Our final port of call on this voyage is the island of Aruba.  Our excursion here is a Semi-submarine ride to see a shipwreck and an island drive.

We boarded our bus which was parked behind a couple of  Banana buses and proceeded to a pier where we were to catch the Explorer, a tour type boat which would take us out to the Atlantis, our semi-sub.  The semi-sub is a boat that is built with a deep hull with viewing windows on each side.  It does not actually submerge, but the passengers are far enough under the water that it seems like it.  The Atlantis then slowly cruises back and forth over a sunken German ship.  The views are quite good, although as with all underwater viewing, the color is quite filtered out and the visibility is not that great.  In addiition to the wreckage, we also saw lots of fish.

Our excursion ended with a bus tour of several areas of the island. 

As we left the ship heading for our bus, we passed these Banana buses.

Our first stop was at the California Lighthouse. This was built 2 years after the US ship, the California sunk offshore in 1908. The lighthouse has become one of Aruba's scenic landmarks.

At the pier, waiting for the Explorer to return to dock to pick us up, we look at the surounding beaches.

This beach has a number of shade shelters.

The Explorer is approaching the Atlantis.

We leave the Explorer and board the Atlantas at one end, while the last load of passengers go the other direction at the other.

Aboard the Atlantis, our guide describes what we are seeing.

We saw many views of the wrecked German ship, the Antilla. The ship was anchored in the Dutch waters of Aruba during WWII.  Events in Europe triggered Dutch navy warships to surround the Antilla.  Rather than let the ship be caputed, the captain scuttled it and surrendered to the Dutch. Today the sunken ship is a major sightseeing attraction for boats and scuba divers.

We also saw many fish.

On the city tour after the semi-sub ride, we were taken by the Catholic cemetery.  The grave markers are very unique.

This is one of the downtown shopping areas.

We also drove through a number of residential areas.  Their houses are often painted bright colors.

Our final stop was a a shoreline where there is a natural bridge and a beautiful stretch of coastline. There was also a small store selling food and drinks.

The waves would break on the rocks and splash the water high in the air.