Aruba 2022 - Day 2: Snorkeling, Mangel Halto

We had another lazy morning at the condo, on the back porch and beach. After a late breakfast, we decided to rent some snorkel gear at the nearby Aruba Bob Snorkel & Scuba.

Based on past rental experiences, we were expecting them to try to sell us on a group tour or something, but we couldn't have been more wrong; the guys at Aruba Bob's were great.

They were thrilled to learn that we were staying nearby, instead of on the touristy side of the island. In fact, they knew the exact condo building we're in (it's very close), and told us that it's just a few doors down from Floyd Mayweather's house. This probably explains the house with the outdoor gym, whose semi-private beach we had walked through last night, en route to watch the sunset. (They assured us all beaches are public here, by law.)

Our brief visit fostered a discussion on a variety of topics. For example, while deciding whose driver's license to leave as collateral, they also confirmed a suspicion we had about the license plates here: we noticed that the rental cars all seem to have a "V" prefix on the plate, but the locals have an "A". The context was something like "don't worry, you don't really need your license here... the police won't bother you because you have a V plate... they don't hassle tourists". (They also seem to literally cut off the A/V and re-use it on other plates? Something like this random photo.)

Anyway: they were happy to rent us a bunch of snorkel gear, at a very reasonable price, for an unspecified amount of time, and only took some money up front when we offered it. They also happily recommended the best snorkel places on the island, number one of which is not even 2 miles up the coast from us.

In summary: shout out to Aruba Bob's and the guys who were there today. (Looking at the website, I think it was Lui, Alex, and Coco [affectionately referred to as Coconut].)

We went back to the condo and practiced with the gear in the lagoon, wading in at Floyd's beach; Diet had never snorkeled before, and Sabrina likes to pretend she hasn't snorkeled a dozen times with me. It turned out to be important, because we discovered that Sabrina's mask leaked. (We stopped at Aruba Bob's for a replacement, later.)

After floating around the lagoon for awhile, grabbing lunch and a coffee, plus a nap and/or a bit of book time for some people and another round of sunscreen, we loaded up the cooler/car and made the short drive up to Mangel Halto Beach.

We hadn't actually done much research before embarking, somehow, but we started in the shallower area where the surf was gentle(r).

The water and the weather were beautiful, if a bit on the windy side.

There was plenty of (dead, bleached) coral reef in the protected bay area, with lots of colorful fish to follow around.

The largest/slowest (easiest to photograph) are these... parrot fish? I think they're parrot fish.

They also didn't seem to mind when I floated directly over them, unlike many of the other fish that are more skittish.

With the wind and the current, we ended up somewhat far from shore.

I noticed some long antennae poking out from this giant brain coral, between the urchins, so went down to investigate.

I'm not a marine biologist, but I'm fairly sure that's a spiny lobster hiding under the coral.

Eventually, we headed back to the beach, and our cooler, to rest and hydrate. Diet and Sabrina had had enough snorkeling for today, but Matt and I waded back in.

Freed from the caution voices of reasons of our safer halves, we went directly out to the barrier wall. I didn't bring a camera (iPhone) this time, which was unfortunate because it was some rather impressive submarine scenery and a wide variety of fish. We might have to go back there another day, to see more of that area and to show Sabrina and Diet. If we do, I'll get some pictures.

By the time Matt convinced me that we should go back to land, it was after 5 PM. Here you can see us gracefully emerging from the surf, having just battled the current to return to our entry point instead of taking the easy way out, around the corner.

We nearly had the entire place to ourselves, for several hours; it's a bit off the beaten path, so to speak, and there are many other sunbathing-type beach options. Plus, it was a Tuesday afternoon during the off season.

After washing sand off of snorkel gear and half-heartedly attempting to dry off, we returned to the condo to unload and change, before heading back out for some dinner.

We finally got to try the House Of Cakes (Bar & Restaurant). It was taco tuesday, and we stuffed ourselves rather economically. Also I brought home some cake, while everyone else got ice cream at the Ritz.

After sunset, Matt and I explored some more of the island's local flavors. (... I'm not sure I'd recommend this rum, in case that decision ever comes up.)

I have no idea what we're doing tomorrow, but I assume the weather will be perfect, as usual.