Aruba: "Bon vini!"

ARUBA--Saturday, January 30, 2010

After being delayed by the rock-and-roll seas, we departed the ship at about 12:15 p.m. The temperature was 84 degrees and the weather was humid for this desert island. Because we had been here before, we decided not to take a tour (been there, done that) and like many other passengers on the ship, we opted to walk around the town on our own. All Ken bought was a few Cuban cigars and a six-pack of a local brew--Balashi--the official beer of Aruba. Mighty fine!

Aruba is quite lovely, but much different than the first time that we visited in the mid-1980s. For one, the Natural Bridge is no longer. It collapsed in 2005. Now there is a Baby Natural Bridge as a new tourist attraction. With progress has come construction. When we stayed at the Manchebo Beach Resort, it was one of only four resorts on that section of the island. The area is now all grown up with new motels/hotels, condos and timeshares. We wonder if the Europeans still go topless there?

While we have visited most of the tourist attractions, if it is your first time in Aruba, you should see the new Baby Natural Bridge, the California Lighthouse, the abandoned gold mines, the historical graves (which are above ground), the Alto Vista Chapel (a small 18th century Pilgrim church), the Santa Anna Church with its hand-carved altar and the shops in downtown Oranjestad. (Hey, it is only a small island, remember?) The major attractions are the beautiful beaches and the casinos. We tried to tour Fort Zoutman with museum of Aruba's history, which we wanted to tried to tour when we were here in 2008. Again, the hours were posted but the fort still looked like it had not been open for a long time.

Aruba is known as "One Happy Island." We are not sure if that is because the average temperature year-round is 81 degrees or because the tourists and natives enjoy Balashi beer and tropical drinks 24/7! Bon vini (welcome)!