Aruba: Final Days

As I'm writing this post, we have returned to Wisconsin's frozen tundra. The change has been shocking.  Temperatures for us have dropped from 88F in Oranjestad to an expected -12F tonight.

During our last week in Aruba, Julia spent a lot of time sunning on the beach and snorkeling in the water.  I put in over ten miles a day walking, reading books, and relaxing in the shade.  We had some great meals at the apartment and one really good meal at an Italian restaurant in Eagle Beach.

Prawns over black ink pasta

Octopus, pasta, and Chianti

On our last night, we were total tourists.  We went on a pirate ship booze cruise.  For $30, the two hour sunset cruise included an open bar and encouragement to jump off the ship (after signing waivers).

Julia getting ready to jump

The average age on the boat was over 50, so there weren't a lot of volunteers to swing off the rope swing into the ocean.  I have previously mentioned that Julia is a strong swimmer, so she was all in.

I can swim if my life depended upon it, but it didn't. I did momentarily set my cocktail aside to take photos.

The trip home was uneventful.

Aruba is a very interesting place.  On the positive side, the weather is amazingly consistent.  It rarely rains.  The temperature was always in the mid to upper 80's during the day, and cooled off only into the upper 70's at night.  It never rained for more than a few minutes.  There seems to be very little crime. In general, the island is very clean. 

No mosquitoes were seen during our two weeks.  The water, which is obtained through desalination plants, is outstanding.  The dollar is freely accepted.  Almost everyone speaks English, although Spanish and Papiamento (Creole) are spoken also.  

Some tourists absolutely love Aruba for these reasons.  We met people who've been coming to Aruba every year for over fifteen years.   While we liked Aruba and are glad we visited, we would probably not return for the following reasons.

It's very expensive.  Very little is grown or made on the island, so almost everything has to be imported.  Super Foods, the grocery store near our second apartment, was easily one of the top three stores I've ever been in.  They had almost everything you could imagine, and it was very high quality.  There were meats and cheeses that I've only seen in Europe.  Again, it was very expensive.

Some of the resorts and hotel properties in Eagle Beach are just amazing and priced that way too. 

One of Julia's favorite properties was the RIO resort that we walked through often.  It's an all-inclusive with rates that start near $600/night.  

Aruba is hot and humid.  This is a desert island, but the humidity is pretty intense, being surrounded by ocean.  During the day, I was sweating without even moving very much.  We noticed locals would get out and walk right before sunrise or right after sunset.  There isn't much exercising going on during the day.   I'm good with hot and dry, but humidity is not my thing.

Unless you are eating or drinking, there isn't a ton to do besides lay on the beach.  For some folks, that's a perfect vacation.  A week wouldn't have been enough to experience Aruba.  By the end of two weeks, we felt like we had pretty much done the island. We will always remember the sunsets.

Aruba: Eagle Beach and Beyond

During our second week in Aruba, our home base has been a lovely but economical Airbnb that is much larger than our first one. It’s a true one bedroom apartment with full kitchen and is about a fifteen minute walk to the beach. It’s also a five minute walk to Super Foods, the best supermarket on the island.

We have been taking advantage by preparing breakfasts and dinners in the apartment: The local eggs are amazing with deep orange yolks: For local fish, we have prepared grouper, red snapper and amber jack. I cook, and Julia does dishes. No complaints here.

Most mornings and evenings, we take long walks from Eagle Beach to Palm Beach—about a five mile round trip. Mornings heat up fast into the mid eighties with fairly high humidity. Evenings are delicious with cooling breezes and beautiful sunsets.

One day, we took the bus to the north tip of the island. Walking on the east side, we experienced more of the “Wild Coast” with big waves and rocky shores.

This is our favorite rooftop bar to hide from the heat and enjoy generous happy hours.

We are winding down our trip. I will do a final wrap-up after we have returned to the frozen tundra.

Aruba: Two Hikes

I would not call Aruba a hiking destination. Outdoor activities focus on beaches and water sports. There are plenty of good places to walk. We are usually above 20,000 steps each day just walking along the downtown streets and the coastal walking paved paths. Finding wild places is another matter.

But there are a couple of hiking trails I can recommend.  One of the destinations is accessible by local bus (Arubabus—$5/round trip). We worked to get the photo below. Multiple ladders get you to the highest point in the historic Fort.

Mount Hooiberg: view from top of the Fort’s Bell Tower 

Our bus driver was kind to let us know where to get off and general directions, which involved about a mile walk alongside roads to the base of the small mountain.

It doesn’t look like much of a mountain. In truth, the hike is short—less than twenty minutes up and even faster down, However, what it lacks in length, the hike makes up in steepness. There are about 600 steps to the top

Going up is a great workout. Going down is a good test for 59 year old knees.

Mount Hooiberg was the warm-up for our seven mile hike at Arikok National Park. Unfortunately, accessing the National Park isn’t practical to do by local bus or taxi. We rented a small Toyota with a 1.1L engine for $55 for a day. It featured roll-up windows and manual locks. The drive was only about eight miles, but it took about a half hour to make the drive. The road required slowing down nearly to a stop to cross rocky drainage paths.

Admission is $11/person which goes towards conservation efforts. Most of the users of the park were using ATV’s to access the park’s features. The four wheeler trails are separate from the hiking trails, and there’s enough distance that noise wasn’t really an issue. We saw only two other hikers that day.

