Thoughts on Aruba

Aruba! Be forwarned - this is long!

Well, the Magic made its inaugural first visit to Aruba and as usual, I was asleep. Let me take a minute to explain for those not going on this cruise. Aruba is part of Holland – while it has its own parliament – the governor is appointed by Queen Beatrice herself and rules along with the government of Aruba. In a sense, Aruba was granted permission for self-government in 1986 I think. I may be off a little. It’s late and I’m writing this before I forget. Anyway, Aruba is part of the ABC Islands. A for Aruba, B for Bonaire and C for Curacao, which we visited back in 2005 on the 1st PC crossing. There are another 3 islands also called the SSS Islands for – St. Martin, St. Eustasis and another St. Island but I’m tired and it doesn’t matter anyway. LOL
So, let me get on with my memory – we woke up at 6:45 am to get ready for an 8 am excursion. We had picked The Best of Aruba Island Tour. Things went well until we actually started the excursion. Steve and I got up, ate breakfast, got down to Rocking Bar D. Checked in and then found out we were supposed to hit the beach (forgot that little part). Anyway, so we picked up towels and then headed out for the aft gangway deck 1. We finally got loaded onto busses – imagine this – 5 busses of this excursion.
Our first stop was a place called Casibari Rock. It is a rock formation that sits very near the highest point of the island. This highest point is called the Haystack and Casibari Rock is actually a “garden” which is enclosed and is a typical tourist attraction. Let me warn you guys, to get to see the view – you have to climb a treacherous climb. It is not hard or long but it can be a bit tricky for those with unsure footing. What makes it difficult is that there is only one way in and one way out. For those that went to the Leaning Tower of Pisa you know what I’m talking about. There is a very narrow rocky entrance/exit and you have to literally duckwalk up – so if you have back problems – it’s not impossible but it suggested you don’t do it. If you slip and fall, you’re hurt. Also, if you stand up at the wrong place – you’re going to cut your head. Trust me – if you shaky at all – don’t climb. There are other portions of the garden you can visit. Besides, they only let one side go in, and then they stop and take turns, exactly like they do at the Leaning Tower of Pisa. One group goes up to the middle landing, and then they are shooed to the outside to give the people on the top time to get down. It is very narrow and tricky too. Well, this is too. The view is nice and the windy air feels good but it’s not worth the chance of getting hurt if you’re unsteady. Besides – we only got 15 minutes here and 12 of those minutes were wasted waiting in line to get in and out.
Next we drove around the island, came across the ATV excursion and the Jeep excursion. These looked like fun people but let me tell you – IF YOU’RE PLANNING ON DOING THESE ONES – PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, bring VERY OLD CLOTHES and a face mask. You are given a helmet and that is it. We saw these people filthy black and some did not get goggles. It was pretty bad. I’m sure they had fun, but the clean-up wasn’t worth it. So if you’re planning on these ones, be forewarned. Take throwaway clothes and goggles and a face mask. Trust me, your nose and throat will thank you later. They essentially ended up at our next stop – the Natural Bridge. First off – the bridge was naturally formed by nature and is/was what the name implies – to end jetty’s that were connected at one time by a natural rock bridge. Back in January of 2005, the bridge collapsed and they no longer allow people to cross. They have big warning signs to not climb. The spot is very beautiful and worth a visit for the scenery alone. HOWEVER, keep in mind what happened to Steve in Antigua back in 2006 – your camcorder will thank you later! ROTFL!! There is a blowhole type of action which can spray you and any electronic equipment you have if you’re not careful.
So after that, we drove around the island; OH, I asked the guide, (some facts here) the island is only 19.6 miles long, 6 miles wide and is approximately 74 sq miles. It is also only about 17 miles from Northwestern tip of Venezuela. Most of it is desert and believe me – very dusty. The time zone is Atlantic Standard Time. The official language is Dutch but basically 4 languages are spoken here and they are Dutch, the native tongue - Papiamento, English and Spanish. Interesting fact per our tour guide: each child is mandated by Queen Beatrice to go to school. By age 3 they start “kindergarten” and at age 6 they go to elementary school. At age 12, they must know the 4 languages mentioned above. At 18, they make a decision and most chose to go to Holland/Europe to study. If the student chooses to go to the USA to study, the parents ARE ON THEIR OWN in paying school. If they go to Europe – it’s paid for. There is only one “college” type of school and it’s not very big. I saw it. Truly, not very big.
The medium temperature year round is between 83-84 degrees. The crime rate is very low, according to our guide, only about 5%. However, he did mention that the majority of the crime has to deal with drugs since they are only 17 miles from Venezuela – according to him – he kept mentioning that. A small, and I do mean small 2 bedroom house will run you about $80-$90 thousand dollars. You have your typical Caribbean-style house. If you’ve seen them on another island – you’re going to see them again. Oh yeah, most home builders will build the wall and foundation then when they reach that point, they get a bank loan to complete the rest at a 9% interest rate. Very interesting fact: all water, electricity bills etc are due on the 14th of each month – and yes our guide already paid his.
Aruba has one major hwy named after an American Engineer – L. Smith Hwy which is the only hwy on Aruba. The water is expensive and thus Aruba desalinates its water. They desalinate over 14 million gallons per day and they are stored in reservoirs. The minimum monthly income is $700 (US dollars) per month if you don’t have a job. Many work 2-3 jobs. Tourism is the major industry since oil closed down – but they ended up returning 12 years after they initially closed down and they are 2nd. The favorite sport is Baseball of course.
