End of the year

December 31, 2011 Maurice 5 Comments

We’re approaching New Year’s eve here, and the fireworks are going off at a rapid clip! There are fireworks shops set up at every corner, and people are buying them up like crazy. You’ll see fireworks being shot off at random times, any time of the day, and they have been going off for several days. One of the locals said that it sounds like a war zone on New Year’s eve, so be prepared! And Pam is – she has brought a pair of ear plugs!

I haven’t been doing a daily update, since most days are pretty routine – breakfast at home, jump in the ocean for a few hours, home for some lunch, a dip in the pool and soak in the hot tub, then dinner. We haven’t eaten out much, just twice since we’ve been here. I have uploaded a few pictures everyday, so you might want to check out the gallery to see what we’ve put up.

The 28th we went to Casa Tua Mediterranee – a very nice Moroccan/Greek style restaurant. It is located in the new Palm Beach Mall, which is just a short drive from our timeshare. It’s on the second floor, so we were able to sit outside, and people watch. The food was very good. We started with some Greek Keftedes, meatballs in a fresh tomato sauce. Very tasty. Also some Tunisian Meat Brecka, which are philo pastry stuffed with spicy beef. Tasty, but needed more than two!

For the entree, Pam had the Chicken and Lemon Tajine – a tajine is a typical Moroccan lidded cooking vessel. It was very good, but Pam objected to the many olives! I had the Couscous Casa Tua, also served in a tajine. It was a tasty dish of beef and lamb, with plenty of vegetables, slow cooked in a wonderful broth. Both our dishes were served with couscous. We were too full for dessert! The total bill including three glasses of beer and one strawberry daquiri was $61 dollars. Very nice value.

They also had a bellydancer, who performed nearly continuously throughout the meal in various locations around the restaurant. She had a small space inside to perform, but then would come out to the balcony and perform at each table. She was very good, and rather attractive!

Snorkeling the last few days has been fun, as usual. We’ve seen octopus, lionfish, barracuda, and many other fish of course. About the only thing we have not seen is a turtle. Used to be we’d see them at Malmok all the time, but we’ve never been here over Christmas. And I have to say, the place is PACKED! Lots of boats, just full of snorkelers. It sure has been busy.

The stores too, have been busy. Getting into the grocery stores has been crazy some days! The parking lots are full, and we’ve had to create our own parking spots, just sort of pull over and abandon it! We gassed up today, and they will close at 5:59 PM – not 6:00 o’clock – 5:59!

Anyway – Happy NEW YEAR everyone! Hope you have a great time!

Aruba, Vacations

Baby Beach

December 26, 2011 Maurice 2 Comments

We avoided the Boxing Day sales by heading to Baby Beach! Hope you didn’t get crushed in the rush!

Baby Beach has been evolving every year, and this year is no different. They have been adding palapas all along the cove, and there are two snack shacks, and a souvenir vendor who also sells fish food, and snorkel gear. The water itself was different too!

They call it “Baby Beach” because it is a protected cove, with very shallow water, over a white sandy bottom. It’s very easy to get into the water, and the shallow portion goes out quite a ways. It’s always a crowded beach, with lots of families. Once you’ve moved out into the deeper water, there is a channel that opens to the ocean, and that channel is full of fish. The picture here is of the numerous types of fish that inhabit the channel. The current is very strong there, and you have to be a pretty good swimmer to battle up the current.

Once you are past the first narrows, there are awsome coral formations, inhabited by large black durgons, and huge parrot fish, and lots of other fish too of course. It’s difficult to get good pictures there, because the waves come crashing over the coral, and send everyone for a ride. The crashing waves stir up the water, and make it impossible to get a decent shot.

When you head back into the protected cove, and swim to the opposite end of where you enter the water, there are terrific coral formations, too. We had not really swam to that end before, so were quite surprised by the range of coral formations! We met this rather large fish, about thirty inches or maybe even three feet, who we think is a yellowtail snapper. He was totally fascinated by us.
He followed us for the next half hour or more! It was really quite hysterical. He’d follow us, and when we turned to look at him, he’d nip behind a chunk of rock or coral.

Back at the timeshare, we had a drink at Happy Hour – called a Hurricane. It’s made with a pina colada mix, rum, blue curacao and grenadine – looks very colorful and it’s very good! Couple of those, and time for a nap in the sun!

