I’ve decided to start a new thread on this since we were getting so many pictures involved that I would hate to have everyone need to download them all to see a few new ones every few days. I’m also going to be a little more detailed with our activities / opinions since I’ll be passing this thread along as a trip report to some of the Aruba BB’s for others to plan their trip with … much of what we’ve decided to do was based on other reports in the past, so we’ll try repay the favor and perhaps touch on some things that I haven’t seen mentioned.

I believe we last left you on Wednesday night … talking about those stupid nickel slots that seem to pay us more than the quarters. After the $200 win the other night, I followed with another $150 at the Allegro’s Casino this time around.



So far that has been our fave place to gamble … it seemed to be a lot more jovial atmosphere than either the Wyndham’s Casino or certainly the Excelsior. We also noticed the opportunity for drinks came around a lot more often as well.

As I also stated before, Thursday turned out to be a shopping day for us as the weather wasn’t the best (a sprinkle here and there and plenty of clouds). We drove down to the waterfront of Oranjestad and cruised the open-air shops and a few of the malls:



A pretty busy place, people watching was half the fun and there were some neat buildings down in the area:



You could buy T-shirts for 3 for $10 at a lot of places, but they were of pretty low quality … the nicer shirts were always about $15. We didn’t haggle much, but we saw a few that did with success.

We also decided to go check out the marina to see where we’d be going fishing on Saturday … glad we did since there was the largest concentration of Iguanas that we’ve seen yet by the Seaport Casino … a little tamer here, you could sit and toss food to them without them scurrying away:



Also got a chance to see a bunch of the crabs playing tug-o-war with fish scraps from the fishing boats:



There was also a Siberian Tiger there that you could pet and get your pic with, but our timing wasn’t good on the opportunity to do so, so we just snapped one pic through the glass:



We left the downtown area to go up to the Mill Resort (a ways from the beach if any of you are considering that) that is located next to the old Windmill (a reminder of the Dutch ties here):



We wanted to check out a shop called the Juggling Fish … nothing special, and more expensive than the downtown shops, but we found a couple of nice hats that we bought for about $15 each.

We got some Florins from an ATM machine so we could hit the local grocery store, but it didn’t look like we needed to once we got there. We bought a couple of the $10 Ventaha phone cards back to the states, but had trouble using them from most phones … but the rates were good if you found a phone to take them.

Incredible fruits in the stores … check out these papayas!!!!!!!!!!

Hawk will be happy to know that Spam is obviously a big seller here! You name it, they had the flavor of Spam:



This is sunset pic #4, our last from the Bucuti as we moved on Friday morning:



Since fast food is a delicacy for those of us living in Forks, Taco Bell was on our list of one of the restaurants to hit one night:



Pretty much like most US Taco Bell’s except they do make some nacho dishes with fries instead of chips … they were actually pretty darned good!

We finished our night off with a round of mini-Golf at the Adventure Golf Center. It’s attached to the Black Hog Saloon which appeared to be the wild & crazy place … lots of motorcycles ride right through the bar and they had a pretty mean game of musical chairs going on!



Had a good time there … nice playing nighttime min-golf when it’s over 80 degrees! Hopefully our big snafu of the trip took place here though as we decided to take a paddle boat ride and in the paddling position … it’s easy for stuff to drop out of your pocket into the water … like our rental car keys!

No way we were ever going to find them so we got a ride home with one of nice employees (they were so helpful there … One Happy Island should be changed to One Friendly Island as we’ve found out!)

Took a cab back in the morning and the folks at Economy Rental Cars brought us a new set for ONLY $100 …

Oh well, if that’s the worst thing that happens to us during the trip, we’ll be happy!



We moved from the Bucuti to Sunset Blvd. Studios on Friday morning. We loved the Bucuti … the people were extremely nice and very eager to please. Our only complaint was the fried was filled with mini-bar stuff so it was hard to put our own pops / drinks in. We also got some creamer for our coffee and the packets of stuff they have at the restaurant:



and in our room creamer just plain sucked! So we got some back home flavored creamer at the store to take care of that!

After moving, we went snorkeling at another beach to the north of Baby Beach … much nice place to snorkel. It was called Spanish Lagoon I believe. Fewer people than Baby Beach and much nicer coral and considerably more fish. The only thing we didn’t see here that we saw at Baby Beach was the lone Octopus I saw on our first snorkel trip.

On our way, we were able to find what we believe is the Island’s only Coffee House!!!

