Aruba Part II

Ernest and Richard standing in back of Julia sitting in w/c

In an early morning hour, our cruise vessel slowly pulled into the port of Aruba while the sun began glistening overhead promising a beautiful day. This visit would be unlike my first, with a snorkeling venture planned on a catamaran. Warned about the heat of the sun, my immediate reaction was seeking a cap to wear upon my head, but once inside the terminal, I heard my name being called and turned to find Ernest Giel, Public Relations Representative, from Aruba Cruise Tourism, calling me with Richard Fingal from De Palm Tours standing nearby.

A warm welcoming, Ermest Giel enthusiastically reminded me he would be waiting for my return as he helped pick out a cap for my head. Then the three of us had our photo taken together. At this point, I remained uncertain if I was more excited about seeing them or the venture about to unfold.

Within a few moments, Naomi Muller from Red Sail Sports Aruba, arrived with a staff member of the cruise vessel to take me to the Fiesta Catamaran. Crewmember Harold took photos and then I turned the camera, making him laugh at me. Little did I know, Harold would be my main escort for additional ports of call while on this same voyage to the Southeastern Caribbean and Bahamas.

Naomi Muller with Staff Member from Cruise Vessel

Julia Hollenbeck in w/c with Naomi Muller kneeling next to her

Crewmember Harold who Escorted Hollenbeck for her travels to land

The fact is there was more to do within Aruba than what readily meets the eye, and I was eager to join the hundreds of snorkelers, scuba drivers, or just plain wannabes and fish in the ocean. After all, I had practiced on dry land in swimming pools and on vessels at sea and knew I could still swim using my arms and float the same as many post-quadriplegia individuals. If anything, the latter my greater concern, in that I knew a "buddy snorkeler" would be necessary to keep me from floating away.

Catamaran next to pier at dawn

In the early morning hours, at precisely 8 AM (CST) it only appeared overcast, while the sun began reaching its full glory and turned everything into a bright sunny day just minutes later.

The Catamaran sitting next to the dock reminded me of years gone by, with Cats snuggling the shore upon the sand waiting for tourists.

Lucky was I on days that were slow, a beachcomber would come to invite me upon the craft and we sailed past the breakers out into the ocean, where I would bathe in the sun and swim to my heart's content. The major difference was this craft docked at a pier with several bench seats for a much larger group of people and catamarans build in the 1960's had more deck surface.

Hoisted aboard in the arms of Captain Richard Rasmin while First Mate Josue Koc went back to collapse and retrieve my wheels from dockside, then placed them next to me at the end of a bench seat below deck, marked a moment in time I will never forget. Wheels parked next to me instead of scuba gear - what a sight to behold - at least they provided a means of walking!

Passengers began boarding, overflowing into the lower hulk where I was situated near the beverage booth. True, there was not much to see, except for the clowning behind the bar counter by Captain Rich, which kept conversation flowing, smiles and giggles; but safety undoubtedly the most important thing and once sailing - really sailing, excitement filled the void, despite sitting "down below" instead of "top side" because I was still able to see the ocean.

Overwhelmed with excitement at the mere sighting of a famous lighthouse and thinking about the shipwreck marking its name, even at a distance, the strength and glory of the California Lighthouse is remarkable. Surely, passengers thought I was crazy when screaming, "There's the California Lighthouse!" Then I realized the Fiesta had slowed to a stop, anchored - was there going to be a shipwreck beneath the sea?

Given a "hang-ten; all okay", the Captain was ready while my snorkeling buddy, "Little Rich" peered out from below and First Mate Josue gave a "thumbs up" to Naomi Muller who helped by taking this photography.

A passing sailboat heading for land deterred us not in these calm waters of the ocean; our sails unfurled, everyone quietly waited, then one by one, passengers with large rubber black "duck feet", orange life vests, snorkels and goggles, began entering the ocean. Long before my actual venture, I requested no life vest and no duck feet or anything that would make me more buoyant than what I already was to help lessen the chance of "floating away". The crew agreed without argument and later threw in a life preserver. A great idea for it was only my arms, that could help tread water and that would only last just so long.

After Captain Rich carried me to top deck level, I asked, "Stand me up; I'll grab onto the rails."

"Are you sure?" He asked and I promised I would be all right. With knees locked, I balanced myself holding onto the rails, (quickly reminding me of rehab years ago). Little Rich, my snorkeling buddy, was already in the water and jokingly daring me; what a great way to surprise him, as I leaned forward, let go of the rails, and dove into the ocean!

The first words I heard after surfacing, "You can swim!" Of course I could swim - I would not have dove in if I couldn't - but herein began a new dilemma: Trying to adjust eye goggles with no way to tread water - the life preserver sure came in handy but my legs kept floating to the surface. With one arm slung over the life preserver, the other hand free to attempt fixing my goggles.

