ARUBA

(The ‘A’ of the ABC Islands, Caribbean Netherlands)

12^O31.340’N, 70^O02.776’W

22 to 28 November 2018

“Aruba, a tiny Dutch Caribbean island off the coast of Venezuela, has dry, sunny weather, blond beaches and gentle surf. Constant trade winds bring cool breezes and cause the Divi-Divi trees to slope South-Westerly. 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”

Wednesday 21 November 2018

Curacao to Aruba:  83 miles, 13.5 hours, 1.7 engine hours, 6.14 knots average speed.

Total miles since Falmouth UK, August 2016: 11902

Suzie, our wonderful rally organiser, had arranged for Customs and Immigration to come to Barbara Beach Resort, Spanish Water, where we were all moored, to check us out for our onward passage to Aruba.  This saved an enormous amount of time and hassle, avoiding the trip to Curacao’s capital Willemstad.

Barbara Beach

We fuelled up and departed at 5.30pm for a wonderful overnight, full-moon lit sail, arriving at first light into Aruba. 

Customs and Immigration insisted we moor up alongside the dock to check-in.  Our lines were snatching with the swell and the two hours it took it seemed to take forever!  We were pleased to finally make our way to the near-by Airport anchorage.

Alongside the harbour wall waiting for Customs and Immigration

The now very busy anchorage occupied by Suzie Too rally boats

We celebrated ‘Thanks Giving’ on Jeff and Julie’s Catamaran, J-Squared – a fabulous evening.  The hosts provided a delicious traditional thanks giving meal of turkey and all the trimmings and the guests took various other ‘pot-luck’ bits and pieces to graze on!

Nev, from Catamaran Two Drifters, organised an ATV tour enabling us to visit places not accessible by car.  Ken and I shared a quad bike taking it in turns to drive.  It was enormous fun and we saw some spectacular scenery.

Ken and Jenny ready for the off!                                            Arikok National Park

The Natural Pool                                                                              Swim stop in the Natural Pool
   

My turn to drive

The Natural Bridge

       Old Gold Mine Ruins

Years of erosion lead to final collapse.

An early start meant we were back by 1pm, however, too late to watch England beat Australia at Rugby!

Steve from Catamaran La Mischief, being Australian, said he’d host a BBQ if Australia lost.  A great party was had aboard La Mischief!

Aruba worked well for exercise; Linda took a yoga class on the beach and I took a ‘noodle-fit’ class in the water next to the beach.  Both groups were very well supported, mainly by the ladies in the rally, but a few men too. We were also able to paddle board – hard work due to the consistently high winds, but enjoyable.

The day prior to departure Ken participated in a scuba dive, but my nose hadn’t healed sufficiently so I had a wander into Oranjestad town, with some of the ladies, for a coffee and to pick up some fresh groceries.

In the 16^th century, Oranjestad was very active in the horse trade and actually called Horses Bay. For a long time, this trade was key to the local economy but it eventually declined in the early Dutch Colonial period (1800s & 1900s). Today, the island’s economy is dominated by tourism. However, the blue horses displayed around town draw attention to the importance of the island’s colonial history. A reminder of the past.  The blue colour represents the Caribbean ocean.

Next stop: Santa Marta, Columbia, South America, SW Caribbean.