One Happy Island!Our first impression of Aruba was that it feels like Key West with happy, friendly people everywhere. Walking around town, even the back alleys, did not seem to be dangerous. No one begged for money or hawked cheap wares. Very nice.
One Happy Island!
Aruba is much more wealthy than the other islands we visited, thanks partially to the refinery. As we found out later, there is a very large middle class that makes the island seem even more like home. Crime is not a problem here, unlike St. Thomas and other islands with a huge disparity in wealth. Aruba is a very comfortable place.
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We first walked up to Oranjestad and into some of the shops. Aruba is great for wandering with pretty buildings and great views of the waterfront. There is even a small zoo near the harbor (it only has tigers; it really is small!). We strolled around town for several hours but then returned to the ship around lunchtime to get ready for our tour on the "Banana Bus" to the rugged ocean side of the island for hiking and then to Baby Beach for snorkeling. (Given a choice, you really want the Banana Bus tour!)
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We couldn't miss the bus, the most wildly painted ex-school bus we had ever seen. All of the windows were removed (like Curaçao, Aruba is also a desert) and there was a giant, 15-foot banana on the roof! Inside the bus were standard, but colorful school bus seats, brightly painted stripes and designs on the ceiling, and the most incredible Bose sound system with CD changer that has ever been installed on a school bus!
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Below is an AVI movie of the arch and waves.
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After our drive through the capital and then past the airport and local brewery, we drove through the desert for about 45 minutes and arrived at a large, rock cliff about 130 feet above the rough, but gorgeously colored ocean. Along with our most happy guide Greg, we hiked down the cliff to a large natural rock bridge, seen above. After wandering for a while, we hiked to the top of the bridge and in time hopped back into the Banana Bus for a ride to Baby Beach.
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Baby Beach's cabana
Baby Beach is a large lagoon providing magnificent snorkeling. Joni and Kurtis started in the lagoon and then swam to the entrance of the lagoon where the depth was about 12 feet with visibility exceeding 100 feet, just right off the coast. Amazing! Many of the fish were the same ones as found in the Florida Keys but some of the coral was different. There was a blue coral that really needed an underwater camera.
A bar was right on the beach at the lagoon sold the local beer, Balashi, for $2. Made for a nice end of swim.
On our ride back to town and the ship, Greg handed out maraccas and turned up the music. It was a blast! For the next 45 minutes to an hour, we all sang and danced and leaned out the windows. Great party! Greg taught several of the local party songs, and he even started a congo line in the bus that got so energetic that it walked out of the bus while stopped for traffic in town.
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Later that evening, Kurtis had to try out the local brew again at one of the local bars, of course!
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The lights on the waterfront downtown were quite pretty so Kurtis had to experiment with some night shots.
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Here are two more night pictures but these are from the ship. These are from our balcony looking down at the pilot boat leaving.
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Overall, Aruba was absolutely wonderful!
