Category Archives: Aruba

Visits to the island of Aruba

Aruba, Vacations

Sunday in Aruba

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IguanaJust a short post today. Not much to tell. We went to the beach but the waves were very high again, so we retreated to the timeshare and hung around the pool. We tried out the hot tub and had a few drinks.

Parrot The old restaurant called Coco Loco’s has been renovated and renamed the Caribbean Palm Restaurant. The menu is much different, quite a bit more upscale. The renovations are nice too. It changes the ambiance of the place, that’s for sure. It has nice rich wood cabinets and linen covered chairs. I’ll take a few pictures or maybe a short movie of it another day.

The two parrots are still here, as are the friendly iguanas who hang around the pool side.

No parkingThis evening we went over to Paseo Herencia, an outdoor mall open ’til late in the evening, for an ice cream. It’s tough to find parking, but we got lucky. While walking to the mall, we strolled down a street with signs every 10 feet threatening to tow all parked vehicles. In front of every sign, was a parked car! haha

Here is a short movie of Boca Catalina. You can watch these movies in high def mode too. Click on the little 360 button and you will be given the option to watch in 480 or 720 mode – the 720 is full high def. You can even make the movie full screen, and it will give a really nice image.

Aruba, Vacations

Safely arrived in Aruba

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Pam, Seattle AirportWe left home this morning, thinking we might have a long delay at the border, but we crossed over into the States the quickest we have ever done it. There was absolutely no wait at all. The border guard chat took about 10 seconds and we were done.

With the recent problem with potential bombs on some flights we expected some delays at the airport, but again, the delay was the shortest we’ve encountered. We simply walked right through security – there was no line, no standing around, right through!

Car wash muralThe flight was fine, a little rough on the landing, but we arrived about thirty minutes early. The inflight movie was Salt, with Angelina Jolie. I thought it was an interesting movie, but she was horribly miscast. She just doesn’t strike me as being a very tough actress. I didn’t believe her beating up several men at once. Anyway, it was entertaining.

We grabbed a hotel close by, with a free shuttle. Listened to some bad karaoke (is there any other kind?) had a drink, and got a decent night’s sleep.

Back to the airport for another crack at check in/security and it was again smooth as silk. This time security took at least five minutes tho! A tedious delay! haha

Arashi Beach We were pretty impressed with how smooth everything went, both with the border crossings, and airport security.

This airport in Atlanta is huge – close to a million flights a year. Very well signed, and lots of friendly staff to help. We were standing there looking confused, wondering where to go after we’d checked in, when a nice gentleman stopped and asked if we needed help. He pointed out where we needed to go, and off we went.

We’re waiting here to board our flight to Aruba. I’m going to have to post this from Aruba, since the Atlanta airport charges for WIFI. And I won’t pay for WIFI – it’s just not right. We’re hoping that Hurricane Tomas won’t affect the flight too much.

ADDED LATER:

The flight to Aruba was very nice. Terrific landing. Landed ahead of schedule, too. So all in all, a great start.

We got the rental car, checked into the timeshare, and headed to the beach! But WOW – the waves are incredible! We simply didn’t think we’d get much snorkeling in, so we came back to the pool and did a few laps.

We’re going to head downtown for dinner – keshi yena, natch –  but I wanted to post this little movie of Arashi Beach.

Aruba, Commentary, Curacao, Vacations

Final notes

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Max in the MorningWell we’re home. It took a little time but we’re home! The flight home was remarkable. We flew Continental from Aruba to Houston. And they served a meal! A hot meal! It’s been years and years and years since we’ve actually got a meal on a flight less than 6 hours – I was totally amazed. The food was pretty good too – hot chicken sandwich, kettle chips, an apple, and a chocolate bar. And the flight was amazing – great take off, smooth, smooth landing.

The flight from Houston to Seattle was also on Continental. After picking up one of our bags, we heard the dreaded, “Will customer Pamela Ormon please come to the Continental desk and speak to a representative.” They’d lost one of our bags, natch. Luckily we’d taken a Park n Fly in Seattle and were going to be staying overnight. They said they could fly it to Vancouver for us, but they promised us it would arrive on the 10:15 am Sunday flight, so we went and slept. It did arrive. So all is good.

We flew four different airlines this trip, and I’d give super high marks to Continental. Usually I book the cheapest fares I can, but I will take Continental if they fly where we’re going, even at higher prices. US Air was cheaper, but wound up being more expensive because they charged a hidden $30 per checked bag fee. Outrageous. We will NOT fly US Air EVER again. I do not like hidden charges.