Our “Hamster”, as we call it, parked in front:



Great blended mochas and a chance to buy some of the many kinds of coffee here that you don’t see back home … most far cheaper than regular Folgers / Maxwell House stuff back home.

Some notes on the Sunset Blvd. Studios where we moved to:

About half the price of the Bucuit. Rooms were nice and quite large (we had the large Garden Studio with oceanview terrace .. view was as good as we had at Bucuti). Nothing musty smelling as many people report about rooms across the island. King bed was fine. Great having a full fridge to keep lots of cold drinks in. Normal sized coffee maker which we sure liked in the morning. People were just as nice ... but we didn't see staff as much here, simply because there wasn't a lot. Smaller pool, but adequate. Lots more lizards around and a few iguanas as well. Bucuti room perhaps had a little more Carribean "flair", but we enjoyed it. Much larger shower. Only drawbacks ... they asked that we keep AC off when we left (not a really big issue) and they forgot to replenish soap. Both a smaller charcoal barbeque and a big gas one available if you wished to cook anything in addition to the full range / oven in our room. North of highrises and very quiet ... we liked that! Could not use laptop on phone system ... but they offered to let us use office line if we wished to hookup with Seatr's 123 access or use calling card to home ISP. Cable did not have US maion network stations as the Buctui did ... not lke we planned on watching much TV, but a factor one night when we may have watched the audition night for American Idol.

Here are some of the neat fish we saw on our dive, this one we saw before, but a far better shot of it, a rainbow parrotfish:



And a cool anchor that we saw that we have no idea what it was here for … no boat in sight!



More fish, a foureye butterfly fish



A Bluehead:



A Blue Tang:



We think this is a Checkered Puffer:



Here’s a challenge for you, find the fish in this pic!!



Even on top of it, it was hard to see this “sole” ???? with its built-in camo! We now know looking at our book that it was a Peacock Flounder.

This was one of the more unusual fisheys, his body was a perfect triangular tube (we found out that it is a Smooth Trunkfish):



This was perhaps my favorite though … I don’t know if this is how this how this Sptted Moray Eel eel hunts, or if he was not quite as happy to see us as were to see him. We’ll just say Fishgal kept her distance!!



Fishgal cruising along:



And this may turn out to be one of my favorite pix of the trip … the sun was setting as we came out of the water and this was sunset #5, with a cooperative pelican around to add to our picture!



We were pretty pooped on Friday night and decided to grab a quick bite and hit the hay. We wanted to try a place called Tomato Charlie’s, but the line was very long so we went around the corner to try a Chinese Buffet place called the Grand Victoria ... skip it!

Saturday morning found us at the docks to go fishing bright and early. Aruba is NOT known for it’s fishing by any means, but we had to give it whirl anyhow, the concept of fishing in this sort of weather was just too appealing!



We went with Capt. Kenneth and his deckhand Rolando, neither spoke much English … but enough to communicate. We did a short trip of four hours as we wanted to see what the fishery was all about before diving off the deep end. Simple trolling, with pretty good sized seas on the NE side of the Island by the lighthouse where they fish.

I let Corey have first crack!



Wahoo coming aboard!!



I got a crack to sit in “the chair” as well, my wahoo was bigger!

We’ll post our fishey pix when we get home since we took those on the regular film camera …

Okay trip, but I would certainly work harder for my guys than they did. Baits pulled in at the end were pretty trashed … don’t know if it makes much difference, but I figured you’d swap them out a little more often????

We may end up fishing again, we’ll see how our time goes … it’s going fast and we still have lots we want to do!

After a nice nap in the cloudless weather we had on Saturday, we headed off for dinner at Amazonia … a very similar place to Texas de Brazil. The food was very good!

Two more meats of TdB, but we liked TdB a little better with the service, better salad bar, and more dessert options. In addition, our AGA (Aruba Gastronomical Association) card gave us dessert in our dinner as well at TdB, at Amazonia, we had to pay for half the desert

Fishgal getting a piece of fillet mignon:



Oh yeah, sunset pic #5 .. a little early, we had 6 PM dinner reservations!



After dinner, we headed off to the Allegro for their 80’s Vegas Show. I liked it better than the Grease show, but Corey felt the opposite. Funny, there were a number of 70’s songs in there, figured the music must have got here in the 80’s so that’s whay they included in. This show did have some live singing involved and it showcased the talents of the dancers better I thought.

Looking at the dinner those that did both dinner / show had on their tables, it didn’t look too impressive. I’d do as we did, eat elsewhere and then pay for show only.

