I have gratitude today for...
* deciding to sleep in this morning instead of getting up extra early to go out to breakfast. We just had granola bars on the balcony before it was time to go to the lobby to wait for the jeep to pick us up. 
* finally doing a jeep tour of Aruba! I've wanted to do it since our honeymoon but we blew it off in 2011 and 2012. I found this great family owned company that does their own tours. They have good reviews and it sounded more personal than the big jeep tours that have 20 people each on them. Today ended up just being Andy & I. It was cool that it was just us. Gio did pick up a few of his friends after the natural pool who came along for the ride. They live in Aruba and had never seen some of the most popular tourist spots. It's funny how no matter where you live, you tend to skip over what your hometown/city has to offer. 
* our tour guide, driver and new friend Gio. At first I was a little disappointed it wasn't Maddie because she sounds like a blast. Gio ended up being awesome. He's her son and has been driving the jeeps since he was 14 (he's now 30.) That made me feel better when I was wondering if we'd be going down the side of the mountain and into the ocean, on our way to the natural pool! 
* our drive to the natural pool. All I can say is "holy shit!" Even driving on the normal streets was crazy- they drive so fast in Aruba. I don't get scared easily, but in my head I was freaking out a bit. You're in this jeep with no protection should an accident happen. It was definitely a fun adventure though. Once we paid to get inside the national park it was about a 20 min drive to the natural pool. Oh. My. God. It was so bumpy, rocky, hilly---I don't know how else to describe it. The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. You could see the ocean and so many animals- goats, donkeys and I don't even know what else. After holding my breath a few times and praying to God we didn't tumble down the side of the mountain we arrived at the natural "pool" area. Gio dropped us off and we had about 45 minutes there to hang out and explore. At first we couldn't even find the "pool" because it looked nothing like it does in the pictures. It turns out the wind was so strong that the water was much more rough than normal. The pool really looked like it was just a part of the ocean. We finally figured out where it was after talking to a couple of other people who had arrived. We were told typically 30-40 people will be there and that it's a great snorkeling spot. I was disappointed we couldn't snorkel there but it didn't look safe. Huge waves were crashing over the rocks causing a strong current and surges. I did go in to say I went in. I was glad I had my water shoes! The water was beautiful and I could see how it was pool-like when the water is calmer as it usually is. I've wanted to see it for so long  was happy we finally went. Now we know we'd like to go back and hopefully next time we can snorkel. 
* going to the Three Bridges and to see the holes in the ground. We've been to the bridge on the other side before but not to this spot. It was absolutely gorgeous. We only stayed for a few minutes because we wanted to save time for snorkeling. We did have Gio take a few pictures. One was a redo of a favorite of mine from our first trip to Aruba in 2009. 
* finally...snorkeling! We went to a new spot (for us) called Mangel Halto Beach. We put on our snorkel gear (I forgot how hard it is to walk in flippers!) and went in. At first we didn't see much. It was very shallow and coral was everywhere. Sometimes it's hard to tell how shallow it is when you're floating on top of the water. I scraped my legs pretty bad but was determined to see fish. We almost gave up but decided to try one more spot. The water was very rough (just like it was at the natural pool.) Usually there is hardly any current--it's basically like swimming in a pool. Not today...we were warned by other people you needed to be a strong swimmer. I consider myself a strong swimmer, but this was tough water. We did finally find a lot of really great fish. All different species, colors, sizes, etc. I thought they were so cool I lost track of how far out I actually was. At one point I realized Andy was a lot closer to shore and I knew I had to start heading in. It. Was. Hard. It was very hard to swim to shore. I was trying but it felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. The current was strong and I was in water I couldn't stand in. My mask was leaking so I was trying to tread water and tighten it. I swallowed water a few times and realized I was starting to panic. We all know you can't panic in water. I tried to breathe and told myself to just take it slow, focus on breathing and start swimming. Obviously I eventually made it, but it was certainly a lesson for me. I've never really understood how people drown. You always hear the water doesn't have to be deep, that it comes down to people panicking, and so on. I believe all of that now. I am not saying I was any where near drowning, but I can relate now, to how it does happen to people when you wouldn't think it's possible. Even with the scare and my battle wound (a gash near my ankle that was bleeding everywhere when I got out of the water), this was my favorite part of the day. I just loved being with all of the fish, watching them swim around and eat and not even paying attention to these big blobs floating above them. 
* Gio taking us by the rock formations before heading back to the hotel. They are natural formations and they are the biggest rocks I've ever seen. They are beautiful (like everything in Aruba), and when you get to the top you have an incredible view of the area!
*getting a few cute picture's with the Madi's Magical Tour jeep, including one with Gio. He had me sign the jeep too, I chose to write on the front of the hood. Gave some love from Philly. 
* going to Bugalo and sharing the chicken satay platter since we didn't eat anything all day. Love the views from that pier!
* hanging at the pool for about an hour after Bugalo. They had a DJ playing and I laid down and closed my eyes for a while. 
* going to Amazonia for an early dinner. Their food is amazing. They had the best roasted peppers (red and yellow) I've ever had at the salad bar. We loved everything just like last time we went (during our honeymoon.) Our favorites were the house specialty top sirloin, the garlic filet mignon, the sausage and the grilled pineapples. We both ate way too much but knew we would. I wish I could have kept eating because they'll bring you endless amounts of food but I reached my limit pretty quickly and couldn't look at anymore food at that point. Like I've said over and over this past week, a detox is coming after the holidays. Juicing and healthy meals for a few weeks will be a must! We've definitely eaten well this vacation!
* going to bed early tonight. And I mean early. We got back to the hotel from dinner and walking around town for a bit around 8pm. Our plan was to rest for a bit, get through the food coma and then have drinks and go to the Hyatt casino. Nope...I watched Jeopardy and tried to feel less full and ended up falling asleep. I woke up around 1am and couldn't believe we wasted our whole night sleeping. Andy woke up too and was wide awake so he went to the casino at our hotel. He won $10, woohoo. It was a weird night because I got up in the middle of the night and finally changed out of my dress from dinner, brushed my teeth, etc. (around 3am.) We had a long day so I was ok with taking it easy for a night. This trip is going by so fast. I can't believe we only have 3 full days left!