lainey swam in the pool, I chose not to.  At one point, I didn't see Lainey.  I got distracted from the people cliff jumping.  A huge wave came over the top of one of the barrier rocks and pushed about ten people under water and gasping for air.  Lainey was in that group. LOL.  She happened to be using her Go Pro at the time and caught it on video.  It's pretty cool and truly shows the power of the ocean and that was AFTER it hit 13 foot rock barrier and just came over it and through some cracks. She was no worse for the wear and I told her she can use the footage when she tries out for Survivor - she has the bandanna after all.  

Natural Pool was our last stop and we had about a 30 minute easy drive back to the tour's home base.  Once there, we boarded the bus, commiserated with everyone about the dust and dirt and sat quietly for the remainder of the ride to the hotel.  We were tired.  

Lainey headed for the pool, me for a shower and a nap.  After a restful afternoon we ventured out for a later than normal dinner.  It was delicious (as usual) and the waitress was so cute.  She was from Columbia and when we told her why we were on vacation she truly got misty eyed.  She told Lainey to be thankful for the time with her mother because she never sees her mom anymore. She said when she last saw her she stayed by her side every second, slept with her and did everything with her because she misses her so much.  I was sitting there, emotional, and I think it even got to Lainey.  We are so very lucky.  It reminded me of my mom and when she came to the US at age 17 and how much she must have missed her mom.  I think, no matter what, we always want to be with our moms.  At this point, Lainey's eyes are for sure permanently affixed in the back of her head...:)

After dinner we went to listen to some music.  I properly drank too much and embarrassed Lainey as any good mother should.  Secretly, she had a fun time too.   

I have already had 4 glasses of wine in this one.

The Waitress Made This for Lainey

These pictures are from the piano bar.  The waitress would be appalled that Lainey wouldn't hug me.  I wish she followed my blog because she could comment and say, "Lainey hug your mother!".

So, by the looks of it (and length of this blog), we should be heading home.  We weren't done yet though as we thought it would be a great idea to try out the casino.  I literally hate gambling but Drunk Gretchen is about the nicest, funniest (I think so), easily coerced person you will ever come into contact with.  So off we went...thankfully, it was super smokey so we didn't stay long.  Just long enough to lose money.  Lesson learned for young Lainey.  

Finally, it was time to go home.  Here's a little video to sum up the night.  Tomorrow is a beach day. Thank God...we were busy!

Day 3 - Horseback Riding

Being from Kentucky, we never shy away from a day we can spend riding horses.

This is a false statement!  You all know it is, but ask anyone who hears we are from Kentucky and they automatically envision us riding our thoroughbreds through Kentucky Bluegrass with the manor house and white picket fence in the background.  This is also false. ha ha. The only time we ride horses is on vacation and it is also the one time we will ALWAYS say "Cincinnati" instead of "Kentucky" when asked where we are from.  We don't want anyone to think we are experts or anything.





We rose with the roosters to get ready for our horseback riding day.  Lainey learned a valuable lesson at breakfast when I explained that the Ugly Duckling has no genetic way to become a swan.  She felt her entire childhood was a lie and isn't sure she can forgive me. She did get over it though when it was time to head to the lobby for pick up. 





The Ponderosa Ranch picked up us at the hotel and we took a short trip to their place.  The van was full and we met people from Atlanta, Massachusetts and England.  They were all very nice. The guys from England were cracking us up talking about wanting to eat at Wendy's before they went back home.  I told them to try the Baconator, which I have never eaten but I saw it on a billboard. We spent the rest of the night, wondering if they ever got one.  We will talk about them for the rest of lives, just like Mr. Electric and Lainey's super friendly hello wave to an ex boyfriend recently.  These stories re the stuff of legends in our family. 

Double Trouble 

After saddling up, it was obvious Lainey's horse was going to give her some problems.  She was initially in the back part of the line by me, but her horse quickly galloped (as in RAN) to the front of the line and that was where he stayed all day.  My horse, on the other hand, was content to find another horse's butt and put her nose right up to it, falling in line effortlessly.  Of course, I bragged to everyone that I am from Kentucky and that is why I can handle my horse so well (ha ha)  Lainey was so far away, I didn't have to claim her or her unruly horse.