All tours were run by De Palma Tours. The one I was on –the ATV, Jeep ones – they are the major tourist company on the island so you will see their cars and busses everywhere. Anyway, back to my day, after leaving the Natural Rock Bridge (which was collapsed and non-walkable) we only had 15 minutes there too. We proceeded to our 2nd to the last destination – the Aloe Factory Plant. THIS FOLKS – WAS A TOTAL WASTE OF TIME. I am seriously bummed that DCL did not do their homework, we ended up wasting a lot – and I mean – a lot of time because remember those 5 busses on this excursion alone? Yup! They all ended up at the same place around the same time and our buss was the last one. So, we waited to get introduced and shown things. Then we were ushered into the factory – which is really like a one big living room production – The whole thing could have been walked and shown in less than 5 minutes and instead we spent almost an hour there. We did however get a snack. This snack was called (and spelling may be wrong) “pistache” which is really very similar to an empanada – or a dumpling. We had 2 – one with cheese –which Steve kept asking – where’s the cheese? I didn’t get any cheese. Then we got another one which the driver was very evasive on what it was. I DID NOT eat it and to tell you the truth – it kinda looked like a big turd. SERIOUSLY – a big ol’ long turd. Sorry folks, I did warn you. LOL. I took one bite and made myself swallow it – after the look on my face Steve did not even attempt his. ROTFLMAO!
So, after that we drove around to the tourist hotels and beaches where we were supposed to have one hour to “frolick” in the ocean. This is the place where most tourist visit – they had the Marriott, Sheraton and Radisson among others. Also, FYI – Marriott is building a very big section of timeshares so this area is soon to be more populated. They are also building a move complex across from the timeshares they are building. That part of Aruba is soon to explode. Oh Yeah, just as we were let out to walk to the beach, I managed to catch sight of Hooters so anyone interested – there is a Hooters in Aruba! LOL J
The beach was amazing and we spent a few minutes here collecting my sand from my neighbor – long story – she watches me lawn and I bring her sand from exotic locations. BTW, be prepared to pay for any toilets. This trip we ended up paying anywhere from $0.25 cents to $0.50 cents to use the toilets. But surprisingly – they were clean both times I paid. Hey – I switched to water people – remember? I have to pee a lot.
After, and yes, the typical people that chose to hold up the buss made us later getting back to the ship. I was under the impression we were supposed to be back by 12:45 – we didn’t get back until 2 pm jus t in time to miss lunch. So it was Pluto’s playhouse for us. Steve and I woofed down a hot dog, tried the ham and pineapple pizza – couldn’t swallow it and then tried the Cajun Chicken Sandwich was another no-go for me. But the Hot dog was good! J
So after we ate and freshened up – we hightailed it to my favorite portion of the cruise – SHOPPING! There was a Diamonds International, Tanzanite International, Little Switzerland and numerous other jewelry stores but I really wasn’t impressed. Seen them all didn’t buy anything. The only one I truly wanted to catch and totally missed as somehow my Aruba map showing us where the jewelry stores were was left on the ship when we deposited our stuff. No bother – I’m returning back here in August – God willing! Double J J
So then, Steve wanted to get back to see National Treasure so I made him go ahead of me – I swear – you’d think I wasn’t a grown woman. I was only about 1000 yds from the cruise terminal and you’d think I would have gotten stolen and kidnapped or something – but no – I made it back in time. Got my prerequisite magnets, bags and a couple of shirts for me and the girls.
All aboard was at 6 pm and I was back on by 5:40. We left on time at a little past six and I managed to stay on deck 9 and take some shots. BTY, there is a Senor Frogs literally 1 minute from the ship. So those that can’t wait to drink in Aruba – you don’t have far to go. I have some pictures but again – I’m having trouble posting pictures. I must be falling asleep as I’m making tons of mistakes.
Tonight was Tropical Night and the menu – for me was not my favorite. Lots of pineapple and seafood – and as you all know – seafood is not my favorite. The onboard entertainment-which I missed was Kevin Johnson – the ventriloquist. I didn’t see it so can’t pass judgement. I did however, see a wonderful sunset. Dinner menu was titled Taste of the Caribbean and I could have done with Topsiders had I remembered. Drink of the day was Go West and I did not try it. I did however, try the pineapple mojito – my first mojito ever and it was ok. A little too much mint leaves in it but it was ok – strong and I felt if after not having any food in my stomach for over 5 hours. It hit me real quick. Also, tonight is our first time zone change. We move back one hour! YEAH!!! Also, tonight was karaoke night but I was just too tired to go and instead am here typing. LOL – I was at Quiet Cove Bar and had the barrista make me a Vanilla Cream Steamer – it was a little short of Starbucks but did in a flash. She had never heard of it but said she could make it. She thought it was cool and simple.
With just a few more comments, here are my thoughts on the excursion. I would not do this again. The Aloe factory was a complete bust FOR ME! They have stands and product all over the island. Nothing really to see and the product are a bit expensive. Also, my time was more precious to me and I would have liked to have had a few more minutes to actually go into the water and then have time to dry off. When I got back to the terminal, I looked to the right and noticed an established taxi rate. Rates are per trip – not per passenger so if I ever get the picture with the rates up – remember – they are per trip. If you get a few people – you can really have a customized itinerary. For me, the only other thing I wanted to do was see the California Lighthouse which I did not get to see but I was told that people cannot climb it anymore due to the fact that someone jumped off and committed suicide so they closed it to climbing. Still, it would have been nice to see it – perhaps on the return trip.
OK all, I’m tired, Steve’s stopped sawing some logs and I might be able to get some sleep – maybe catch a few of those minute of that hour I’m gaining. Friday is Panama Canal and we will be getting fed rather well that day (insert winking eye smiley in here)

OK folks – gotta go – later!