Aruba

Land ho! Land on the starboard bow! I didn’t actually say that from my balcony as our ship arrived at Oranjestad, Aruba BUT I was tempted. I’d been at sea for 33 hours at that point which is the longest I’d ever been to sea. Aruba seemed flat and heavily built up. The cruise ship pier was easy to pull up to and it took little time for Captain Nyseter to pull along the pier. For me, I had to pull my dive bag to one of the glass lined elevators and go up to deck 11 where I checked in for the dive trip. Then, I had to take the elevator down to deck 1 to get my dive knives from Security. I had to show them my receipt for the knives. They found my knives and I returned to deck 11. When it was time, our group descended to deck 1, had our SeaPasses scanned and walked one of the gangways to the pier. A lady was waiting for us. She took us to the boat that we’d use for our dives. Sadly, I can’t remember it’s name. Ton, a retired Dutch IBM executive, was the first mate. He shepherded us to spots on the boat and told to use to start setting up our gear if we brought it or issued it to those who didn’t.

When all were aboard, we left for the boat’s dive shop as they were short 2 pairs of fins for members of our group. Once we left their shop, we proceeded to the location of the Antilla wreck. The Antilla was a German freighter which was off the coast of Aruba at the start of World War II. Apparently, German authorities didn’t warn the ship of the pending invasion of the Netherlands. When Germany invaded the Netherlands, the ship was at anchor. So, when war broke out, Dutch authorities in Aruba came on board the freighter and informed her captain that they were going to seize the ship. The captain pleaded for 24 hours. The authorities foolishly gave it to him. Once the authorities left and were out of sight, the captain proceeded to scuttle i.e. sink the ship. When the Dutch authorities returned the next day, they found out what he’d done. The captain and his crew spent the whole of the war as prisoners of war. Later, he moved to Bonaire where he opened a hotel. There, you can see a picture of his freighter. I heard this story from Ton who was explaining to us about the wreck.

On our way out, we got paired up. I got paired with a guy named Tony. We were part of a 6 diver group that went with Ton’s assistant. When we arrived at the dive site, we took frog steps into the water. Then, we followed a line to the anchor line where we began descending to the bottom.

The wreck was in good shape for a World War II ship. It was also BIG. It was 400 feet long. We dove along side it seeing the various corals growing on the wreck as well as various species of fish. Visibility was at least 35 feet. Ton’s assistant pointed out things of interest including a very long light green Moray eel. The dive lasted at least 35 minutes. When it was time, our group began ascending the anchor line back to the ship. After our group was aboard, we waited for Ton’s group to return. While waiting we changed to fresh tanks of air. Once the second group was aboard, the board departed for the 2nd dive site.

The 2nd dive site was the wreck called the Pedernalis. According to Ton, two German subs were prowling the waters one night off Aruba. The first fired a torpedo which hit a ship but it failed to explode as the crew forgot to the take off the cap which covered the detonator. This tipped off ships that subs were in the area. Luck was not with the Pedernalis which headed straight in the direction of the second German sub. The crew on the second sub made sure the torpedo detonator was uncovered. The ship sank in 25 feet of water. As it sank in such shallow waters, people on shore who owned hotels on shore didn’t like their guests seeing a sunken ship so they asked the Dutch authorities to do something about it. They gladly took care of the problem by blowing the wreck to bits. You can see various pieces on the ocean floor.

After the 2nd dive, we headed back to the cruise ship pier. Ton and his assistant did a great job. The company they’re with is called Red Sail Sports. Later, I visited their dive shop which in my opinion wasn’t very impressive. Still, I’d gladly go diving with them again.

I returned to the ship and turned my dive knives back in to security. I dumped my bag off at my cabin. I grabbed something quick to eat for lunch at the Windjammer. Then, I left the ship again so I could see a little of Oranjestad and take some pictures. From what I saw of the town, I wasn’t impressed. I was amazed by how many jewelry stores they had. I believe they were there for the steady flow tourists that arrived by cruise ship. At St. Maarten, the fishing boat assistant there told me they had 1 cruise ship come in to port every day. Considering how many people are on those ships, I suspect the stores get a good bit of business.

After wandering around for 45 minutes or so, I returned to the ship. I caught up with Harvey and found out how his tour of Aruba went. According to him, they must have driven the length of the island twice during their tour. From listening to him, it didn’t sound like there was a lot to see in Aruba.

Around dinner time, I returned to the Windjammer and it’s sister café. Departure time at Aruba was 8 p.m. This meant it was dark when we left. The Windjammer is at the end of deck 11. It has large glass windows so passengers can look out and see the surrounding area. This was a huge plus as I got to see Oranjestad all lit up at night as we departed. It was really impressive. Our next port of call was Willemstad, Curacao. I looked forward to my next adventure. Stay tuned.