00:09my wife and i recently june stayed at sandals in curacao we wanted to explore the island and
00:16we're going to rent a car but they were sold out we went online and found a private tour where
00:20you
00:21could create your day-long custom tour my wife and i wanted to explore willemstadt snorkel with
00:26a chance to witness sea turtles a nice waterside place to eat seafood and places to make photo
00:32memories well we could not have imagined what was ahead when we were picked up in our own private
00:37van with alberto at the helm and anita providing the color and background to our journey we learned
00:42anita had come from the netherland over 25 years ago when alberto was born and raised on the island
00:47the both of them were so nice and inviting and anita's knowledge was willingly shared in my wife
00:52and i learned so much history and how life is on the island our first stop was willemstadt and the
00:58beautiful colorful buildings in queen emma bridge we learned on a walking tour about the history of
01:03the government and parliamentary buildings anita left us for a bit so we could explore and shop
01:09we boarded our van for a tour through the city's neighborhoods with anita giving us background on
01:13the religious cultural and lifestyle of folks on the island we then had a stop at the flamingo
01:19sanctuary where we were able to see flamingos in the wild in communication before our excursion we
01:25had asked to go to a spot where we had the best chance of seeing sea turtles well it just
01:30so happens
01:31anita is a volunteer with the island sea turtle conservation program she brought us today boy by
01:37bay anita explained if she is able meaning small groups small van tours she brings guests to this
01:44little beach she says it's more locals and we'd have a great chance at seeing turtles my wife and
01:50i donned our gear and walked towards the shore people were standing in the water looking for
01:55turtles anita spotted one right away just feet away from several people who didn't see it clearly anita
02:02knew what she was looking for after about a half hour of seeing a few colorful fish along the rocks
02:08my wife and i headed back to shore feeling that seeing a turtle in person underwater would have to wait
02:12as i approached the shore i stood up and took my mask off when my wife poked at me there
02:18was a green
02:19turtle who had come up from behind us i put my mask on and we were able to swim with
02:24the beautiful
02:24creature before it disappeared into darker water woohoo we then stopped at christophel national park and
02:31plantation nip we had the pleasure to meet anita's son who was a park ranger cheteboka national park was
02:38our next stop where you can see waves crashing a spouting skyward and a natural bridge that crosses
02:42the jagged rocky shore we next headed for lunch as i communicated with the representative of samurai
02:49tours prior to tour day my wife and i wanted some local seafood on the water anita did not disappoint
02:57we stopped at west punt and playa 40 an old fort now a restaurant we were escorted to our reserve
03:03table for an amazing lunch and local cliff divers after lunch we made our way back to our resort in
03:09alberto was amazing at stopping or slowing so we could photo sites along the way one our last stop
03:15was a stop at senior and seal curacao distillery and some wonderful samples after eight hours that
03:21passed like 20 minutes we were back at our resort thanking anita and alberto for a most unforgettable day
03:27processing this journey days later we are grateful for such an opportunity we had
03:31if this is indicative of all samurai tours you won't be disappointed
03:36you
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