Picture an island, surrounded by crystal clear aqua-marine water, pure white sandy beaches, beautiful palm trees mostly native to the island providing precious shade, friendly people , that and more is Aruba.
Sitting in the Caribbean Sea (part of the Atlantic Ocean)….beautiful, peaceful country, welcoming inhabitants, a modern city, yet lay-back lifestyle as you would expect due to the weather, hot and hotter, mostly dry, rain season Oct-Jan. It’s closest neighbour is Venezuela, about 70 kms away.

We sailed by the coastline between Colombia and Venezuela in the early hours and docked at 7am disembarkation allowed from 8am.
The temperature was already 31°, water temperature 30°.

After disembarking, we joined a local free shuttle/bus, brightly painted, opened windows along the sides allowing great air-flow. The driver was welcoming and wishing us a wonderful day. Local happy music was playing. The shuttle dropped us at the end of the terminal very welcomed, though some opted to walk. From the drop-off point it was only a short walk to the shopping precinct.

Those who booked excursions joined their waiting coaches, Phil and I opted to do our-own-thing. We had pre-booked an excursion however on review a few days out we thought the three hours on the beach would be too much as ‘shade umbrellas’ were available but not guaranteed, so we cancelled that. Instead, we wandered the shops, mainly souvenir vendors selling almost everything Aruban, clothing, bags, hats of course, and trinkets.

Our travel advisor on board suggested we visit Royal Palm Arcade in the Main Street for good shopping. Caribbean is good for luxury shopping, Diamonds International Diamonds showroom is located close to the terminal for those interested (not us).

In keeping with my plan, we did find Christmas decorations ‘made in Aruba’, so we added two to our collection. Each year it will remind us of our travels and the lovely people who added so much to our happy memories.

By 11am we were already feeling the heat so sought relief in a waterfront cafe/bar, not air conditioned but in shade and right on the water front. Phil ordered a mango daiquiri, and I opted for coke, both of us added iced water and just sat enjoying the beautiful harbour.

We were ready to leave after an hour but instead of returning directly to the ship, we took a taxi and asked the ‘local’ to give us a tour of the island.

Aruba has about 110-120,000 residents, most speak at least four languages. At school they study the local dialect Papiamento, Spanish, Dutch and English. Aruba is a Dutch colony however they have a Prime Minister and government and make their own decisions.
The Dutch maintain a military and naval presence. Education system is for all children in primary and high school, ages 4-16 years. There are several universities however many wanting higher professional qualifications opt to study in Venezuela, Amsterdam, USA or England.
The island is divided in two sections, one referred to as “low rise”, has hotels, condos, are limited to three levels, while on the other side of the island high-rise accommodation prevails. All the hotel chains are here, tourism drives the island’s economy.

Our driver took us to all the local attractions, lighthouse, old barracks, now a museum, three churches. Catholic is the predominant religion and there are two Catholic Churches and one Dutch.

We were driven through ‘a local residential’ area so we could see the homes ‘most working people, including our taxi driver’ live. The drive was about 45 minutes, cost US$60, great value and we have a good grasp of life in Aruba, happy, safe, beautiful.
They never have cyclones or hurricanes. They have desalination plants providing fresh drinking water.

We returned to our ship at 2pm, hot and weary, a shower provided welcome relief.
What a lovely visit, a beautiful part of the world