Oh yeah, I got my pic with those showgirls!!



Told u so!

Off to do some exploring today (Sunday), we’ll post more soon!

You have got to be kidding me!!! I can not believe you lost your keys...you two have the best luck with vehicles.

Bob, your pictures and information are great. I can't even get James to go to Anchorage, AK how am I going to get him to take me to Aruba!?! It's just too beautiful, I loved sunset #5. Though the photos are beautiful, now I'm depressed, it's -18 here. It has been -30 so I suppose I should be thankful, we are getting a warm spell.

And lastly, I'm glad I awoke early and checked this site before James. He would really have had a difficult time deciding to watch the Colt's game with me or to stare at my sister in that orange floral dress. You look great Corey!!! Bob's a lucky guy(:

Well, it's still cold and wet over here (especially in Forks). I'm sure you'll be happy to be home. NOT!

Generally speaking, FishGal, the wide-open mouth of the moray usually means it's pissed off and wants you to leave. Just remember that the big green morrays are generally slower and nicer. Those little guys are usually mean as snot, and quick as lightning. I found out the hardway when I tried (and failed) to scratch the chin of this little fellow!

I don't want to add a photo to this already big thread, so CLICK ON THIS LINK TO SEE THE PHOTO.

Nice underwater photos Bob. Are you using your digy cam and underwater housing? Very cool.

Last we left you, it was Sunday morning and we were off to explore the eastern coast of the island, a terrain very different from the western side. Four-wheel drive is a must, and be careful of lots of sharp rocks to not mess up your tires!

Perhaps the best weather of the trip the past few days, almost no clouds at all, and moderate winds that cooled just enough to keep it somewhat comfy for my thick blood.

Our first stop at the northern end of the island was the oft-photographed California lighthouse. A neat sight, I’d suggest seeing it near sunset as we ended up doing later in the day:



You’ll often see the wild goats roaming around the lighthouse:



Down the beach we went and ran across Wish Rock Garden … it went on for several miles and was pretty neat! We, of course, stopped and added a few stones of our own to the countless piles of stacked rocks:



Then we came along the Chapel a little further south, very pretty … and since we were exploring on a Sunday, we saw a number of locals stopping by to visit as well:



And there also seemed to be a number of permanent resident around as well:



A little further down the beach, we came across the ruins of the old Gold Mill. A note … please don’t park right next to all these attractions, a few did, and we always waited until the rental cars moved away before we got our pix. A little courtesy reminder!



Our next stop is perhaps the most famous of all natural attractions on the island, the Natural Bridge. This would be easy enough to get to w/o four-wheel drive if you come in on the main roads:

We got a good chuckle out of this sign of a nearby snack stand:



We brought one liter water bottles and insulating socks and carried 4-5 with us on this day trip … they were all gone by day’s end. A good idea that we’d recommend to others. We try to freeze about half of them solid the night before for use later in the day.

Oh, and of course, the Natural Bridge. Quite beautiful, and worth the trip!



There doesn’t appear to be anything more than a four-wheeler trail past the Natural Bridge onto the Blackstone Beach area … you need to backtrack and head inland past the Ayo Rock Formations (below) and then come back into Arikok National Park all the way to the beach to see the Natural Pool and more slightly northerly places like Blackstone Beach.



Tons of cacti in the area … hard to believe you’re just a few miles from the lush gardens that are common throughout both the low-rise and high-rise hotel area.



The road to the Natural Pool is VERY rough, there’s a reason why they put this sign in our 4x4 rental … just don’t notice that you’re seeing the Natural Pool parking area in the background J



A look down upon swimmers at the Natural Pool:



Awfully slow going out of the Natural Pool area … but be careful and try to follow one of the four-wheeler tours out and it shouldn’t be too much of a problem. As we neared the Park exit, we found we were in the midst of a “Hamster” stampede!

We continued on southward to try to visit the various caves. We actually found it hard to find a flashlight for sale … so we were hoping to find the rentals available when we got there. To our disappointment, the Fontein Cave had a locked gate on them and no one around.

The Guadirkiri Cave was open, but no flashlights for rent so we didn’t go in.

We continued south to look for the Tunnel of Love, but it was getting late enough that we opted to head back to our Studio to catch the sunset and try the caves another time.