We picked up Max from the dog sitter –  Max let me know he wasn’t happy to be left out of the vacation! But he forgave me when I gave him a duck jerky treat! LOL And it wasn’t raining when we got home, so that was nice too!

I miss the heat already.

Aruba, Vacations

From the Aruba airport lobby

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We’re in the waiting area for our flight, and they allow you one hour of free time on the wifi here. I’ve just got to put in this post.

We were coming through the second security checkpoint, the one done by US customs. We move through the line quite quickly, and came to the customs agent, and presented our passports to him. He asked a few questions, then stamped the passport. I said, cool, another stamp! And he says, yes, I see you were here in December, and I was the guy that processed you then!

He said, yes, you probably didn’t recognize me, because I’ve got a better haircut now!

Now what are the odds of that??? Unreal. There were thousands of people in the room, and we get the one guy we’ve seen before! Too funny.

Bailey in the airport
Aruba, Vacations

The Last Day Blues

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Max at Surrey LakeFriday was our last full day here in Aruba. We fly out on Saturday at 4 pm local time. It’s always bittersweet, that last day. You try to pack in as much as you can, but you realize that it won’t make the vacation last longer! But it’s also nice to be thinking of being home, in your own bed, with Max eagerly waiting for us.

School of fish We decided to return to the Malmok area of Aruba, where the luxury homes are… we jumped in at Boca Catalina again, a place where we’ve had a couple of great dives. We were rewarded almost immediately with a big school of Caribbean Reef Squid. These ones were HUGE. Much bigger than any we’d seen before. It’s fun to watch them shift colors through the school as the communicate with each other. We even got to see a squid ink another fish!
Very small guy - 3 inchesWe saw a fish that looks like a stone, called a toadfish, we think. I’ve got a video of it, that you’ll need to watch really closely to see him. But that was cool too. There were tons of the usual suspects, with lots of French Angels. And Mike will be happy to know, we’ve discovered where all the Seargant Majors are! They’ve all moved to this part of Boca Catalina! AND we saw the biggest barracuda ever! WHOA! He was a monster.

After a couple of hours in ocean we’d had our fill. We did a little shopping, picked up a couple souvenirs, a few postcards, kept asking each other did we forget anything? We decided to make our last dinner here a memorable one, by going to an Argentine steak house called El Gauchos.
El Gauchos wall artIt is a great looking restaurant, with barreled roofed ceilings made of wood, with art over the walls made of inlaid leathers and cowhides. You sit at big sturdy wooden plank trestle tables, with huge comfy seats made of leather and cowhide. There are big wooden chargers at each place setting. The service is attentive, efficient, and professional.

The food was magnificent. If you’ve never had Argentine beef, you owe it to yourself to try it. One of my uncles was a cattle rancher, and I’m sorry to say, Alberta beef just doesn’t compare well to Argentine beef! We each had a big steak – I like it well done, and I apologize to the chef each time I ask for it, but these guys cooked it perfectly. There were no burnt sections, just perfectly grilled. They’ve added some new items to the menu since we were here in December, and we sampled a few of them! All good…

If you come to Aruba, do go to El Gauchos. Their deserts alone make the trip worthwhile! And try the margaritas! Best I have ever had!

The rental carHere is a picture of the rental car we had this week on Aruba. On Curacao, we were supposed to have a Toyota Yaris,  but it wouldn’t start, so they replaced it with a Suzuki Liana. It’s a nice car, actually. We had fun running around in it. Then when we got to Aruba, we were supposed to have a Suzuki Liana, and I was looking forward to that… But again, it was a non-starter! So they replaced it with this American car. It was ok, but it’s no Suzuki Liana!

It’s truly been a wonderful, memorable 2 weeks, but with all the talk of Air France 447, going home has suddenly become a slightly different event than in the past. I remember flying shortly after 9/11 and it didn’t bother me in the least. This does – terrorism is one thing. That’s part of life. But was this flight downed due to the failure of the plane? That’s worrisome. Even more worrisome is the news today that perhaps pilot error is now part of the problem. Either way, it just seems incredible to me that one of the “logical” responses of a flight computer is to crash the plane!

Aruba, Vacations

Sunny days

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Fisherman's boatToday was sunny and warm, again. The weather is so predictable here, you can’t even say “nice day”, because it’s just as nice as the day before! We headed over to the beach, and piled into the water at the Fisherman’s huts, just north of the visible wreck.

