Category Archives: Aruba

Visits to the island of Aruba

Tuesday is Bingo

June 3, 2009 Maurice 2 Comments

The day started so calmly, we figured we’d take a drive down to the south part of the island and take a dip in Baby Beach. It seems to have undergone some improvements. There are a lot of palapa huts up there now, and they have added another place to get snacks. They’ve added another parking lot, so people don’t have to park on the road.

The swimming is nice of course. The sheltered cove is perfect for people wanting to just get in the water. It’s very sandy on the bottom, for quite a distance. When you approach the opening to the ocean, the water fills with fish! It’s really cool to see. I’ve written about it last time we were here – click here for more about our 2008 trip. One problem with Baby Beach – the best fish to see, are out in the “rough area” where the ocean is well oxygenated, and that makes taking a clear shot very difficult. The Black Durgon, a type of triggerfish, is one of my fave fishes, but I’ve never been able to get a decent shot of him.

We’ve been smart about the sun this time, Joy – we used this new invention called “sunscreen” – and you know what, it works! Usually I get burned in the first few days, but this time, we’ve just browned up. No burns. Well except maybe the bald spot on my head! Pam is starting to peel on her right arm and she is not to happy to have that blemish on her brown bean tan!

It got quite windy while we were there, so we headed over to San Nicholas and Charlie’s Bar, a local institution for over 60 years. The place is really a delight, with bric-a-brac from customers lining the walls, the ceilings, the table tops…. I’ve made a quick little movie that I hope will give you a sense of the place.

Lunch was amiable and goofy, with Andy and the rest of the staff making sure you all have a good time. They are famous for their peel and eat shrimp and with good reason! If you come to Aruba, the Baby Beach/Charlie’s Bar combo is a must! Peter had mentioned to Andy last year, that he had an old 1960 Alberta car license plate, and would Andy want it for the bar? Why yes! So we brought it here for Peter, along with a picture that was taken in 2008 of Peter, Pam and me. It was laminated so it should stand the test of time. Andy put our picture up right away but said it was not the best spot and he would find a better one, plus he would put the license plate up later (he eyeballed it and took it away as a coveted prize).

We made our way back up north to near Boca Catalina and found another easy entrance to the ocean. We found a fish called a Highhat – and close to them were these two little tiny baby ones. I tried diving down to get their picture, and stuck my hand under the rock and clicked the picture. The flash went off, and you can imagine my surprise when a BIG green moray eel pushed out from the rock and glared menacingly at me!

Pam suggested that perhaps I shouldn’t be diving down there again, and sticking my hand under rocks is not the brightest thing to be doing! 🙂 Hard to argue with that logic…

We came back to the condo to wash the salt off, and they had their welcome party. Last year they had a local artist there who made wonderful water colors of the DiviDivi tree and I regretted not getting one. Well, she was back, and this time – no regrets!

They had a Carnaval Dancer there too – and then suddenly we realized it was Cuba, the waitress at CocoLocos, all decked out. She looked sensational! And this woman can dance. Latin Ladies know how to move those hips, and man, she can move!

We had dinner at Bingos, a restaurant with mostly Dutch locals in it. People who came in waved to other regulars, and hugged the waitresses. We’d come here last year, and the food this year was of the same high standard. I had the steak special, with a cheese sauce and fresh veggies. They did a great job cooking the steak the way I asked for it – which is hard to do, cuz I like it well done. Pam had the chicken brochette with salad and it was simply too much food for her to eat.

The only problem is, I can see the end of our vacation fast approaching. Three more sleeps and we’re outta here! Still need to get to El Gaucho’s, we want to dive the Antilla, the largest wreck in the Caribbean, and we’re going to try to fit in the sunset cruise. Plus I’ve only been in ONE jewelry store – that is simply NOT enough. (Did I mention that I bought a ring in that one store? No? Oh – I did.)

Below is a movie of the fish columns I mentioned in the post yesterday. Enjoy.

Aruba, Vacations

Monday must be a shopping day!

June 2, 2009 Maurice 3 Comments

Monday was very busy. We took in three beaches, did some shopping downtown, spent some time in a casino, then in the afternoon….

