Birthday in Aruba

Damsel fishWell, today I turned 55, so I guess I’m officially old. But on the bright side, I do get some discounts now! We swam at Baby Beach, and it was awesome. The water was super clear, and the wave action was minimal, and we really got to see a lot. It was a great swim. We spent a great deal of time on the north end of the cove, where most people do NOT go… It’s got amazing coral formations, and just tons of fish. It’s really a different take on Baby Beach. Most times we have been there, we’ve focused on the channel, and it’s huge current and large coral formations. But this other end of the bay, is really cool.

Snook We got back to the time share about three, had a quick bite to eat, then Mike and I headed over to Malmok for a quick look-see. The visibility was just awesome here too. Saw a couple of new fish, and a couple of old favorites – including a rather large green moray eel.

Yellowtail snapperWe had dinner at El Gaucho’s, an Argentine steak place. We come here most times we are in Aruba. They really know how to cook a steak! Pam had made reservations, and told them that it was my birthday. When they took us to our table, there were a couple of balloons floating on the table!

Baby beach El Gaucho’s is how a steak joint should be! I started with an appetizer of Argentine soup, a beefy vegetable soup in a spicy broth, and it was really delicious. I had the 12 oz tenderloin (you can order a 16 oz, or a 22 oz if you like…) and while I like my steak medium-well done, this steak was done to perfection, juicy and amazing. They serve it with your choice of three side dishes. The have a roving guitar duo, and they stopped at our table, played Happy Birthday, then asked us if we wanted something sung for us – so Mike got them to do Guantanamera.

Grey grouperWhen desert came, a white and dark chocolate mousse cake, they had put a candle in it, and the duo came back for one more chorus of Happy Birthday! Pretty swell day, all in all!