Snorkeling, Oceanarium and Bird Santcuary

Friday. We have found treasure island. Ana Rosa's, Las Palmares is a wonderful place to stay. It is an Eco-friendly resort run by Ana's family. After a breakfast of coffee, fresh papaya, and an egg empanada, we headed out to go snorkeling. First we had to barter for the cost and duration of the boat trip. We arranged to have two stops to snorkel and a boat tour around the island, about two hours. Our guide arranged for another couple to go on the trip with us. Fortunately for us they spoke both Spanish and English since our guide spoke only Spanish.

Our first stop was an island with corral reefs and some colorful fish. It was an arduous swim as the wave action was very rough. Otherwise, it was a great adventure and a good swim for about one hour. At our next stop we snorkeled over a sunken airplane.

We continued on our trip around the island and passed by an Oceanarium. We asked to stop there and wetoured the Oceanarium. The girl that was with us swam with a dolphin. The Oceanarium was neat because the fish were in pens that were built right into the ocean. They had a dolphin show, sharks, sting rays, turtles, and a large variety of ocean fish. Jane bartered with a vendor and bought 3 coral necklaces. ($20,000)

We headed back out to sea and stopped a a wild bird sanctuary. There was a large collection of tropical birds.

After four hours in the sun in a small motor boat we returned to Ana Rosa's. $100,000 boat ride.

We ate dinner and were in bed by 8:00. There is very limited electricity and not enough light to read by.