Aruba – The Happy Island.
Aruba certainly is a “happy island” as the locals say and even with such a quick visit we could see why. Despite their ‘winter’ (in February) being when revellers party to their annual “Carnival”, Aruba continually rocks! Blessed with beautiful beaches, a rugged rocky coastline on the north side (you can actually game fish off the rocks), an arid interior and an overall flat geography This island paradise is gorgeous. I could easily run out of superlatives here.
Though inhabited by Venezuelan tribes back in 1000 AD (you can see Venezuela on a clear day) Europeans didn’t get here till 1499. In 1986 it became its own country though still a Dutch protectorate today, which has a population of around 103,000. Lying outside of the hurricane belt it has a tropical marine climate with average temps of 27.7°C with it’s little rainfall coming in one short wet season. The only negative I could see was that it is subject to fairly constant mild winds.
On to our visit. As per usual we beat sunrise so we could get first glimpses of the port and wow what an entrance. The only thing protecting the wharf from the open ocean is a long reef running parallel to the wharf forming a narrow channel of only a few hundred metres in width. We came in at 45° to the wharf then as we passed the marker at the end of the reef the ship turned sharply to starboard bringing the port side to rest against the fenders with no impact at all. Departure later in the day was similar but with a strong breeze from the port side we needed tugs to keep us off the reef until we got a head of steam up. The ship then made a dash to a gap in the reef a mile or so ahead before turning seaward again and setting us on our way to Florida and our final port.
Anyway, once alongside we joined our bus for our scheduled tour. No, that wasn’t our bus pictured but one of the local party buses. We drove by the Governor’s home before passing a few residential houses. As is normal globally the further we got from the city the lower the standard of housing. Overall though the people here are doing OK. Unemployment on the island is zero and they actually import workers. I spotted what I thought was a lowset petrol station but found it was actually a drive-thru ATM station. Crime here is low because on an island 20 miles by 7 miles there isn’t far you can run. A short time later we came to our first stop, Ayo or Casibari rock formation where we clambered around, over and even under granite boulders the size of a house. This is a lovely arid garden I’d estimate was only about 2 acres in size but which from the top afforded 360° views of the island. In the second panorama photo you can clearly see the island’s only high spot, a pimple of a hill just out of town.
Our next stop was the rugged north coast where we viewed Baby Natural Arch. It’s mother, Natural Arch lies crumpled to the right after it collapsed fairly recently. Shane thinks that the pic I took of her (in the Bundy singlet) was of her but I really wanted to show the coral that makes up the limestone rocks of the coast here. The fort like ruins in this gallery are actually what is left of a prosperous gold industry. There is gold on the island but these days not sufficient to warrant another boom. Gradually we moved on through a newer suburb towards the western end where pastel coloured homes signify a developer’s dream development. There are many brightly coloured houses all over Aruba and they brighten the scene wonderfully. Passing some million dollar homes we got to the “California Lighthouse” for more scenic views. I am not sure which parrot was brighter. The Blue Macaw or the American Tourist. Yes folks that is her real hair in flouro plaits. From the lighthouse we ventured down past more million dollar homes to the resort hotel section of Aruba to take the next leg of our tour.
If you are unsure why Aruba is so popular just look at this next gallery of photos. The beaches are stunning! The water is aqua-beautiful blue (see, running out of adjectives so making them up now)! There is no end to the water sports or activities to fill your time. This place truly is a paradise.
After taking an incriminating photo of our table waiter from Pacific Princess (I’ll use this to get an extra desert off him next meal) at a bar on the beach we hopped aboard a catamaran to be taken to a semi-submersible craft for some underwater viewing of the wreck of the Antilla. Antilla was scuttled by her captain at the start of WWII after Holland was invaded by Germany and she was ordered back to Holland to help the German war effort. The skipper was having none of that so he sank her where she was and he and his crew spent the war as POW’s. At 55 – 60 feet underwater the viewing was quite clear and fish (and humans) were swimming about all over it. Back on the beach Shane & I quickly snatched a beer while the rest of the tour disembarked the catamaran before being bussed back to our ship.
When we got to the Pacific Princess we still had 2 and a half hours till sailing so we opted to take a walk in town. As you can see by the 2nd pix in this gallery (zoom in) the town of Oranjestad (Aruba’s capital) is only metres from the wharf. We hadn’t had a bite to eat since morning so we decided to go up to the famous Iguana Joe’s for lunch and a drink. Yum! Shane had Coconut Shrimp (prawns) washed down with a Mojito and I had a Shrimp BLT Wrap with a Pina Colada. This meal was around $50 USD. From Iguana Joe’s we sauntered up the street past the Crystal Casino (one of 13 on the island) before crossing the road to come back on the other (waterfront) side. Passing some market stands I stuck my head in the window of a pub only to see the walls, posts and ceiling were ‘wallpapered’ with currency from all over the world. The legend is if you leave some cash you have a reason to come back and claim it.
Back on board it was time again to cast off and navigate our way through the reef to the open sea. In 2 days we would land in Fort Lauderdale to end this wonderful cruise. This is a cruise that everyone should put on their bucket list. We’ve seen some fantastic sights and experienced some magic things. We will never forget this trip.
Once in Florida we have to search for a vehicle and caravan (‘travel trailer’ here) to buy as we set off on our 5 month journey of southern USA. In October we’ll head home to see the kids then decide if we’ll come straight back to the USA or head elsewhere first. It will depend on our mood and the winds of fortune.
Thanks for following this trip blog. Keep watching for our USA travels.
Cheers
Garry & Shane.