Once I finally got the goggles and snorkel situated and Little Rich had the cheap camera dangling from his arm, I began floating as soon as turning loose of the life preserver. Below me swam fish with stripes of black and yellow; Little Rich used the camera and took a picture of me from below, with the sun glaring upon the ocean.

The legs kept popping up to surface like a dolphin; Little Rich began pushing my knees back down, and I could barely keep from swallowing half the sea as I laughed at this crazy scenario. But the fact was, I could float and skimmed along the surface of the ocean with ease by using minimal movement of my arms, gently moving freely in the water.

Whatever made me forget about weights for my ankles or around my waist, I will never know. The truth being I just wanted to snorkel and join the fish in the sea if only for a few seconds. After several attempts, the goggles adjusted, I was off the life preserver and floating along nicely, looking for fish, coral, or anything in the sea.

Then another major problem occurred, only this time it was with the snorkel and for some unknown reason, water kept falling into the tube. It was a tough decision to make: Should I go back on the Catamaran or stay in the wonderful ocean, with temperatures' the same as warm sunny days in the summer, clinging onto a life preserver?

The knees won out in the end, as they popped up inside of the donut hole one too many times. Begrudgingly, I gave into minimal arm strength and re-boarded the Fiesta, gently and without mistakes with helping hands from the crew and Captain Rich!

Captain Rich grasped a hold of me as Little Rich watched; there was no doubt I was in very good hands and very appreciative of this crew. The only thing that really upset me was realizing I could not force my body even half-way down to the sand or coral beds.

'There was certainly something very strange with gravity', I thought, as I felt myself pushed back up to the surface of the sea. There was something wrong all right; I did not have any weights on to hold me down!

Placed below deck along with a few other wet ducks, we visited and laughed about our snorkeling. Then the Fiesta Catamaran hoisted sails again and began moving to another location while I recalled days of old; laying many-a-time on the deck of a catamaran, baking my body to a dark tan, and diving in the ocean to cool from the heat.

The good dreams of the past never seem to go away, but rather bring back fond memories. 'Of course I can swim', giggled in my mind while remembering another time I thought I was swimming, but instead the current began drowning me and my son had to come to the rescue.

Close by, another Catamaran grazed the water. Naomi went to take this photo, as I wondered why the snorkelers' were not using the slide (left side of vessel). It seemed to me rear-ending it down the steps a lot more difficult than sliding down the slide.

Naomi returned after taking a few photos of passengers I could not see on one side of the upper deck and sat down quietly next to me. Explaining there were too many passengers, the next stop would not be as smooth for snorkeling as the last for Little Rich to provide one-on-one assistance for me to go back into the sea.

Disappointment may have filled my heart, but logic prevailed, and I knew she was right. My being in the ocean could mean disaster for someone else and potentially for me as well.

Another sailboat lazily relaxed next to a Catamaran while snorkelers checked out the scene beneath the surface.

Little Rich came to retrieve my cheap water camera purchased for this venture, promising a few photos of what might be seen of the wrecked vessel "down below", while Naomi continued to visit with me.

Indeed, Little Rich did take photos of an old shipwreck beneath the sea; the passengers eventually returned to the Fiesta, all very excited.

The truth be told, I had looked at the sea and knew Naomi was right - I would have been bouncing around like a rubber ball had I gone into the ocean. My predicament an odd one as I thought about scuba diving (with weights of course) and wondering what would happen if I entered the ocean and rolled myself into a ball by grabbing a hold of my ankles - that's if I could. No doubt, I would end up "bottoms up" - not really a good idea.

The First Mates did a grand job hoisting sails for our return back to land, as did Naomi Muller who took the photos. The crewmembers had to be proud of a job well done and one they obviously did frequently.

Too soon, Red Sail Sports headed us back to shore, but the cruise was grand and full of wet passengers sharing their tales of what they saw and giggling about their venture in the sea while the sun and breeze dried them out during the sail.

I had a front row seat while watching my snorkeling buddy clown with First Mate Josue, behind the beverage counter, joking with passengers, fixing drinks and sharing a bit of humor; we sailed back to Aruba.

It was all good, even a bit nostalgic, and perhaps in many ways the return more relaxed now with passengers aware of their sailing or cruising comrades.

Captain Rich was not in sight, but Naomi found him quietly enjoying a relaxed time with what he obviously loved - there is just something about the sea.

On the way to the dock, we sighted land and Naomi captured a couple of wind sails in the sky overhead, but my favorite photo of all would have to be the California Lighthouse.

Returning to land and the cruise vessel, I hurried to change and then meet with Ernest Giel in the lobby of the cruise vessel. We eagerly greeted one another, exchanged our homeland gifts, and then upon Ernest's insistance, we visited while I enjoyed lunch on ship before heading for town in Oranjestad with him.

True to the island and their grand hospitality, Ernest scurried me to a camera shop, jewelry store, and then a small stand to buy Aruba's Aloe lotion before returning to the cruise ship to continue the voyage across the sea to a neighboring island known as Bonaire.

Back to Top