One Last Snorkel at Baby Beach

We elected to spend our last afternoon in Aruba at Baby Beach snorkeling. We felt this spot had the absolute best clarity, amount and variety of fish of anywhere we had been.

I really wish I had found a fish identification book there....

This little guy was all by himself!

A group of big angelfish swam by in the shadows, but the swam too fast for me to keep up!

Nearly running aground on the reef, I lifted my head to get my bearings, and was surprised to be greeted by a Royal Tern!

And more wishing stacks on the beach/reef. This one reminded me of an inukshuk! Sadly, this is where my camera battery died!


I did have a really good time in Aruba, and loved seeing all the wildlife...and the tropical scenery.....that was just the best! Hope you enjoy the posts and photos!

Last Day in Aruba

We decided for our last day in Aruba we would rent a car, take it easy and just do whatever caught our fancy. So, Thursday evening, we went back to Amigo to pick up a rental car. It was a nice enough car, but I thought the brakes would fail at any moment, the screeching/grinding of the brakes was horrid! The next morning we jumped in the car only to find it wouldn't start! REALLY?! No brakes AND a dead battery?! We grumbled and walked back into the front desk and asked them to phone Amigo and for them to bring us a new car, PRONTO! We were asked if we had put the key in the ignition (duh!), turned it 1 notch forward, then pressed "unlock" on the key fob, then proceed to start the engine. It actually started.....and why weren't we informed of this Thursday evening? I'm glad we didn't have somewhere to be at a specific time!Monday's car had no such safety mechanism.

We stopped, briefly, at a windmill, I think it actually came from Holland. It now houses a gift shop, imagine that! At night there are white lights on all the blades, pretty, but I never got back there at night.

Some pretty Divi Divi trees on the edge of the ocean. I had wanted to get our pictures posing on them, but the lighting was not so great that time of day!

The water there was so pretty, but our intended snorkel spot was Baby Beach. This was right next to the highway and the airport and was quite noisy!

At Baby Beach, there is a beach shack where you can rent snorkel gear and also have lunch!

Lizards on the Loose!

One of the afternoons, we had some down time. Ellie checked out the spa, I checked out the local wildlife! There were 3 iguanas that called our resort "home". A big male, I only saw him once (didn't have the camera) and 2 females. Lizardman, a tourist from Philly, decided to enlighten me about all things iguana.

When the tip of their nose turns gray, they are molting. I could tell that she was molting, but I had no clue that her nose color had changed.

Although it looks like the iguana is contemplating jumping off the waterfall and attacking the swimmer below, it is actually using the "facilities". Lizzardman informed me that iguanas only eliminate in running or flowing water, so, they climb up the water feature to go potty. Two nights before, I thought it was sooooo cool to swim under the waterfall...EEEWWWWWWW! I avoided that whole section of the pool after I learned THAT little factoid!

Still, as they lay only a few inches from the edge of the pool, I couldn't help but wonder if they had ever freaked out an unsuspecting swimmer, intentional or not.

Somehow, I even got brave enough to get close enough to use my macro!

Feathered Friends of Aruba

Since 2008, I've been a.......birdwatcher! I know some of you are probably quite surprised as you usually have to be QUIET when you are birdwatching. Amazingly enough, I have found it possible to be quiet! Except of course when I see something exciting I sort of gasp loudly! If I'm in a car (and not driving) I usually shout.."STOP!", or "BIRD!".

I found that I had several bird photos that necessarily didn't "fit" with anything. Many times I'll simply photograph the bird to aid in identification at a later time (like when I have access to my Sibley's!) or in case it flies off. Like I said...I'm a beginner! Some photo's are repeated from other posts here either because I had never seen it before any it was just a super cool sighting for me, or I just really liked the shot!

Greater Yellowlegs in a rainwater puddle near Baby Beach 1-28-2011





Yellowlegs and a Whimbrel in the same rainwater puddle, Baby Beach 1-28-2011



Eared Dove, taken from my balcony, 1-24-2011

Bananaquit (or chibichibi) in palm tree next to my balcony, 1-24-2011

Bananaquit (chibichibi) in palm tree next to my balcony, 1-24-2011

Brown Pelican, Hadicurari Pier, 1-25-2011



Ruddy Turnstones, Hadicurari Pier, 1-25-2011



Eared Dove in palm tree, next to my balcony, 1-25-2011



Tropical Mockingbird, Arikok NP, 1-24-2011



Troupial, ARikok NP, 1-24-2011



Crested Caracara, Arikok NP, 1-24-2011



Magnificent Frigatebird, Hadicurari Pierm 1-25-2011



Magnificent Frigatebird, Hadicurari Pier, 1-25-2011



Laughing Gulls, Hadicurari Pier, 1-25-2011





Brown Booby, from water in Catalina's Bay, 1-26-2011



Royal Tern, from water at Baby Beach, 1-28-2011

Brown Pelican, from water in Catalina's Bay, 1-26-2011

Earlier in the trip we spotted some Brown-Throated Parakeets in a tree at the resort, unfortunately, I did not have my camera with me at the time..bummer!