Along the way we did run across one of the herds of wild donkeys:



When we got back to our place to grab our tripod & still camera for sunset time (this would be #7), we found the locals were already in position for the show:



We went back to the California Lighthouse and shot a series of pix … this one after the sun actually went down was our fave … and why we said you ought to try visiting at sunset rather than midday:



After sunset, we decided to try a place called Tomato Charlie’s across from the Allegro. While the food (started with the Italian Salad and had cheese bread and Charlie’s Special Pizza) was quite good … our waiter plain-out sucked the big one. It took over 2 ½ hours from the time we sat down until the time we left … one table near us had three different parties seated there during our stay. Our water glasses were oft empty as well, not something I like here! I say order it “to Go” … or as they say on Aruba “Take Away”.

We awoke Monday morning to a few clouds, but still quite a nice day, On our agenda today was a submarine trip with Atlantis Adventures. Corey was a little miffed that what she had thought she’d booked as a catamaran ride out to the sub was just a jet boat with a glass top that was hotter than hell when parked, okay once we got going:



While waited though, I did get to get a close look at one of the thrill ride jet boats they have here … this one was called the Screamer, looks like it might be a fun ride!



A word of wisdom … make sure you bring and discount cards or coupons with you when you pay for your trip … they will cut you NO SLACK,

The sub trip itself was pretty neat … loads of fish and many that we hadn’t seen before, especially when the sub got down to depth around some wrecks … some giant grouper, octopus, barracuda and lots more!



With the double pane glass, pix turn out lousy, so I wouldn’t waste too much time getting your camera settings right … just look for lots of things that you might not see on the regular snorkeling trips that so many people do here.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip was not just one, but two great big sea turtles … they looked much better without the use of the camera!

Me coming out of the sub:



We boarded the jet boat once again and the Capt. Kept the boat in place while watched the next group of people board the sub and submerge:



We were treated to a flyby of a flying fish on our ride back … took too long for the brain to register what we were actually seeing though to grab the camera though, bummer!

A quick stop downtown for me to grab a batik shirt that I saw a few days earlier … be warned, 2X shirts are hard to come by, so if you see one you like, better grab it!

Once I got back, I saw Fishgal was already hitting on some of the locals:



I must fight off Ronald! I treated her to lunch at Sbarro’s on the waterfront. It was decent, reasonably priced, and a quick stop before I whisked Fishgal away with a flashlight in hand to visit the Tunnel of Love:



Beware of the crazy old guy (I never read about him before our trip) that will hound you relentlessly to be your tour guide at the cave entrance. The group behind us got suckered into his services and we rushed through pretty quick as he came along with his torch leading the next group though … we though for sure we were going to be dinner for him! They still eat people in some places don’t they??

Lots of climbing and tight squeezes in Tunnel of Love, watch your head!



Finally 600 feet later, there was light at the end of that tunnel!



The next cave northward (Huliea) has been closed due to vandalism of the Indian drawings, so even though it was marked on the map, we now understand why there was no sign for it.

Guadikiri was next, as and it turns out, you didn’t really have to have a light in here as there were several openings in the roof of it along the way that gave just enough light to see what was going on. The entrance:



the guard at the entrance:

Bats do live here, but we didn’t see any. I was hoping to, but respected the sign (Protect our Bats, No Entry) as we got deeper in the tunnel:



More stalagmites and stalactites here than in the Tunnel of Love ... much easier going as well.



Next, we re-visited Fontein Cave and found it open. The ranger there stated that it has been gated and is being watched due to damage to the Indian drawings there:



They had a few snakes on display for us at the cave entrance, ranger gal was having fun getting the rattler all worked up for us. She stated they have no idea what the pix mean for sure or their exact age, but they figured about 1000 years old or so.

Sunset #8 tonight was at the island’s most famous picture spot, a specific Divi tree midway between the high-rise and low-rise hotels.

We got a couple of nice shots:





Dinner tonight was okay, but we only have ourselves to blame! I cooked up a slab of Wahoo on the barbeque at Sunset Blvd. Studios with some rice, corn, and a fruit salad. I overcooked it, but really, it wasn’t all that bad!

Just a few days left, we’re going to hate to leave and there’s still so many things to do!

Hi Bob and Corey. So little time, and so much Spam. Looks like they have most of the flavors covered, but may be missing one or two. If you get hooked on it, I'll set you up when I see you next. Maybe this fall or early next winter.

Too bad Fishgal didn't bring her Spam glasses. You could have traded them for new rental car keys. Peace and have a great time.

Too much Spam already in my Inbox anyhow Hawk ... thanks anyhow

Jeez, if I could get new car rental keys with just those Spam Glasses ... I wonder how many showgirls I could get with that inflatable pig of yours