First we took in a beach just south of where we dove yesterday. It was nice, saw tons of fish of course, but mostly the usual suspects. One thing I saw that was unusual was five French Angels swimming together. Usually they are pretty solitary guys.

Next we had a quick bite at the end of the highrise hotels, in a small beach cafe. Food was soooo cheap, and very good. It’s near the Divi Palace, so we decided to try their fancy beach. It’s protected by two breakwaters, and has an incredibly sandy entrance. It was fairly cloudy, and difficult to see – but we did see a lobster – most unusual as they are nocturnal. And I saw what I thought was a shark. Pam kinda pooh-poohed the idea til she saw the picture! I leave you to judge….

We got in the car and headed north back to near where we dove in yesterday. It was really cool – got to see a triggerfish, and the world’s largest trumpetfish – well over 5 feet long – and we actually swam over to where we saw the porcupine fish again. He was still in his cave hiding.

We got out of the ocean, made a quick pitstop at the condo and headed downtown for some shopping. Guess what? My underwater camera died again. So this one is headed back to Olympus – but we picked up another at the same shop we bought this one last year!

We went into the shop that sells Inti masks, and the lady immediately recognized us! The Inti make masks, carvings of animals, birds, religious icons etc then “paint” them with this vegetable matter. It is not a liquid, but a kind of coating, that they knead, and mold, and stretch using their hands and teeth! It’s then put on the carvings, in intricate patterns. The final result is a gleaming, colorful statue or wall hanging that is uniquely Aruban.

We had a great dinner at Iguana Joes. We both had the keshi yena, a typical Aruban dish. It’s a bit like lasagna, without the noodles! Its origins are from the old sea vessels. They carried cheese, and scooped out the soft interior. The hard exteriors were filled with spices, meats, raisins, currants, and then baked. Marvellous! The woman who served us was unbelievably over worked, but did such an amazing job! She was visibly pleased when we ordered the keshi yena. Most people were there for nachos, burgers and fries.

Then it was over to the Crystal Casino to win back our money! Guess what? Didn’t happen.

Tuesday I think we’re heading down to Baby Beach.

Aruba, Vacations

Lazy Sunday in Aruba

June 1, 2009 Maurice 2 Comments

After breakfast we decided to check out Arashi Beach, the northern most beach on the island, near the California Lighthouse. We thought we’d swam this beach last year, but we had not. It’s very popular with locals, and most of the people there on Sunday were not tourists.

It’s easy to see why this beach is popular – it’s got a wide white sandy beach that goes out into the ocean for quite a while. It’s great for simply being in the ocean, without fins or masks – just to swim and play. But the snorkeling is amazing, too!

We finally saw our first turtle in the wild! That was very cool, very special. He was a hawksbill turtle, about 3 feet long. He was under the surface, and I was diving to get a shot of a little fish, when suddenly this beauty was there! We’ve waited a long time to catch one of these guys in the wild, and it’s so cool we did…

But there was something else at Arashi that was truly stunning to see. It’s difficult to describe what it was we saw – but there were literally millions and millions of fish, all involved in some intricate movements, flowing through the water. It was like a giant ballet – unique columns of fish like ribbons of moving color would flow and move and dart, all in perfect harmony, seemingly being directed by some underwater conductor. It was not some local thing – it was over hundreds and thousands of square meters – we swam for 20 minutes or more, just totally and completely surrounded by this mass of fish. It was intoxicating. I kept expecting the phenomenon to end, but it seemed to just go on and on forever. It was truly humbling. We are going to go back to Arashi in a couple of days to see if they are still there. Trust me, these pictures do not do this phenomena justice. Really, we were in awe.

We headed slightly south – less than a kilometre, to Malmok Beach, a beach we had visited last year while a baptism was going on. No baptism this year, just lots of families enjoying the ocean. It’s got a very sandy entry to the ocean, and there were a couple of Red Sail catamarans there, so you know the snorkeling is good!

We saw some “big” French Angels, and then each subsequent French Angel we saw seemed to get bigger! I’ve put up a pic of the largest we saw. Now the guide book says they grow to a maximum of 18 inches, but this guy must have been hanging around with A-rod, cuz he must have been two feet at least!

