Dear friends and family,It's really been fascinating how much quickly these days are whizzing by when compared to at home, which seem so full. It is dark (sun goes down around 6:30) and hot on the lanai, with stars shining, and more Peruvian pan pipes playing. The wind has picked up, but not much. It got to about 94 today.Basically we awoke bright and eager for adventure - so took a short walk on the beach. Had interesting chat with American couple just retired who own a home nearby in Aruba, and have been coming for years. they had owned with Blue Green but sold all but one week, so that they can still come out every day and sit on Eagle Beach. they had decorated their pallappa hut with flags from all the states they ... read more

Dear ones, the days are flying by even faster than they do at home. Why is that? I'm sitting out on the sunny lanai (yes, hot at 6 pm in almost direct sun), with the loop from the Peruvian restaurant across the street paying Titanic on pan pipes. We did our early morning snorkel at Boca C, with very flat sea, but unfortunately the biting things are still there, so we moved closer in after just 4 turtles. No bitings in shallower water. I got some closeups of sargeant majors who seem to be saying "did you bring any food for us? and the French Angel fish came over too. Note the 3 cowfish photos - the same fish, 2 different colors!! The photo of Mr. Bluehead is for Megan. 2 hours of lovely relaxed snorkeling ... read more

Actually it's Wednesday morning, and we have discovered that the wifi is ok out here on the balcony/lanai, so we are here looking out from the 3rd floor studio to a totally no-breeze day The banaquits in the coconut tree opposite MAY come to get my little offering of muesli. We'll see. Yesterday we decided to give the turtles a break, esp with David's bites being very itchy and "angry." Mine are hardly noticeable by comparison. Instead we kept on real clothes and visited the bird sanctuary and nearby lagoons. The usual waders but no hoped-for roseate spoonbills. then we drove over to the usual snorkeling places and found the waves crashing high at Boca! No one was in the water, but we did see a new "Octopus boat" in the water. It is A ROUND ... read more

https://youtu.be/69NnohVUkUQ Hi there, friends and family, We had an uneventful drive to the airport in Pgh, arriving at the parking lot before the 4 am shuttle. Uneventrul going, but upon unpacking the car, Jean asked "where's my 31 bag I always carry on the plane?" It's no doubt just inside the family room/garage door. Panic as we tried to remember all that was in there, and did we need those things: earphones and reading materials/kindles/Ipads for the travelling, locks and keys for the still-to-be-locked (PTL) suitcases, thumbdrives (uh oh) for Jean in case there's LME work etc., binoculars (what's that bird over there?), mints and snacks for the trip (oh well), half our cash (oh well, $3.50 charge at the ATM). The good news is that our panic didn't last long, we hadn't accused the other ... read more

Yesterday was all about introducing new people to snorkeling. Bruce & Joann Felton and their 11 year old daughter Bella are from our church in Solon. The girls are getting on famously and we're having a great time. First, to Aqua Windie's to rent equipment. Then to Boca Catalina to find turtles. And we did!!! About a dozen, then over to the area where the boats come in for great variety. Joann was worried about Bella, but she did great, and by lunch time they returned back to that shop to purchase rather than rent. A dry snorkel like Megan's!! We rested in the heat of the day, as usual, and then met up at Arashi. Maybe that was too big a jump in difficulty, but I prefer to blame the shop for getting Bella's mask ... read more