When the alarm went off, Jess dragged herself out of bed and into the shower, so that Jer could French braid her hair. We got ready and headed down for our hearty continental breakfast, then went out to the road. After just a few minutes, a blue former schoolbus with Kayak Aruba painted on it pulled up, we verified our information and climbed on board. After a couple more stops, we headed south of Oranjestad to the Kayak Aruba launching area near Savaneta. We all got bottles of water, life jackets and single or double kayaks, then our guides gave very clear instructions on how to get in and out, how to paddle, and what to do if we tipped over. Then our guides took us around a sheltered area to practice a bit, before dividing the group into those going to the touristy De Palm Island and those, like us, going to Mangel Halto reef.
The paddle to Mangel Halto was pretty tough, as we were kayaking against the wind; a number of people tipped over, some due to the wind and others because they were trying to help. Eventually, we all made it to the sandy beach, where we pulled our kayaks ashore. Our guide gave us a few minutes to drink some water, catch our breath and wander around the little mangrove "island" (there was a narrow channel around it, with a little wooden walkway connecting it to the shore). Eventually, the Kayak Aruba motorboat arrived with our snorkel gear, and everyone quickly got ready to head out and see fish. The surf was a bit rough at the reef, but Jer was on hand to help Jess, so we made it through and got to see lots of cool things. Our guide was great — he stopped to point out a barracuda, a pair of iguana fish and a school of midnight blue tangs, as well as showing us fire coral (so we could avoid it) and a sea urchin (spiny!). We also saw parrotfish, surgeonfish, damselfish, grunts, butterflyfish and lots of other pretty fish. There was also a good variety of corals — in addition to fire coral, there was a lot of brain coral, tube sponges and star coral. Our guide then took us over a sunk cabin cruiser, where Jer free-dived down 20-25 feet to take a picture; the scuba divers on the wreck all pointed at him in apparent surprise. Jess, watching from above, was mightily amused.
Sooner than we wanted, it was time to return to the kayaks and head back to our launching point. Our smugness at having made it to Mangel Halto without capsizing was quickly obliterated, as the wind caught our kayak and we tipped over just as we were getting ourselves pointed in the right direction. That kayak smacked Jess in the head and stunned her a bit, but fortunately we were in 3 feet of water, so we just stood up, gathered those of our belonging not already tethered to the boat in waterproof cases and climbed back into the kayak (with our guide assisting to keep us from doing it again). Even though we were going with the wind, the trip back was a bit of a struggle, with Jer exhausted and Jess tired and shaken up. After we turned in our gear and rinsed off, our driver took us to Balashi Gardens — a little restaurant at the island's beer brewery — for lunch. Jess had a cheeseburger and Jer had chicken saté, both with good fries: it wasn't gourmet, but it hit the spot after the morning's exertions. We enjoyed chatting with our fellow kayakers, a couple from Wisconsin who had won the trip to Aruba (as well as cash and a trip to Cedar Point) on Wheel of Fortune!
The Kayak Aruba bus dropped us back at our hotel, where we happily rinsed off the saltwater and treated our incipient sunburns, then Jess updated this journal. Once we were feeling more presentable, we sat on the balcony chatting with our Swedish neighbors of a while. Eventually, hunger started to intrude on our thoughts, so we got dressed and headed out to Madame Janette. For once, Google Maps was actually right, but we distrusted it and turned around to head back to our hotel. We spotted a neighborhood supermarket and stopped in to ask for directions; while the shopkeeper actually didn't know the restaurant's location, a trio of patrons sitting around chatting with him did, and gave him very clear directions to translate for us. With their invaluable assistance, we eventualy found the restaurant just a bit further on from where we'd given up before. We were told it would be 20-30 minutes for a table, since we arrived at dinner time without a reservation; we waited 45 minutes, then asked the hostess, and it seemed that someone had snagged our table. She apologized profusely, seated us immediately and gave us caipirinhas on the house (they were more like Brazilian limeade, really, but tasty). We followed the guidebook's recommendations: after the tasty herbed bread with herbed butter, we split a bowl of potato leek soup and an entree of almond grouper with creamed spinach and au gratin potatoes, and we were too full for dessert! The service was friendly but scattered, but the food was good enough that we didn't really mind.
The walk back to the MVC Eagle Beach was a lot shorter, since we knew where we were going. Back in the room, Jess updated this journal, then we looked at the day's pictures (taken with Jer's underwater camera). Soon, however, our long day caught up to us, and it was time for bed.