Aruba - March 19 (Part 2)

 I'll start where I left off on the last post, on our drive to the Natural Bridge in the Arikok National Park. The highway ends part way into the park, when it turns into a gravel road. I recall our driver telling us the reason for this, but have forgotten.

The vistas outside the bus windows were simply amazing. As the next few photos were taken from the moving bus, they likely are little fuzzy.

The original natural bridge in the park collapsed in 2005. According to Wikipedia, it was 25 feet (7.6 meters) high, and 100 feet (30.5 meters) in length and a remnant of a cave.  The natural bridge we saw is called the Baby Bridge, for obvious reasons, with a span of 25 feet (7.6 meters) and only 3 feet (.9 meters) above sea level.

I walked onto the bridge and took photos from that vantage point.

Looking out towards the Atlantic ocean on my left

Watching the waves crash against the shore to my right.

I turned to take a photo of the ocean again, just as a wave crashed into the bridge.

I got sprayed and tasted the salt of the ocean.

Smaller waves hit the formation on my right, with the sea water from the higher waves pouring off the shelf that was hidden.

I have many photos (too many to share) of this particular spot as I was fascinated by the height of the waves and the force with which they reached the shore.

One last photo of the pool under the bridge.

Then it was time to board the bus for one more stop at a discontinued gold mine/smelting plant.

This was a stop I could have done without as it was very hot, overrun with tour groups, and frankly, not that interesting (at least to me).

The interior was full of debris, and while others attempted the climb to the top floor, I stayed on the ground. I'm a klutz and climbing over and on rocks and stones is a sure way for me to sprain an ankle.

On the ocean side, there was a rather desolate looking series of rocks piled up, I suspect by other tourists.

The lighting wasn't great for photos, and there seemed to be haze in the air that was obvious even as we walked around the site.

Our drive back to the port was long, as traffic was backed up for some time. I was happy to get back to the ship to shower and change for our solo meet-up that evening. 

Sail-away that evening was late, about 9 p.m. I wandered down to Deck 7, just to watch for any last minute pier runners. While everyone arrived in time, there were a couple who squeaked in while the crew were starting to dismantle the ramps and barriers. 

Next up - Bonaire