1 lazy day, 3 days diving, or not
Trip Start
Mar 17, 2007
1
122
401
Trip End
Ongoing
Oranjestad,
Aruba
Sunday, August 12, 2007
We are just ready to leave when Dr T says: is that rain? It is not: it is showers! What to do, locked up in an apartment?
Hubby wakes up at 15h: too late for beach. He looks up the happy hours on the island. We find one from 4 till 6 in a resort, quarter of an hour away. And it has a nice restaurant attached to it: a real boat. We go for a walk on the beach. The neighbor resort has a policy: IF you dare to be topless the fine is equal to a week's stay: let's get out of here! The explanation is: it is a family resort. So, f.... what? Is there something 'unfamily' about br..sts?
We are at the happy hour bar at 16h and have a beer/wine: 2503 and Dr T asks how the happy hour works
NOT happy hour
. Well, it does not! Not for beer, wine and soft drinks. Sometimes I feel so screwed! Since we cannot play cards either (too windy at the beach) we leave to go downtown, where we play for a couple of hours and have diner: 2504-05. Tony says I look like a raccoon: GRAAAAAWL!http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raccoon
Walking back to the apartment, we pass by the harbor, where we see our diving boat, NOT ready to go diving tomorrow. Luckily the owner is still there and reassures us: of course we will go diving: hmmmmm.
Monday: wakey, wakey at 7! Car delivered at 8, at the harbor at 08h15, where ... the boat is not ready: 2508. The floor is standing next to it: 2512. Nobody there. What to do: 2513? In the back ground you see the 'place to be' in Aruba: the Renaissance resort and shopping center: very fancy!
Hubby decides to go back home to pick up a mobile and call the guy. I stay. 15 minutes later, the owner arrives with Tony. Blahblahblah. We know it already: no diving from the boat but we can do shore diving. I do not want to do shore diving. I pay big doss to go diving by boat because I do not want to shore dive. Tomorrow it will be ready. And what about our money? We paid for 3 more days! We will get it back. Yes, right ... .
We will see about that. And whether we will dive tomorrow. I do feel a bit grumpy, walking back to the hotel. I got up at 7 for nothing
Food, but what do you expect of a chef ???
. He did not call. We delivered a car at 8, which we could have kept for half a day longer. Or the whole day. Now we do not have transport.We decide to take the bus to the beach. Hubby is mule again: 2514. The beach is nice: 2516-19. Dr T with sunglasses and sandwich: 2517.
At 15h, he gets a bit bored, though, so we are heading back, do some shopping, decide to eat at home and ... dye my hair: only ... the manual is only in Spanish: 2520. Will I be black? Or blue? Or worse?
Like my brother predicted: Dr T did a perfect job: I am back to my black self: NO grey hairs!
Hubby surfs the net for more than an hour to find a birthday present. We already shopped for it in Curacao, Bonaire and Aruba. Now on line. And it f... does not work. The planned bills are not done anymore.
We have dinner at home: the steak is too chewy. I do not have a lot of hope for the diving tomorrow. Dr T is more optimistic
Downtown Oranjestad
.Tuesday: at the harbor at 08h30, alone, but there is a boat with a floor. The staff arrives 15 minutes later. The owner another 10 minutes later and vanishes without even mentioning our yesterday's refund. I have little hope to see our money back. It costs 200 dollar for a day's diving so it is a lot. But even if it was peanuts: he owes us!
We go diving with Bero and Tito.
http://www.scubadivers-aruba.com/services.html
Back right is Bero, our instructor for the day. Left is Tito (your dark twin, Norbert), his grandma is 111 and a witch. They both have +30 years of experience and many thousands of dives. The owner, Carlos, in the middle. The girl is one of the home instructors.
Tony helps the staff: 2522 (Bero in the back, black shorts) and 2523 (Tito with his back to us). Very nice people.
Our first dive is to the plane wrecks
'Where is the floor of our diving boat ???
. Dr T tries to get up, all geared, but with his tank still strapped to the boat. It takes 2 other people to 'release' him... .One is a DC-3. We have seen them before.
But the other one is a YS-11: a real passenger's plane! See pictures YS-11_0 till _3.
October 2004, an "endless" story marked the final chapter of an old YS-11 of Air Aruba. Waiting for its last resting place for many years, he finally found its way to the sea. The 60 ft. long passenger's airplane was brought to the bottom of the ocean. The nose of the airplane is pointed to the Arabian coastline and lies on a depth of 36 feet. Because of the fact that the tale lies on a depth of 75 feet, it looks like the Ys-11 is starting a "take off" especially because he is still resting on its wheels. The cockpit is still intact and it is possible to dive through the airplane. And kiss in it! Very happy with our dive. Crazy Tito is diving without BCD: never seen before either!
The second dive was at the airport: which means the reef around the planes.
We come home and have lunch. Unfortunately, Hubby bumped his head, trying to help me with my gear, so now he is taking s snooze, with some Tylenol.
Later on: some shopping for souvenirs: can do that now, since we almost go home
Here !
. Diner and bed for our final dives in more than a month tomorrow!Diner in the harbor: 2526-27.
Wednesday: Today we are diving with Bero, Wendy (who turns out to be Carlos' wife). Carlos is the captain. He gives us our membership cards but no mentioning of the money he owes us, of course. During the ride to the diving site, Tony asks him whether we can join him to the shop afterwards for a refund. The answer is yes. Dr T helps Bero: 2537.
2548: Aruba from the sea.
2551: briefing by Bero.
2572: the nice family from Ohio.
The dives are perfect. The first one is to a huge wreck. It takes 45 minutes to dive around it. Lots and lots of fish. The second dive is very shallow and Bero finds us all kind of nice stuff. Things I never saw before. And the advantage of such an experience diver is that he exactly knows what he can touch and what to find where
What to do ?
. Starfish, shrimps, stone fish, ... .Since we have to wait for the bus to leave afterwards anyway, we help cleaning up.
We drive to the shop. He gives us a voucher for 4 dives 'for the future". Forget it!
I did not take my visa and apparently he needs that for the refund. It is already: yes but, you did get a free t-shirt and this is only with the 8 dive packaged, ... .
The owner drops us off at home with a 'see you guys!' Forget it!!!! Hubby stays in the car and I get the visa. We drive back to the shop. Where the discussion about the refund starts again. I brought his bloody t-shirts, he can have them back. Then it is: yes but I suggested an alternative: shore dives. I say: 'look: if I order a Merc and you deliver a Hyundai, I am not happy with your remark: it has 4 wheels too.'
I almost get the visa thrown in my face. I thought it was a good remark. Nobody else does. Hubby pushes me out too
To the beach ...
. Half an hour later, I go and sign. I am still not happy. But we got a big part back. Thanks to my patient, nice Hubby. He takes us back and I make lunch. We lost hours! I AM a bit grumpy: why can people not be plain honest??? Hubby has the computer while I take a nap and now it is the other way around.I'll get ready to leave now if I can wake him up.
Tomorrow, tomorrow, well, you will see tomorrow for part 100!
Did you know that we are almost back?
