Day 5: Aruba!

Aruba:  Discovered in 1499 by Europeans.  After years of colonial rule, it was not until 1986 that Aruba became its own country, although it sill remains a Dutch protectorate.  Located in the Southern Caribbean, Aruba is 20 miles long (69 square miles) and lies north of Venezuela and east of Colombia.  The  climate in Aruba is warm, dry, and sunny  Due to a tropical marine climate, temperatures remain stable at a pleasant 82 degrees.  It lies outside the hurricane belt.  The language is Dutch/Papiamento (local dialect).  Their currency is the Arubian Florin (AWG).  The US Dollar and credit cards are widely accepted.

(Once we left Curacao a bit before 10pm last night, we traveled a short distance to Aruba,  The swells were slight, but you could feel the movement of the ship).

I wake up early to see us gliding into Aruba:


Then a rain shower appears and I have to take a step back from our balcony into our cabin:


The rain lasts for a few minutes and I resume my usual position taking pictures.  Here you can see Aruba is a working port as well a cruise port:


The cruise ship Freewinds is in port with us again.  She was also in Curacao.  You can see her tenders hanging from the top deck:



Yes, we absolutely agree with this.  Hubby and I are always happy to be here:


In the horizon you can see the tall hotel buildings located at Palm Beach.  The white buildings is the Hilton to the slight left and next door on the right is the Riu Palace resort (looks like a castle):


The colorful downtown shopping and dining area.  About a 10-15 minute walk from the port area:


We approach the pier moving in parallel to the dock:


Then we move forward so the lines can be tied in appropriate areas.  It was entertaining to watch this dock person moving the steps:


Aruba has lots of pelicans:


Tying one of many lines with the Pilot boat helping to pull them to various locations around the dock:



Once we are tied to the dock and the ship is cleared, all of our fellow cruisers are able to head off for a day of fun in the sun.  Did I mention it’s hot in the Southern Caribbean?  While the temperature is only 82 degrees, the sun is INTENSE!  We are enjoying this immensely!

Various boats are taking cruisers to different destinations:



A gorgeous day for sailing:


A helicopter landing at the Renaissance:




Lots of dive boats and fishing vessels:


This the Renaissance Hotel and Mall area.  Between the two rows of palm trees is a small canal that goes under the hotel.  The Renaissance also has additional buildings in the port area and a private island.  Their small boats were running all day taking folks from here to their destinations:


We are here in Aruba until 10pm.  Next up…it’s beach time again!