Here’s the second of several recap posts from our family spring break trip to Aruba, including our snorkeling adventure with Jolly Pirates! Watch part I here.
Easter Sunday
Ahoy there from the Hyatt Regency Aruba! Easter was right in the middle of our trip and we were excited to learn that the Hyatt had an Easter egg hunt planned for the kids. (The Easter Bunny visited our house in Cville, so they received baskets there upon our return.)
Waiting for the hunt to begin with Grandma!
There were two sections: big kids and little kids. But like most egg hunts, it was a madhouse and there were some tears afterwards.
Everyone recovered and we met up for lunch by the pool!
I had fish tacos and a Balashi!
cheerful pirates
The highlight of our trip for me was our afternoon snorkeling with Merry pirates! My sister made the reservation for us and we had a great time! We boarded this pirate ship (complete with a friendly crew!) and had fun snorkeling in two different locations, followed by rope swings and a dance party on the deck.
We traveled to two different snorkeling sites: the first was a sunken ship from World War II. Looking at it underwater covered in barnacles was like looking at the Titanic! A little creepy. The water was a little rough, so the younger children stayed on board during that stop.
After about 20 minutes there, we climbed back on board and sailed to our second spot, which was a quieter cove.
These guys came in with their goggles and just put their faces in the water to see the schools of fish we swam among! I didn’t even wear a life jacket here because the water was so salty you were basically floating!
The rope swing
The highlight of a Jolly Pirates adventure is the rope swing! Guess who was the first person to do it? Younger Barbara!!
Come on Mazen, come on!
The turn
I asked one of the shipmates if I could make the jump. He only told me if he was face up! The next thing I knew I was actually on my back and he was telling me “DON’T LET HIM GO!” If you want to see the video version go to me Instagram Story Highlights! It was incredible!
On the way back, we had an open bar from Pirate’s Poison (and plenty of NA options for the kids). And they played music for the dance floor!
One of those magical afternoons on the water with the sun shining!
After diving, we were all exhausted and ended up having a casual dinner at the resort while watching Duke (lose, sadly) in basketball.
Fast forward to the next day when we spent our time at the beach and pool!
Happy hour
This smoked tequila drink was our favorite!
Caya House
For dinner, we walked to the town to Casa Caya!
The atmosphere on the outdoor patio was lovely!
I didn’t capture all of the food we enjoyed, but everything was delicious. More seafood! And fries with yucca.
Afterwards we walked around the city a bit and had ice cream for dessert!
Thanks for following us! Part III comes next to conclude our journey and share my final thoughts and recommendations!