Fisherman's Huts We learned a funny story about that wreck. The wreck was not always in it’s current location, in fact, people aren’t even sure where it came from. One morning it just appeared on the beach. How is that possible? Well it was the morning after Hurricane Lenny hit the area! Seems Lenny dredged it up and deposited it there!

Queen triggerfishThe water was calm, and clear and there were tons of fish! The fish in June have different behaviours than in December. In the winter, the squirrel fish is remarkably shy, and runSea Feather and Christmas tree wormss and hides at your approach. The triggerfish will usually not allow a close approach either. But here in June, they seemed to be showing themselves off. But upon reflection, it’s not that they are showing off, it’s that they are guarding their nests! The squirrel fish is actually a bit aggressive, protecting the holes they have dug in the bottom to lay their eggs.

We spent nearly three hours in the ocean, since it was so beautiful and clear. It was just so hard to get out! The oCaribbean Palm Villagenly problem is, we kinda burnt ourselves out!

We spent the rest of the day just relaxing around Caribbean Palm Village, our condo. I’ve posted a pic Pam took of the view out the front door of our condo. It has a nice big hot tub, and we’ve spent quite a bit of time in there too!

In the hot tubWe wanted something simple for dinner, so we tried the New Wei Tai restaurant, which is supposed to be the best Chinese food on the island. It was very good! Better than a lot of Vancouver Chinese restaurants, that’s for sure. The General Tao’s chicken deserves special mention – spicy and crunch and saucy! Marvelous!

We went over to the little mall and got an ice cream cone and strolled around hand in hand watching the people go by. It was a really nice finish to another day in paradise.

Aruba, Vacations

No fish pics!

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Arashi beach from the OceanToday was a strange day! We actually have no photos of fish to show you! We started the day at Arashi beach, but the wind was a little too strong and made visibility poor. We swam for about an hour, but figured it was pointless to be out here, so we decided to – um – shop!

Downtown OranjestadI’ve stayed out jewelry stores quite religiously. I bought a 15 dollar steel ring, just for the fun of it, a few days ago. That’s been it. But we drove into town and as we exited the car, a fellow handed us a coupon for a free 5 carat ‘gemstone’ from Kay’s Fine Jewelry. Anyone who knows Pam, knows that free is one of her favorite prices.

Sunny at Kay's Jewelers.It was a lovely gemstone, and it took very little persuasion for me to convince her to get it set in a chain. But then, earrings are better right? In either case, Sunny did a great job showing us the settings, and soon we were happy campers.

Then we just had to head over to A Touch of Gold, a place that last yTouch of Goldear was the place we talked about how friendly and professional they were. Click here to read that post from last year. Anyway, they recognized us right away! He showed us a necklace that matched the ring Pam bought last year, and well, there went my resolve!  I just can’t resist sparkly things! Here’s the whole gang at Touch of Gold. Trust me, these guys are so good – such unique stuff. And let me tell you, on an island with 7000 jewellery stores, it’s nice to see something unique and wonderful!

Wednesday is also karaoke night at CPV. Last year that was a can’t miss event, and this year was no different. Pam was the unofficial videographer, and I’ve made the vids she took available online. I’ve put them on another of my sites, so you can download them if you want. The connection here is not good, and I’m having a tough time getting them there. if your vid is not there, it’s coming. Sorry for the delays. Most of the vids are 50 to 70 meg in AVI format – so when you download them, make sure you’ve got some time! If the singers in the videos do NOT want them here, let me know and I’ll delete them right away.

We finished the evening with dinner at Madame Janette’s. It’s located in a old cunucu – country house – and you dine in their courtyard. It’s very romantic. And the dinner’s don’t come much better than this. We were lucky to have come to Aruba during the only 2 week period in the year that they serve white asparagus. Asparagus is one of my fave veggies (and one of my fave sayings a la Augustus!) We ordered all our courses off the Specials Sheet. The appetizer of white asparagus poached in a Riesling wine, then baked with ham and cheese was so divine, I thought, we should stop here so we’re not disappointed! The main courses – schnitzel with asparagus and hollandaise for me and golden snapper with asparagus and a cream sauce for Pam – were every bit as good as the appetizer.

Dusky Sergeant Major Desert of fresh pineapple soaked in rum with ice cream and coconut was simply to die for. The young lady who served us was attentive and prompt and friendly. All in all, you will not be disappointed in Madame Janette’s!

And finally, you didn’t REALLY think I’d make a post without a fish in it did you?? This is a picture of a Dusky Sergeant Major. In Curacao, the Sarge was nowhere near as prevalent as it was here in Aruba last year. But they don’t seem to be so dominant here either. I seem to remember seeing more of them.