Wednesday 24th January 2018
Aruba, the ‘A’ of the ABC islands off the coast of Venezuela, once a member of the Netherlands Antilles, now stands independently, having gained autonomy in 1986. Mother Nature has spread her charm, covering the island with a beautiful landscape, rocky deserts, blond beaches, gentle surf, colourful cacti and secluded coves.
Constant trade winds bring cool breezes and cause the divi-divi trees to slope southwesterly. European influence shows in architecture that features Dutch gables painted in tropical pastels. It’s also evident in language, with English, Dutch and Spanish spoken alongside the local tongue, Papiamento.
Today berthed in Aruba.
No great rush today but no time to hang about either, our plan is for an independent trip to the beach.
So straight after breakfast off ashore. A short walk and just across the road to the bus station. Bought two return bus tickets and got onto the bus, route 10, luckily no wait at all. The bus took us out of town and along the coast, Eagle Beach looked very nice, but we had chosen Palm Beach, so on for a few more minutes to our stop. Just across the road found access the beach. We had wondered about a day pass to one of the big hotels here but instead we chose just a couple of loungers under a thatched roof just nearby. Five dollars each for the day with everything we needed. Lots of bars and beach/water activities on offer, but who needs more than a fine sand beach, clear blue sea and more than enough sunshine?
View of our Loungers
Divi-Divi Tree
After enough sun and swimming we took the bus back to town. A very quick look at the shops and then back on board our ship. A very successful day, I do like it when a plan comes together.
View over the town from the ship
Just enjoyed the sun on our balcony until sailaway, then dinner in the buffet and then some time to relax.
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