Although I didn't take any "birding tours" or intentionally seek out any birding hotspots, I just kept my eyes open, binoculars and camera at the ready and was rewarded with seeing 11 new species!



California Lighthouse

It was nearing the end of our day with ABC Jeep Tours and we had 1 more stop to make...the California Lighthouse. Built in 1914 it stands near Arashi Beach near the site of the shipwreck of the British steamer California in 1891.

I begged to let them quickly climb the 98 foot tall lighthouse, but unfortunately it has been closed to the public for the last several years. I was pretty disappointed not to be able to climb this scenic light and to get photos of the island from the top!

Shortly after we were dropped back off at either our respective resort or at the office of ABC Jeep Tours. I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed their all day tour!

Alto Vista Chapel

This picturesque Catholic chapel was built in 1952 replacing the original chapel built in the 1750!

Alto Vista Chapel is on the north side of Aruba and is quite small but very quiet, the only noise emanates from the crashing waves below, and our jeep.

I would have loved to get out and explore the interior of this quaint church, but time did not allow for our exit.

Also, the road leading up to the chapel was marked by these striking stations of the cross.

Natural Bridge and Bushiribana Gold Mill Ruins

After the excitement of the Ostrich Farm, it was on to the "natural bridge". Basically a strip of rock that stretches out over the water below.

Here's the natural bridge that originally attracted folks to this section on the north side of the island, but it collapsed a few years ago.

All over the island, people stack stones on top of stones and then make a wish. So, I guess you might call them wishing stacks!

More wishing stacks.

Next stop was the ruins of the Bushiribana Gold Mill. It was built in 1872 by the Aruba Island Gold Mining Company LTD as a place to smelt gold. 95 % of the original building is still standing.

Bushiribana never had an actual roof. It was intentionally left off as to allow the fumes and heat to exit the smelter and also to discourage pirates as it looked like an abandoned collapsed fort.

Some 3000 + pounds of pure gold was sent back to the Dutch government as a result of the smelting that was done here.

Screams at the Ostrich Farm!

It was now Thursday afternoon, and our bellies were full from a lunch of chicken legs, ribs, rice and beans at "Best Pizza". I'm still trying to figure out why if they had the best pizza, why were we not served pizza?! Anyway, still soaking wet from snorkeling at Baby Beach, I decided to air dry and spent the rest of the day in my swimsuit and a shirt I wore in the water as to not get sun burnt anymore. That will explain my attire for the rest of the photo's that day!

We arrived at the Ostrich farm and were informed that to get the "full experience" we needed to buy some ostrich food for $2. Oh, why not. So, I was given a large dog food bowl of some sort of oblong food about the size of a good 'n plenty.

Ellie went first....but, the man poured the food directly into her hands! No big deal, and she smiled and was pretty excited.

They were kind of messy eaters as about 1/4 of the food flew out of their mouths and onto the ground.

Ellie enjoyed it so much she felt bad when the food was all gone and seemed to be talking to them!

Now keep in mind, I thought we were feeding them from the bowl! Not our bare hands. Although I was apprehensive, I paid my $2, and it was dinner time. (If you need a good laugh, click on the photo to enlarge so that you can see my facial expressions!). Ok, here they are ready for the first bite....

AAGGGGHHHHHHEEEEE! Or something like that is what came out of my mouth. I wasn't mentally prepared for the downward pressure and the ostriches scraping my hand with their large beaks! It pretty much freaked me out! Didn't bother them though!They just kept eating despite the loud sound that had come from my mouth! Thankfully, he didn't refill the food in my hand!

It looks like I was screaming longer, but I had the camera in burst mode and this only lasted 3-4 seconds!

About 2o minutes later we were given the opportunity to feed them again, but this time with our back to them (so they could take a photo and offer to sell it to you for $10) but from the dog food bowl. Now I was PERFECTLY FINE with this scenario! I even smiled and laughed! And no, my fellow tourists didn't cover their ears in anticipation of me screaming!

Yep, Ellie was diggin' it too!



Bye bye big bird!