Aruba, Vacations

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2011 Maurice 4 Comments

Merry Christmas everyone! Santa seems to have missed us here in the Caribbean! haha Luckily he left the cold and snow in the north! Our thoughts are with you guys, and the people we lost this year. Hope you all had a wonderful day.

We spent Christmas morning swimming in the ocean, and a great swim it was! The ocean was very clear today, and we saw piles of cool fish. We saw a HUGE triggerfish, the biggest we’ve ever seen – at least 3 or 4 feet! She was pretty shy and swam away from us, and try as we might to chase her down, we got only blurry shots of her.

We’ve kind of settled into a little routine, swimming in the ocean in the morning, then spending time in the swimming pool and hot tub in the afternoon, while catching a few rays. There have been some brief rain storms, but mostly it’s been sunny. The locals have complained bitterly about the amount of rain in November and December and they are hoping for an improvement. It’s been pretty good by our standards, but not as nice as some years we’ve been here.

Here is a picture of Pam in front of our rental car, an Atos Prime. She is pointing at the license plate because it is V-1925 – her father Vern was born in 1925! How cool is that?

I should point out that I don’t reference all the pictures we’ve taken in the blog posts. There are other pics available by clicking on the Galleries link in the menu bar. So if you aren’t sick of seeing fish pics you might want to take a look.

I’m adding a brief movie to the end here of a Queen Triggerfish. This was taken in fairly shallow water, which is kind of unusual since this fish prefers to be in slightly deeper water.

Aruba, Vacations

Thursday 22 December

December 23, 2011 Maurice 2 Comments

Wednesday was a rainy day – unlike any rainy day we’ve experienced in Aruba. Last year after Hurricane Tomas, we got some rain, but it never seemed to last very long. Wednesday the rain fell pretty much all day. We didn’t even try to get in the ocean. We drove around and saw a few things. The rain has certainly made the island far more lush that usual. There are tons of flowers blooming everywhere.

Thursday was nice and sunny, so we went into the ocean for some snorkeling. We saw a few new things, and of course all the usual stuff. The coolest thing was seeing a big porcupine fish. He was in quite shallow waters, swimming freely. Most we’ve seen have been in small caves, or hiding under rocks. The only other place we’ve seem them swimming freely like this was in St. Maarten, but in very deep waters. He didn’t seem too worried about us and just casually drifted along with the current. I’ve included a video at the end of this post.

The ocean was quite cloudy today, due to the rain I guess, so it wasn’t really great for taking pictures. We got lucky with the video really. I know it’s not the best quality, but considering the conditions, we’re pretty pleased with the way it turned out.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Café Rembrandt. It is in the South Beach Area, near a lot of other restaurants and shops. As we were walking in, the waiter informed us because we arrived before 6:30 pm, we would be getting a 20% discount on our food. And who loves a deal more than Pam?? The food was outstanding! I ordered a spicy shrimp appetizer, served in a light cream sauce. Pam had “Mushrooms Provincial” served with ham, in a light curry broth. Both came with delicious fresh bread. Both were very good. Pam had ribs for the entree. It was a double rack, with lots of french fries and the typical Dutch red cabbage. I had the chicken schnitzel served with pan fries. Both entrees were very well done. We had so much food we didn’t need desert, but trust me, the apple pie is homemade and delicious! The service was absolutely wonderful, friendly, attentive and efficient. The prices were MORE than reasonable – the ribs were $15 – and then 20% off that – an outstanding deal. This restaurant is a keeper!

Aruba, Vacations

Sunny Aruba

December 20, 2011 Maurice 2 Comments

We talked with some people who have been in Aruba since the beginning of November and they said the weather has not been very good – still warm, but overcast a lot, and rainy. Well, it’s been great since we got here! Today was sunny and clear and warm. I have to admit the ocean is a little cooler than we usually expect, but it’s still pretty easy getting in.

We returned to Boca Catalina today, since the waves at Arashi seemed to be too rough. It was another fun day of snorkeling, that’s for sure. There were, of course, lots of fish to see. First thing we saw upon getting in was a big barracuda. He quickly scooted off as soon we pointed a camera at him… for a big guy, he sure was shy!

