Aruba.
Stunning turquoise waters!
That was reason #1 for our choice to head to Aruba.
Following closely behind were: we could get a good flight there, we had friends who had been and loved it, and another big factor is that Aruba is the most revisted Caribbean Island.
Family Travel.
Over our teenagers’ Spring Break is when we took this trip. If you are new to my blog or have stumbled across this post, the hubby and I have three teenagers. Currently, Big Mr. is 18, Mr. D is 16, and Miss Sunshine is 14. Our teenagers like adventure and so we knew that we’d want to have some scheduled during our time in Aruba.
Snorkeling.
Of course, we decided to begin our Caribbean Island vacation with snorkeling!
With my teens and I having been born and raised (ok…they’ve not been fully raised-we’re approaching year 5 of living in Virginia) in Florida, we aren’t strangers to snorkeling. However, this would be our first time in waters this clear.
Jolly Pirates.
We decided to book our snorkeling trip with Jolly Pirates.
We wanted to maximize our time on the water and opted for their four-hour sail, snorkel, swim, and swing. This trip would take us over the WWII wreck of the SS Antilla, Boca Catalina, and Malmok Beach.
Location.
We booked our trip and also filled out the waivers online prior to heading to Aruba. This made the check-in process very quick.
The building for check-in is located right behind MooMba Beach, which you can see in the background. While I didn’t get a chance to visit MooMba Beach (something I’ll need to remedy…we aren’t so good at making food reservations when traveling with five people who are hungry at different times), it comes highly recommended as a must visit beach bar and restaurant.
I snapped the photo for my Thursday Doors friends, but I also love that they list their crew.
The Crew.
The crew was amazing!
We sailed on Easter Sunday.
Julio was the captain of our ship. Johan and Milton were also part of our sailing adventure. I’m pretty sure Tony was our lifeguard, but since I don’t see his name on the board, I’m questioning whether I heard (and remembered) his name correctly. The four-hour sail included an open bar, plus lunch. All four of the guys were kept busy and yet were still always full of smiles.
Fins, Masks, and Snorkels.
Fins, masks, and snorkels are included in your trip.
We did contact them prior to booking our trip to be sure that they could accommodate Big Mr.’s size 16 shoe.
They could!
This was wonderful because we were traveling with carry-ons only and needing to carry a set of fins would have been a hassle.
Turquoise Waters.
Yes, the Caribbean waters are as stunning as you see in magazines! My favorite part of snorkeling was seeing all the brightly colored fish. There is something quite serene about gliding along under the clear waters with them.
Pirate Ship.
This was a view of another of their ships for snorkeling. There is palpable excitement about sailing on a pirate ship. Or perhaps that’s just gypsy wanderer in me.
Toward the bow of the ship, you can see someone jumping from the platform. While the hubby and teens did use this approach into the water (Mr. D even did a flip from it), I preferred to climb down the ladder.
Rope Swing.
However, I did get brave enough to step from the platform and ride the rope swing into the water (albeit, not on Johan’s back. The really brave people piggy-backed on Johan while he swung and then did a flip in the air.)
As I mentioned in this post, as I released from the swing, I pinched my nose to avoid the water shooting up into it. Apparently, too hard when you wear a nose ring because I came out of the water with a nosebleed.
The crew was amazing, grabbed some toilet paper, and the bleeding stopped almost as soon as it had started. They checked on me again later in the trip. It was a minor thing, but I’ve made a note to myself to remove my nose ring before future snorkeling trips.
In that same post from last Friday, I shared more of my personal experience surrounding the snorkeling and the little clip Miss Sunshine took of me snorkeling.
She also made a compilation of some of her snorkeling, which she has said that I can share with all of you.
Memories.
I’ve mentioned one of my favorite parts of traveling with my teens is the memories that we create.
We created many memories during our brief time in Aruba.
I’ve shared a few photos from Aruba in this post and in the future I will be sharing more about our time there.
Stay tuned.
Have you been snorkeling?
Where? And did you enjoy it?
Let your light shine!
Amy
*please note-all opinions are my own. No compensation was given for this review.