There was a huge peacock flounder – they are so cool to see move. They remind me of a magic carpet ride! Thin as a sheet of paper, they just wiggle a bit and they are gonzo! We also saw what we thought was a “miniature” porcupinefish – about 8 inches long, which was a webb burrfish. He’s a real shy guy, and tried to hide in the seaweed, but didn’t move off, even when I came within 6 inches of him.

Sunday is not a shopping day in most of Aruba, but they are trying an experiment near the high rise hotels, whereby they have created a mall of sorts, with lots of nice shops and restaurants that stay open late into the evening. Most shops close at 5 or 6 every day, so it’s nice to be able to walk around in the evening while the sun is down and do a bit of shopping.

We strolled around, watched a light show with dancing waters in the fountain, with Enya singing Caribbean Blue in the background. Very nice. We had dinner at Scala, a restaurant on the second floor, so we could watch the people stroll by below us. Dinner was amazing again. Wonderful food, wonderful service, wonderful ambiance, wonderful company. A brilliant conclusion to a brilliant day.

Aruba, Curacao, Vacations

Saturday move to Aruba

May 31, 2009 Maurice 4 Comments

We said good-bye to Curacao and returned to Aruba on Saturday; the short flight was nice and quick. We grabbed the rental car and were checked into Caribbean Palm Village by two. It’s nice to be back in Aruba. It’s smaller and cozier, and both of us commented on how we feel comfortable here.

We quickly got our stuff together for a dip in the ocean. We chose a site just north of the wreck, with a nice sandy entry to the water. There was a Pelican catamaran there, so we figured that it was a snorkeling trip. At first, we wondered if we’d picked the wrong spot – then blammo! Did we see some happening stuff!

As we went around to the right, there appeared to be a cave. I said to Pam, I just know there is a cave there, but I don’t have the guts to swim into it. Down near the bottom, I saw a movement, that looked like a large log, and turned out to be a large porcupine fish! He’s a shy guy, and when I snapped a picture of him the flash went off, and it startled him. Later on, we found him again, shyly hiding in a small hole in the rocks. I have a small movie of him, that I need to edit a bit, but I’ll get it up tonight or tomorrow. He’s a cute guy.

We saw another chain moray and stalked him for a while. I’ve got a cool movie of him slinking around, too. He didn’t seem to really care that I was stalking him, and he spent as much time staring back at me as I did staring at him!

We hadn’t really seen any hermit crabs, but we’ve seen a couple in the last couple of days. Here’s one who has taken over a conch shell. When I approached, he seemed to get very agitated and tried move off.

We had dinner at Sole Mare, an Italian place five minutes from the Caribbean Palm Village. It was magnificent. Wonderful food, wonderful service. I had the veal pizzaiola, and it was simply fantastic. So tender, the sauce was piquant without being spicy, and came with steamed vegetables. Pam had lemon chicken and it was great as well. The coffee they served was the best I’ve had anywhere in the Caribbean.

Truly a memorable meal.

Aruba, Holidays

Boxing Day, 2008

December 26, 2008 Maurice Leave a comment

Here is another video I took on Boxing Day. Just check out the snow! This is not something we’re used to in this town, and trust me, we’re getting sick of it! haha

It’s hard to believe we were in 80+ degree weather only a couple weeks ago! Sure seems like a long time ago!

Aruba, Vacations

Our last full day in Aruba

December 16, 2008 Maurice 2 Comments

On Friday, our last full day in Aruba, we split up the pack. Pete rented a jeep and toured the island with a local woman he met while at our first condo.

Pam, Mike and I were happy to see calm, clear oceans, so we headed north to the lighthouse, and Arashi beach. We had jumped in here early in the first week. The water is clear and calm and we saw some things we’d never seen before!

Tops on the list, was an octopus! Was that cool! Mike spotted him as he moved from the sand to over a rock and changed color from sandy white to a mottled kind of color matching the rocks. He was as tough to see initially as the scorpion fish. If you look at the enlarged picture, you’ll see his eye, and toward the center/right you’ll see one of his tentacles turned over, exposing his “suction cups.”

Some other intriguing fish we saw were the Queen Angelfish, a brilliantly colored fish that is on the cover of our “fish book” for identifying species. We’d never seen one in the ocean, and she was certainly worth the wait!

