Being Mermaid and Other Adventures

This is my first Club Med experience and there's a lot to like about it. Bintan is definitely designed for families with kids. Sofie went happily to Mini Club Med for kids' activities every day, with the option to participate a little or all day.

I'll say more about Sofie's adventures in another post including coverage of her fifth birthday celebrations (plural) that took place Tuesday.

I've been having so much fun it has left me too exhausted to do much blogging. Here are highlights: Aron and I went snorkeling Monday, only my second time ever.

Wish I could have taken photos of the colorful fish and interesting coral we saw. We didn't see any clown fish like Nemo, but plenty of black and white striped ones, brilliant blue ones, and black ones with yellow markings.  It is such a therapeutic experience....floating on the surface with just the sound of your own breathing to accompany the aquatic ballet in the clear water. I wore a tee shirt over my swimsuit since I was a bit rosy with sunburn from so much enjoyment in the surf the previous two days. You can walk 50 - 75 yards from the shoreline on sandy bottom and still be standing in chest deep water of perfect temperature.

After the mermaid experience, Aron and I kayaked around the beach area until our arms tired. Later in the day we tried putting on the golf green and Sofie got into the act as well. There also was a sand bunker and we practiced chipping out of it. More work than fun! We could have hit balls into a net on the driving range, but didn't have proper shoes at that time.

Tuesday, I signed up for an activity I've had on my bucket list a while. I rode and drove an elephant! He was a big male from Sumatra with long tusks named Arie.

His handler, Washdi, sat in front and I held onto his shoulder while snapping photos with the other hand. Then, Washdi balanced himself against a small tree and repositioned to sit behind me! That put me in the driver's seat! It was great fun and I got a kick out of watching Arie clear branches and small trees by grabbing them with his trunk and pulling. Several times the handlers offered to take the camera to capture images of me riding, then driving Arie. We lumbered through a forest jungle for 20 or so minutes. I still have "ride a camel" on my bucket list, but that will not be happening on this trip.