Honeymoon: Aruban Jeep Tour

It’s Thursday. That means summer is rapidly coming to a close – and tomorrow is my last day of summer vacation. I am going back into my classroom today for the second time this week. If you recall, I am moving to first grade – which also requires a change in classroom.  I stupidly did not label any of my boxes when I was packing in June – so unpacking has been a joy (sarcasm). I may have a little time during PD on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday – but don’t want to overwhelm myself. I am hoping to finish up today (and am crossing my fingers that the laminator is fixed!)

 

I have NO idea what time I am going to get to school today though – because my first stop is the dreaded DMV. They don’t open until 9:15  - and I plan on being there at that time.. but I have no idea how long I will be there. All I know is that I will have a license with my new last name and my current address.

 

Clearly you aren’t here to read about my fun and exciting day that involves sitting in the glorious DMV and sorting my books. You are here to read more about our HONEYMOON!!

Justin and I went on three different excursions while we were in Aruba. The first was a Jeep Tour!

 

We had the option to do a full day tour or a half day tour – but 8 hours in a jeep sounded like a little much – so we opted for the half day and were very pleased with the trip!  Because Aruba is a small island, there isn’t TOO much ground to cover.

The tour brought us to a less populated area of the island. We made 4 different stops where we were able to explore and learn some history about the island. What made the tour even more fun was our guide! He was very kind – and extremely funny. He made tons of jokes and kept the group very light!

The first stop was The Natural Bridge.

This actually is one of TWO natural bridges in Aruba. The other one doesn’t exist anymore. It collapsed in 2005 approximately one year after Hurricane Ivan. It happened in the middle of the night – which was a fortunate occurrence since on any given day, there were many people on the bridge and under the bridge. It could have been a tragedy.

We hopped on the remaining bridge very briefly – because it too looked like it had seen better days and probably wasn’t super safe.  But the views surrounding the bridge were amazing as well. I could have watched the waves crashing off of the rocks for hours.

Next, we stopped at a place where the Arubans used to melt gold.  Less than 2 decades ago, the Arubans melted gold inside of the structure below. It never looked any different (or more complete) than it does in these pictures. It was constructed in this way to make it appear as if there were cannons in the windows so pirates would not be tempted to enter.

While we were at this stop, we also learned about a tourist rock stacking wishing well.

Originally, fisherman used to stack rocks where that had caught a fish so they would know where to come back to – but it turned into a fun touristy thing. Basically – stack 7 rocks.. each one representing a wish!

The next stop.. was the most odd stop of the entire tour…

Yep – a donkey sanctuary!  Apparently the donkeys in Aruba (originally from Africa) have caused many traffic accidents and are just unsafe traveling the touristy streets of Aruba. For the past decade, this nonprofit organization has been making a safe haven for the donkey. There are about 60 donkeys at the sanctuary and roughy 80 still in the wild.

The final stop was at the Natural Pool!

We trekked down a mountain side and were able to swim and snorkel in a pool – with waves crashing all around!  The water was probably that saltiest I was in for the entire trip!  There were tons of fish to see.. and one also nibbled on my toe. Of course, being a drama queen, I screamed. No one believed me…but I swear a fish bit my toe!

By the end of the tour (around 1:00) .. I was glad we chose the half day – because we were both exhausted! It was so much fun to see the site and natural spectacles that Aruba had to offer!

———————

 

Do you like to do excursions when you are on vacation? What is the best one you have been on?

 

Any bets as to how long I’ll be at the DMV today?