Solar Eclipse : A pictorial review of the Exotic Southern Caribbean

[MicCanberra]

Mic, Barry and I wish you and Rosie could join us, too! :cool: We do understand, though, what a long trip that would be for you. That long trip is why we haven't made it down your way yet, even though that trip is really high on my bucket list.

Cheers, it is a long way which means when you come, we recommend coming for a long time, 4 to 6 weeks minimum.

I would recommend that you fly in and spend a few days in Sydney, go on a two week round trip cruise to see NZ, fly up to Cairns for some diving and maybe back down to Brisbane for a one week Pacific Island cruise or alternatively back to Sydney (if timed right) for a 2 & 1/2 week cruise back to Hawaii via Tahiti and fly home from there.

[MicCanberra]

Mic, will you please be sure to let me know when that happens? :eek: ;p

HHMMM, it may take a while. BTW, If I saw elephants while drinking, it means a hole lot more than just being drunk, it means I am back in Thailand.:p

[scubacruiserx2]

You are in my favorite port, Aruba. We vacation there every February. The beach in the pictures that you just posted are of Eagle Beach. I can see my resort in the background of one of the pictures. Palm Beach is more congested. I'm glad that you enjoyed El Gaucho. We haven't eaten there in a long time.

 

Thank you for joining us and answering the question . May I ask another ? We drove past a crowded area on the beach with a lot of tents and people lined up for food . Is this an annual event and what beach was this in the video below ?

[scubacruiserx2]

We passed by De Olde Molen on the way to our next stop .

This windmill was made in 1804 in Holland and shipped to and reassembled in Aruba in 1960 .

[MicCanberra]

The old mill, looks like it is a "kleine toeristische attractie''.

[scubacruiserx2]

The old mill, looks like it is a "kleine toeristische attractie''.

 

We're not sure because we didn't stop there and Esther promised that our next beach stop was more for locals . :cool:

[Hatteras51]

Thank you for joining us and answering the question . May I ask another ? We drove past a crowded area on the beach with a lot of tents and people lined up for food . Is this an annual event and what beach was this in the video below ?

 

 

The tents are along Eagle Beach. You were there during Carnival season. Many local families camp along the beach during Carnival. This was the first time in 9 years that we weren't there for Carnival. I don't see people lining up for food in your video, but it could be one of two things. The locals get together and grill and bring meals to the beach. Maybe, they were in line to be served. There is also a delicious food truck in that area that locals and tourists frequent. It usually has a line.

[Hatteras51]

We passed by De Olde Molen on the way to our next stop .

This windmill was made in 1804 in Holland and shipped to and reassembled in Aruba in 1960 .

 

 

The windmill is at the beginning of the Palm Beach area.

[scubacruiserx2]

The tents are along Eagle Beach. You were there during Carnival season. Many local families camp along the beach during Carnival. This was the first time in 9 years that we weren't there for Carnival. I don't see people lining up for food in your video, but it could be one of two things. The locals get together and grill and bring meals to the beach. Maybe, they were in line to be served. There is also a delicious food truck in that area that locals and tourists frequent. It usually has a line.

 

Thanks again , I don't recall seeing the food truck but I started the video clip after we saw the people lined up and a group of tents .

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next stop was Moomba Beach

It seems like a good place to board a pirate ship

or lounge

Shiver me timbers somebody looks three sheets to the wind !

 

I've played a lot of beach volleyball but I've never seen a net this low !

Back at the car park .

[scubacruiserx2]

I completely agree with you about wanting to do a boat dive in Bonaire! I had already emailed 2 dive shops in Bonaire before you mentioned booking this cruise, one of them being VIP. Both shops replied, saying they do beach dives. I have been having nightmares about me and dive entries over ironshore ever since! :eek: I haven't replied to either shop yet because I have been trying to decide if I am willing to deal with the shore entries there. :confused: We go to Vegas at the end of this month, so I've got cruise planning mostly on the back burner until we get home from that trip.

 

As for island time, that is secondary to dive time for me. I figure I can tour any island I want after I get too old to dive safely! :eek: Barry may go off on his own while we are diving if there is something he wants to do. He doesn't usually come along with me on dives because he would rather spend his time exploring the port than sitting on a dive boat waiting for me to surface.

 

I would consider snorkeling as an option if we decide that too many days of diving in a row would be more than we want to take on. I know that both of you have a lot of good, old fashioned common sense which carries over into your diving. That is a big part of why I'm so excited to have you as dive buddies.

