Aruba - Jan 7

Our first port of call on this voyage is Aruba. We arrived in Oranjestadand we were supposed to arrive at 7:00, but due to a medical emergency they managed to arrive by 5:00. We heard that the person was taken to the hospital and the announcement said they would not be returning to the ship. We have been to Aruba 4 times before and have done the island tours and snorkeled on every other visit. We decided to do something different here despite the urge to snorkel. We rode horses. (due to the high winds that were present, snorkeling would not have been fun)

 http://www.thegoldmineranch.com/tours-rates/

Over 9 Spots covered on the Tours:

1.Gold Mill Ruins

2.Budui Beach

3.Wariruri Beach

4.Baby Natural Bridge

5.White-Sand Dunes

6.“Rancho Beach”

7.Indian Trail

8.Hidden Valley

9.Hidden Lagoon

10.Boca Grandi (Private Paradise Tour)

11.the Old Mine path of Bushiribana (Private Paradise Tour)

Aruba is a bit tricky to get into due to the natural reef. It requires a local pilot to assist the bridge team.

We got up and had breakfast and showered and since we didn’t have to meet our transportation until 10:00 we were in no hurry. We walked the short distance to the Citgo gas station and waited for our driver. He makes conversation and of course they want to know how long your cruise is. When we said 4 months, he must have asked 3 times if that could possibly be. He said he had never heard of that. Then, like most people he wanted to know where we live. Panama throws them. Then they ask questions like don’t you miss your home? Explaining we don’t have a home. The driver said “you people are strange”. I said you wouldn’t be the first people to tell us that. He said how exciting to go on such a special bucket list trip.

We got to the ranch and his puppy laid at Greg’s feet while he filled out the liability waivers. Then, our guide came and showed us our horses. I had Elegancia and Greg had Ringo. Mine, didn’t want to hold her head up so I was constantly pulling the reins up. We have ridden a lot of horses, but most of the tourist horses just kind of know where to go and they plod along. Ours weren’t that cooperative. Plus, the guide (a lovely lady from Amsterdam) insisted that we keep kicking the horses to make them go faster. Not exactly a gallop, but more trot than I liked. The scenery was beautiful and it had been a long time since we have seen that part of the island. Over 30 years ago we saw the Natural Bridge before it collapsed. Now, Baby Bridge is all that is left. The water is violent on that side of the island and it is beautiful crashing to shore. We made some stops and being a desert island with lots of cactus, reminded us of Arizona. In fact, over 30 years ago our first cruise took us to Aruba and we felt silly taking pictures of cactus. So, after living with lush green landscape in Panama we appreciated it more this time.

 photos from the ship

 me next to the bus

 Gold Mine Ruins

 

As horse tours went, it was one of our least favorite, just because the horses took a bit too much work. The scenery was beautiful and the guide and owners couldn’t have been nicer. We were 2 full hours on the horses and it was a nice tour. At one point my horse either freaked out or just stumbled and I really wrenched my knee trying to stay on the horse. Despite us telling her we didn’t wish to go fast the guide just couldn’t help herself.

The high winds also made it more of a challenge. Aruba always has high winds on that side of the island, but these were stronger than normal. The Divi Divi trees get their special look due to the wind always blowing in one direction. Normally, your hair takes on the same look. Mine however was more of a Phyllis Diller look.

She dropped us back at the ship and we dropped our things in the cabin and went up and grabbed a bite to eat before heading out to walk around town. We came back early to answer a few tour emails etc. and felt in the mood for some ice cream. Well, the flavors today were rhubarb and walnut. So……no ice cream for us.

 Caribbean Grackle

 Pacific Princess

 Tropical Mockingbird

 the boats come right into the mall

 they still had Christmas decorations up

 these looked like they might be fun to try

sail away

We showered before dinner and everyone at dinner exchanged stories of their day.

Just as we entered the show lounge, I was almost taken to my knees by severe pain in my leg and back. I had to stand there quite a while before I could move. I guess I pulled some muscles on the horse ride. My horse stumbled and I really wrenched my knee trying to stay on the horse. Plus, we were constantly told to kick the horses to get them to move. A lot more work and 2 hours of that was way too much and just not fun. Anyway, my knee is fine, but my leg both front and back has severe pain.

The show tonight was quite interesting. David Meyer played an unusual instrument called a Xylosynth. No idea how it is spelled, but it’s a cross between a xylophone and a synthesizer. His wife came out and danced to a couple of the songs and it was a very enjoyable show.

We went to watch the Beatles Trivia game before heading back to the cabin to relax and get ready for tomorrow’s tour in Santa Marta, Colombia.

We got our hour back tonight! Always appreciate those extra hours in the day.

We left the harbor heading South and proceeded to follow the South American West Coast towards Santa Marta. We went North of Venezuela and Colombia. A pilot boarded to guide us and we past the Isla El Morro light on the port side.