Also appearing was a lobster, a huge school of Caribbean reef squid, another Queen triggerfish, a smaller barracuda, and of course the French Angelfish.

By early afternoon. we’d tired ourselves out, so we decided to pack in a bit of shopping. Pam and I had been shopping for pinky rings, but had found nothing we really liked. We stumbled upon a nice small shop, A Touch of Gold, run by a nice family. Pam regaled them with her Punjabi swearing, and we had buckets of laughs with them.

It’s funny – you go into a jewellery store, tell them you are looking for a pinky ring, wanting to spend in the $500 range, and suddenly $1500-2500 rings are appearing. Nice – thanks for listening. I tell these guys what I wanted, and they show me 3 rings all under 600 bucks. Guess what? They got the sale! Then Pam started with her tales of Punjabi cussing, and suddenly she’s layered in gold! hah If we ever come back to Aruba, you can bet they’ll get a return visit from us!

Pam wanted another night in a casino, so we went over to the Seafront Casino. Nearby was a nice little shopping mall, open late. There we had dinner at a restaurant recommended by Linda earlier in the week, the Waterfront Crabhouse. Dinner was terrific! I had the same dinner I ordered at the disastrous Petit Cafe. The fish was PERFECTLY cooked, the shrimp were stunningly prepared and scallops a thing of beauty. A wonderful singer performed for us a few short steps away. The full moon was gorgeous; the stars twinkled merrily in the sky; sadness was in the air, but it was really a perfect finish to a really marvellous vacation.

I want to thank Pete and Mike for coming with us and joining in the fun. We had some fun times, some great meals, saw terrific vistas, met some great people, saw some amazing fish – all in all, just a great time.

Thanks Aruba. We’ll see you again some day!

(I’m going to post one more page of Aruban pics – of just the birds we saw. Some really cool birds make Aruba home – as you’ll see! )

Aruba, Vacations

Thursday on De Palm Island again

December 15, 2008 Maurice Leave a comment

Today, we went back to De Palm Island, so Mike could see the blue parrotfish. For me though, the real highlight was seeing the Midnight Parrotfish; that has been the highlight of the fish experiences so far. It’s a magnificent looking creature. He’s the only one we’ve seen of his species. Poor guy has to be lonely!

There were also some trunkfish, of a size we had never seen before. After checking in our book, we found that they were the max size for this fish. They were SOOOOoooo cool. I’m totally fascinated by them. I must have about 300 pictures of them alone! hah

We also saw the absolute biggest French Angelfish we’ve seen down here. I didn’t even realize they grew that big! Most we’ve seen were half that size. When we were in the Caymans, we bought a photo of the french angel, but never saw one there. We saw some juveniles, but no adults. Down here in Aruba, we see them every time we’re in the ocean.

Pam finally got to see her Red Lipped Blennie – they’re a really skittish fish, and tough to get a picture of… as soon as you point the camera at them, they’re gone. I’ve got some great pictures of rocks trying to photograph them! hah

Pam and Pete were the brave ones of the crowd and did the Sea Trek helmet walking, where they had a helmet on their heads that had oxygen pumped into it as they descended 25 feet into the ocean. You have to stop every few feet to pop your ears because of the pressure changes on the way down but you don’t have to do it on the way up. The fish were the usual fish you get to see around these waters but Pam did get to touch a sea feather and see it pop back in it’s little hole. It was a pretty fun experience.

We had dinner at the Petit Cafe, overlooking Oranjestaad’s harbor. It was a nice setting. It’s so cool to eat outside at 8 pm, in the nice warm 80 degree weather. I tried a new drink called the Nutty Monkey – very good! An adult slurpy with banana and coconut booze.

Unfortunately the food was poor, the worst we’ve had. I had the “Treasures of the Sea” – lobster, shrimp, and mahi-mahi. I ask you, when was the last time you NEEDED a steak knife to cut a lobster tail? 4 small shrimp, badly overcooked, a small lobster tail – and i mean small – two bites – and a little piece of mahi-mahi, with a scoop of rice and KFC-style coleslaw – 36.50 US dollars – a total ripoff.