Wonderful people in Aruba

                                                       

This was the guy that brought us in the shuttle bus back to the airport to come home. He was able to tell us a little bit about Aruba. He said that everyone on the island is required to have insurance and the ones that have jobs pays for the people that do not have insurance. The insurance companies are inside the bank buildings. He stated that the island has become more like a resort. The workers are focused more on having a happy island than a depressed one. They have a love for people and wish for everyone to come and enjoy the excitement of the island. They live in high class and want others to experience the beautiful waters, blue sky, sun sets, and amazing winds. They are proud of what their island has become and plan for the future of the visitors that return to the island year after year. I recommend that if you are looking for somewhere outside United States to travel with your family, take a wonderful vacation in Aruba. It will be well worth the cost and time!

This is one of the crewmen that help us while we were on board the sailboat for our sunset and dinner cruise. The sailboat cruise offered a buffet style dinner with lots of desserts and drinks. We sailed out several miles off shore into the ocean anchored down for a while, ate dinner and waited to watch the sun completely disappear. It was a fantastic experience. 

 This was one of the workers of the hotel where we stayed. He was very kind and offered to share that he had been there for over ten years and was very pleased to be a servant to the people that stay at the resort.

A wonderful server at the Light House restaurant that we ate at. Wonderful islander that had a great time entertaining us while he served us.



Interview with lady in Aruba

This is a lady at the hotel in Palm Beach, at La Cabana Resort, where we stayed. She was a very friendly worker and had a little bit to share with us about her experience serving there. She checked us in when we got to La Cabana Resort. She showed that she was committed to her work and shared that she had been there several years. She is originally from Jamaica, but plans on staying in Aruba till she retires.

Food in Aruba

  

There was a lot of seafood offered in Aruba. Many of the dishes were a lot like ours but very spicy. We went to one of the resort where we had a buffet cuisine of shrimp, crab claws, and white fish. The dishes were very festive and delicious. The restaurants had extremely calm atmospheres. The Aruban cooking has been influenced by American-Indians, Dutch and Spanish colonial powers and  African Americans. We also were able to  get American food such as hamburgers, wraps, and pulled pork. They have so many visitors to their island that they want to please the taste buds of everyone that vacation there. We were able to get coke products there, of which pleased everyone. The price of the food there was very high compared to ours. The restaurants in Aruba are much pricier than other Caribbean islands. Some of the specialty fish was grouper, mahi mahi, and snapper.  

Attractions in Aruba

 

This attraction was in down town Aruba. There were a lot of people there taking pictures.

One of the attractions that we visited were the lighthouses that are on the side of the island.






This is a map of the whole island of Aruba. The island is 17 miles long and 2 miles wide. They have many attractions on the happy island. They call their island The Happy Island because they want everyone to be happy while they are there. Their main industry is tourism. There are a total of 102,911 people that live in Aruba. The main factory that was used to support the people of Aruba closed in 2012. Every since then they have been catering more to tourism for their income. They have shuttle buses, cabs, and vans that carry tourist around to different locations. They have boats that carry people over to another island called De Palm Island. We spent an entire day on the De Palm Island visiting the water park, buffet breakfast and lunch, and soaking up plenty of sun shine. We continued our trip by visiting Baby Beach at the south end of the island. We took one day just to tour the entire island and see the butterfly attraction in mid-town. We went to some of the open markets to purchase our souvenirs. Everything was very prices. The day we went to shop at the food store we were totally surprised. A loaf of bread was $4.33. Many things were twice the price of ours. The trip to the food store was interesting because you got in a glass trapped door to enter and leave the food store. Once you were in the door with your cart you had to stand there until they decided to let the door open on the other side to let you into the store. They said that this had cut way down on their crime by catching criminals before they could get out of the store. It definitely was an experience. 

More Pictures of Aruba

         More Pictures of Aruba

This was outside the suite that my husband and I stayed at while we were on the Island of Aruba. We had a wonderful time. We enjoyed coffee out on the balcony every morning before starting our day. The water was aqua blue and the beaches were pure white. The Island was full of Palm Trees and cactus. The traffic was very busy and there were no traffic lights any where. There were many boats and cruise ships in the water closer to the airport. We went on a dinner cruise to watch the sun go down. We met a lot of the Islanders on the cruise ship. They are very friendly people. We had a dinner buffet on the cruise that included, grilled salmon, stir fried vegetables, and lots of different salads. The sun went down as we shared the boat ride across the Caribbean waters. We enjoyed riding along looking at the beach all around us. Aruba is only 17 miles long. It was a very happy island. It was mostly a tourist town. On my next blog I will include more pictures of the island. I would have loved to have stayed there longer and been able to see more of just the land area. My son-in-law rented a van and drove us around the Island, but it was so much to take in that our minds couldn't take in everything. We ate at a lot of great restaurants. We also shared a time of a live musical at one of the resorts. It was a dream come true for me and my husband. It was a well needed vacation.

         Picture outside our suite in Aruba

My Husband on a boat ride in Aruba

This was my husband and I having a dinner cruise in Aruba.

My family photo in Aruba!

My Experience in Aruba

I have always wanted to be a world traveler, but have never had the opportunity to do so. My daughter and her husband paid for a trip to Aruba for me and my husband. They wanted to thank us for helping with their nine month old baby. They also invited his parents with us. It was a wonderful trip. The beaches are so beautiful. The palm trees blow in the wind all the time. They had awesome restaurants to dine in. We were constantly eating and drinking. They have an abundance of hospitality there. The temperature is 95degree but the humidity is very low. The wind blows all the time make it very nice to be outside. I have some pictures I would like to share of my experience there.