The ship (our cruise line, Paloma) does one and two night cruises. We were four of the six who were on the two gut cruise, so this special day trip on a smaller boat consisted solely of the four of us girls and a very sweet newly wed couple on their honeymoon from Spain (to further how much I love THAT country, we learned that in Spain, when you get married you get an additional two weeks vacation on top of the four weeks you get no matter what!) The six of us, our guide, Long, and our private crew set sail.
We first went to one little island that had both a sandy beach and a short but rather steep hike to the top, where our extremely sweaty (I mainly mention it because we were so sweaty it is mentionable) bodies had spectacular views!
A view from the top! See how that little cluster of islands wrap around that bit of sea? How does that happen?!
Annie, Alex, and the beach!
It's amazing to me how many different plants grow on these small island! We aren't talking just one kind but hundreds and hundreds!
When we got to the bottom we were rewarded with a swim in the perfect water yet again. The crew played soccer on the beach.
From there we went to an oyster farm where we learned about the process of harvesting salt water pearls!
Our guide at the oyster farm showing a cluster of oysters whose pearls won't be ready for another eighteen months!
He then demonstrated how you open the oyster and extract the pearl. We got lucky and the pearl he extracted was PERFECT!
We boarded back onto our boat, went for another lovely swim, and had another fabulously decadent 5 course meal - this time barbecue dishes! Alex and Annie got to show off their new knowledge of Vietnamese sauces (we all have a new love for sea salt and lime with a seasoning or two - it makes everything delicious!)
Afterward we got some time to sunbath (I should note: no matter the SPF strength, we all came back from this day a different color than we started), and then kayak some more. Today, rather than kayak around a village we were in a remote part of the bay. We kayaked into caves where you could see almost nothing but the faint light at the other side, and had to dodge stalagmites (thats the one that hangs from the top right?) you could here nothing other than the dripping of freshly evaporated water trapped on the ceiling and bats chirping and fluttering. It oddly reminded me of some of the quieter parts of the pirates of the Caribbean ride at Disneyland (my reference point, apparently, for everything). We would find ourselves in remote lagoons staring up at the awesomeness of the formations around us and the perfect jade colored water.
Then it was time to swim and relax some more before we were taken back to the main boat. The only thing lacking in my amazing and very compact camera is water resistance so it was not a part of any of these water activities, which I really am sad about, but as Alex H. Pointed out, the pictures don't really show it the way it feels so it might just be best that we try to hold some of those moments in our memory.
Alex C. and I enjoying a drink back on the big boat at sunset.
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Yes I can almost taste the sea salt and lime. You are a remarkable traveler and I feel fortunate to join you in a couple of weeks.
ReplyDeleteHeaven on Earth! Halong Bay...peaceful and divine. Thrilled that you're enjoying Vietnam. I'll go back with you! Thanks for the shout out. xoxo
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