 

If you don't want to turn this review thread into a planning thread, I did start a roll call for the Koningsdam cruise. So far I'm the only one there. Most of the HAL roll calls seem pretty quiet. Either that, or you have my email. I don't want to get this thread too far off topic on you.

 

No worries , we have lots of time to plan and having just visited the ABC's we're very comfortable going back ! We don't really this discourse to be off topic since we're planning the same 3 ports that we're currently talking about in the future and we do need to consider Barry in the planning . :cool:

 

We will be hopping over to the HAL thread soon .

[MicCanberra]

Our next stop was Moomba Beach

I've played a lot of beach volleyball but I've never seen a net this low !

Beach Soccer perhaps?

[Hatteras51]

Beach Soccer perhaps?

 

Actually it's beach tennis, which is extremely popular in Aruba. I don't know why the net is so low. It is usually a little higher than that. There was a huge beach tennis tournament in Aruba when we were there last November. There were players from all over the world. It took place on Eagle Beach.

[MicCanberra]

Actually it's beach tennis, which is extremely popular in Aruba. I don't know why the net is so low. It is usually a little higher than that. There was a huge beach tennis tournament in Aruba when we were there last November. There were players from all over the world. It took place on Eagle Beach.

Cheers, as for why the net is low, perhaps it is high tide?:p

[scubacruiserx2]

I had forgotten that people also play sitting volleyball and I had never seen it on a beach before ( until today ) .

Also , the US beat China in the Gold Medal game of the 2016 Paralympics Game in Rio .

Video :

 

 

I like your theory also Mic ! ;)

 

 

Cheers, as for why the net is low, perhaps it is high tide?:p

 

 

But I suspect that it is probably beach tennis .

[scubacruiserx2]

We continued North stopping at a couple of overlooks for photos

You can see a couple of oil rigs in the distant ocean

Ouch !

The California Lighthouse , 3 views

[chamima]

Joe

I've just heard news of the explosion on the St. Petersburg subway and thought of your beautiful pictures of it! :(

[scubacruiserx2]

Joe

I've just heard news of the explosion on the St. Petersburg subway and thought of your beautiful pictures of it! :(

 

I am really saddened and angered by this news from Europe . First London and now St. Petersburg ! These are perhaps our two favorite cities to visit and stay in when we are in Europe . Sennaya Ploschad ( Haymarket Square ) is a confluence of 3 Metro lines ( red arrow ) . As you can see by the red bubble that says " you are here ", this photo is from a map in adjoining Sadovaya station .

 

It is only 2 blocks from the apartment that we rent and our most commonly used station for the Metro .

 

Our hearts are breaking for our friends and the people of these 2 great cities !! <|3<|3

 

 

[MicCanberra]

I had forgotten that people also play sitting volleyball and I had never seen it on a beach before ( until today ) .

Also , the US beat China in the Gold Medal game of the 2016 Paralympics Game in Rio .

Video :

 

 

I like your theory also Mic ! ;)

 

 

 

 

 

But I suspect that it is probably beach tennis .

Cheers, I was wondering where all the sand was going to go for low tide:p

[scubacruiserx2]

We next headed down to a beach

I found it interesting to see these cacti near the beach

 

There was a strange looking white one in this group

And as we were commuting to our next stop , Esther told us that all of the primary schools are part of the Catholic Church

[MicCanberra]

What a shame,Thoughts are with those affected. I fear that these events will become more common all around the western world. It won't stop me travelling but it does make you think of how and where you travel.

[upwarduk]

We were told in Bonaire that the cacti are used for protection, forming fences or natural wind breaks.

 

 

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[scubacruiserx2]

What a shame,Thoughts are with those affected. I fear that these events will become more common all around the western world. It won't stop me travelling but it does make you think of how and where you travel.

 

I hope that people will not be discouraged from traveling because that would be giving the terrorists exactly what they want . That area in SPB is not a major tourist area like Westminister in London which is filled with people from all over the world every day .

[scubacruiserx2]

We were told in Bonaire that the cacti are used for protection, forming fences or natural wind breaks.

 

 

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That sounds like the the thorny flowering Bougainvillea which is used extensively in Cozumel for the same reasons .

[MicCanberra]

The tree with the spikes/thorns, looks like an acacia of some type or even a firethorn tree.