The trail we chose went to a natural Pool known locally as “Conchi.”  It’s about three miles each way with numerous side trail options to beaches and overlooks. There is no water available on the trail. I would recommend at least one liter. I would have drank two if available.  The conditions are hot, humid and dusty, along with lots of ups and downs on trails with loose rock.

The trail starts up along cactus and short thorny trees which one must duck to avoid.

After a long climb, the trail becomes fully exposed. The cactus and trees vanish, leaving sparse vegetation at ankle height.  The trail goes up and down the hills. Finally, we reach a view above the ocean. This area is known as the Wild Coast of Aruba.

When we crest another hill, we can see a herd of goats hanging out on the rocks at the edge of the sea.

There were goats all over both sides of the rock. I liked the perch of the goat below.

As we hiked below the goats’ hangout, a strong smell became unpleasantly stronger. Julia said it was the goat herd, but then we discovered a kind of goat graveyard with a couple of skeletons and at least one recent death. We’re not quite sure what was going on here, but we quickly left the area. This was a side hike, and we got back on the main trail.

From here, it was about another mile of ups and downs to the natural pool. When we first arrived, a bunch of atv riders were just getting out. After that, Julia had the pool to herself. Not being a strong swimmer, I enjoyed scrambling around the cliffs and cooled off with the ocean spray.

Eventually, more atv riders arrived, and we started the return hike. It seemed a lot hotter. The goats crossed our path once more.

Our water lasted until about a 1/2 mile before the end. After rehydrating at the Visitors Center, we drove back to town for a celebratory sunset dinner on our last night in Orangestad.

We are headed north on the island to another Airbnb near Eagle Beach. Let Julia’s sun-bathing begin in earnest. I’m sure I can find something to do.

Aruba: Perspectives

We’ve had a few days now to settle into our location in  downtown Oranjestad. As a disclaimer, Aruba is better suited for Julia than me. There are lots of beautiful beaches, and she is happy laying out in the sun all day. For me, it’s been more challenging.

Our hostess told us on the first day that the sun is very “hard” here, and we frequently joke about that descriptive. The sun is very intense, especially for a paleface like me. Each day, I put on my hat and slather up with sunscreen. I try to find shade where I can during the middle of the day. Often, that’s a beachside bar, where I’ll sip the local brews, which are about $4 for shorties (7 ounces).  Cocktails start at $10. Yes, food and beverages here are very expensive.

Aruba’s flagship Pilsner 

In fact, everything is pretty expensive here. On the plus side, people here seem to be better off than anywhere we’ve been in the Caribbean or Mexico. Generally, it’s a very clean country. We haven’t seen any military presence. Police presence is barely visible. We haven’t been approached by panhandlers or venders. You have to look hard to see any signs of poverty. 

The cruise terminal, about a twenty minute walk from our room, is adjacent to the Renaissance Hotel. Both are a focal point on the downtown waterfront. Every day, a big cruise ship disgorges its people to descend on the trinket shops and luxury stores. 

The people in the rooms above the casino don’t have to walk far from the Gucci or Rolex stores below to get to a water taxi that will spirit them away to Renaissance’s private island, stocked with flamingos which were imported from Venezuela. 

With that backdrop, we create our own realities with long walks along the beaches, local bus rides around the island, and strolls through the historical sites.

Aruba has been occupied by several European powers over the years, starting in the late 1400’s. It won a nickname as the useless island because its early exploiters found no gold or silver. It still maintains a relationship with the Kingdom of the Netherlands but won its independence during the 1980’s. These gentlemen below were instrumental in that struggle.  Today, Aruba, with tourism as its main pillar, is known as “one happy island.”

In the mornings, we”ve been making our own breakfast from Aruban eggs and plantains. In the late afternoons, we eat combined lunch/dinner, usually some kind of seafood. The grouper and shrimp are amazing. We’ve been disappointed by some of the other local fish, which has been oily and strong tasting.

Fish tacos at Lucy’s Retired Surfer Bar

My favorite time of day is sunset. Sometimes, the clouds don’t cooperate for photos, but the cooler temperatures, soft light, and gentle breezes are a great way to end the day.

Long Travel Day

We started at 4 a.m. with snow steadily falling. Our first destination was Chicago O’hare Airport.  Driving conditions were not ideal with temperatures staying right at the freezing mark. Precipitation moved from snow to rain to freezing rain.

Long lines through security and getting singled out for a full pat down search added to my stress levels. As it turned out, our flight was delayed anyway so we had plenty of time. The five hour flight was smooth and relaxing. I finished “Neon Rain”, a James Lee Burke novel about a New Orleans cop. There are a bunch in the series, and I will be reading more. It’s gritty, challenging and fun.

We landed in Aruba with sunny skies and 83 degrees. Our Airbnb is small and modest, but we don’t plan on spending much time in the room. Tonight we ate at Pincho’s, the restaurant on the pier in the photo below. Julia had tasty grouper, and I had six huge grilled shrimp. Tonight we’re winding down with a five year old bottle of Cuban sipping rum, which we purchased at the duty free store. Life is good.

Aruba is just 17 miles off the coast of Venezuela and is technically part of South America. It has Dutch origins, but the population seems to be a true melting pot.