The terrain is much like that of the Grand Canyon we encountered last summer on our hike.  I am not sure if I blogged about that trip or not...I don't think I did due to dehydration and heat exhaustion.  Anyway, the terrain was super dry, dusty and rocky.  I am amazed at the horses' ability to navigate their big bodies, and mine, under such conditions.  They all did great.

This riding trip was different than any others we had every been on.  The horses galloped a lot.  Thankfully, our guide told us about keeping our legs straight and pointing our heels down.  That advice saved my a*s a couple times.  We rode for a total of 4 or so hours.  It was pretty cool.  I engaged in a full conversation with one of the guides.  She and her husband were from the Netherlands and moved to Aruba 4 years ago with their daughters (now age 9 &12).  She is an attorney in the Netherlands but a ranch hand here in Aruba.  Her daughters attend an International School and are fluent in four languages: Dutch, English, Spanish and Papiomento (Aruba's official language along with Dutch).  She said her parents told them it is time to come back home to the Netherlands and their oldest daughter is starting 'secondary school' so they also felt it was time to go.  Lainey made friends with her daughters and they told her they are not happy at all about moving away from Aruba.  I can't say I blame them.  What a very cool life they have lead so far.

After riding for quite a bit, we came over a ridge and there was the Caribbean Sea in all its glory right in front of us.  I say this on all of my trips, but you really can't do the scenery justice with a phone camera (or any camera for that matter).  I will never forget the majesty of the ocean in Spain after we completed the El Camino, the Agean Sea as we drove up the cliffside streets in Greece, the crystal blue of the water of Grand Cayman....all of it etched in my memory just like today will be.  The power of the water as it crashed against the rocky shore was incredible.  Thankful for the breeze, it was hot, and the breeze really helped keep us and the horses cool.

Natural Bridge 

We rode along the beach for awhile but did not get off the horses.  This was a cool part of the island because there were not a lot of people.  The cliffs were very rocky and the surf rough.  I didn't catch the name of the beach but there was a natural bridge there.  Apparently there was a very large natural bridge (span the size of the one in KY is how I imagine it) that fell into the ocean in 2005.  This was just a natural occurrence that no one seems to blame on anything other than the rough sea hitting against it for so many years.  That was refreshing, to not hear that it was human's fault.  Things are different here - it's not called "One Happy Island" for nothing.

After the beach we rode to the ruins of a gold mine.  I couldn't hear a thing about the gold mine with the horses clopping and the waves crashing but it looked OLD.  We took some cute pictures and looked high and low for gold but didn't find any.  Lainey has told me repeatedly how lucky she is but she hasn't proven it yet.  Maybe tonight in the casino.

These are our 'cute gold mine pics...

After a fast gallop back - let me tell ya ladies, you ain't had things jiggle until you are on a galloping  horse down rocky terrain.  Enough about my lack of working out but I did vow to be better for when we come back next time.  Our legs were very tired and felt like 'sea legs' when we disembarked.  We counted it as a workout (that is probably why I jiggle so much).

Me, when I realize that I have so much that
jiggles when we gallop and thankful we stopped

Lainey's horse heading to the front

We got back in time to go to the pool and for Lainey to experience real life birth control right in front of us with three sisters, a grandma and about 17 children between them. Their husbands were drinking beer in the pool, happy to pull 'lifeguard' duty, while the moms did everything else.  When the one boy starting throwing sticks at the iguanas, I wondered what the hell the mom was going to do about it, until I saw her splash beer on the same iguana.  They were American, of course, and complaining that the iguana was too close while they were eating.  I can't make this crap up.  Some people are real pigs. If I had sat there much longer I was going to have Lainey throw sticks on their kids, while I splashed beer on them, I think she would have done it if I asked nicely enough.  I would much rather eat with an iguana than with their bratty, crying, yelling kids.  Instead, we got in the pool and hoped they were gone when we got out.  (They were!).

Us after we got away from the bratty kids and
had a strawberry daiquiri 

We had a nice dinner at one of the hotel restaurants and went to be super early so we could be up and ready for our ATV tour on Wednesday.