We saw a couple of large schools of squid – always fun to follow them and watch them change color and contort themselves into strange shapes. We saw quite a few Queen Triggerfish, which is one my all time favorite fish.

We saw a small moray, but moving lightning quick across the ocean floor. And wow, did we see a large flounder, the biggest we’ve ever seen. We saw a couple of lobsters too! One was quite large, and we thought it would just perfect for dinner! Too bad we were too chicken to grab him!

Dinner was courtesy of Cafe Maurice once again, so no restaurant review today! Our suite has a nice kitchen, with non-stick pans, so it’s been great. We did breakfast, lunch and dinner all at home here. The one complaint I have about Aruba – the beer – the bottles are these little tiny things, about 5 or 6 ounces. And it’s quite pricey – it’s much cheaper to drink rum!

Here is a little movie we took outside the Aruban Parliament Buildings, showing their Christmas Display.

Aruba, Vacations

Arrived in Aruba, safe and sound

December 18, 2011 Maurice 6 Comments

We got into Aruba safe and sound. Our flight out of Seattle was a bit late in leaving, but since we had a three hour layover in New York, was no big deal. The flight out of NY left on time, and both flights were PACKED and I do mean PACKED! They were asking people to check some carry on luggage, since the overhead bins were too full, but of course, not many did. Boggles the mind how much they allow people to bring aboard the cabin!

Pam’s leg was quite swollen, after being stuffed on those planes, especially the one into Aruba. It was an older Boeing, and very cramped. Definitely thought it was supposed to be an Airbus, since I try to book only the Airbus now, but must have gotten switched. We arrived in Aruba on time, and rented a smallish car! Pretty funny really. Makes a Smart Car look BIG!

We got in the ocean for the first time today (Sunday). We drove up to Arashi Beach, on the north end of the island, but the waves looked a little heavy, so we went slightly south to Boca Catalina. They have improved access to the nice sandy entrance, by putting in some pretty good stairs. Pam was a little nervous about how things would go, but she came through like a trooper. She thoroughly enjoyed being in the water, and getting out was easy and painless. We were a little worried how that would go, since sometimes a big wave can whack you hard, but we managed it very well.

In the water was surprising! We saw an octopus almost immediately! I first saw him on top of a pile of coral/rocks and wondered what the heck is that! Getting a bit closer we saw it was an octopus, and he quickly got off the top and slithered down a crack. We saw scrawled filefish, orange filefish, polka dot filefish and regular brown filefish! And we saw LOTS of each – it’s quite unusual to see so many – the polka dot one is one I’ve seen VERY rarely.

There were tons of BIG barjacks. Usually they cruise through the area, in groups of three, and quickly swim off… not today. They hung around, in quite shallow water, and a triggerfish was swimming with them! Then we saw a school of little barjacks, 30 or more in a school – never seen that at all.

There were lots of French Angels, and we saw juvenile ones too, and a couple of Queen Angels too. There was one moray eel, who moved across the bottom so quickly I was astonished. I knew they could go fast when they wanted, but never dreamed they could move THAT fast! There were a bunch of coneys, and they swam around with a French Angel too.

We saw puffer fish, flounder, lots of grouper – most grouper I’ve seen in one dive actually… So all in all, a pretty amazing first day in the ocean.

We ate at home today – bought groceries at Super Foods – so no restaurant review. They had a big tent out front, making and selling freshly cooked beignets, dusted with sugar. They were AWESOME! They had huge cookers and they were just popping them out! People were lining up for ’em.

Holidays

Little Drummer Boy

December 7, 2011 Maurice 4 Comments

The Christmas season is here, of course, and Christmas tunes are everywhere. The following video is done by a 16 year old guy from Winnipeg named Sean Quigley. He played all the instruments himself, had his sister shoot some of the video, and then he put it all together himself. It’s shot outside, in and around Winnipeg. He played the drums in a light snow fall, on a popular walking trail in the Charleswood area of Winnipeg.

This is one of my favorite Christmas songs, and this version is definitely a “rocked up” version… In a CBC radio interview, he says he started thinking about making a video of a Christmas song about a month ago, and this song just “speaks to him.” The idea that you don’t need money to make Christmas special just appeals to him…

Hope you ENJOY! And Merry Christmas!