Friday morning, we arrived in Aruba, a Dutch island where most of the signs are in Dutch, but being less than twenty miles from Venezuela, most of the people spoke Spanish.
I'm getting ahead of myself. First, we had a light breakfast on the ship at the outdoor Lido buffet. I had orange juice, honey dew melon, bran muffin, pancakes, coffee and bacon.
After breakfast, we took a bus ($1.25 each) to San Nicolas, where we caught a cab ($12 plus tip) to Baby Beach. (JUST TAKE A TAXI ALL THE WAY, SPLITTING THE CAB WITH SOME NEW FOUND FRIENDS IF POSSIBLE).
The drive to Baby Beach is less than impressive, sort of like a sprawling desert town with the smell of an oil refinery, but Baby Beach is a pleasant little spot with fantastic snorkeling.
We at first didn't believe there could be any fish in this turquoise bay where the water didn't reach our wastes for a long time as we waded out, but near the artificial reef that forms the bay, we discovered an awesome display of all kinds of colorful tropical fish.
After resting from our first dive, we went to the other side of the reef, into the light waves of the blue ocean, and the addition of beautiful coral and plant life added to the excitement of seeing all these beautiful fish putting on their exotic show.
We snagged a cab to take us back to our ship for $15, and we had lunch on board at the New York style deli. I had a corned beef sandwich, coleslaw, fries and iced tea, but the first string lunch cooks seemed to be on shore, and although the food was still palatable, it wasn't that same excellent quality to which I'd grown accustomed.
The passengers, however, all apparently loved Aruba, because the ship was emptier than any other time on this cruise.
In the afternoon, we took a bus to Palm Beach ($2 each roundtrip). Palm Beach is a beautiful hotel and palm tree-lined stretch of sand along the turquoise sea.
We spent a lot of time just standing and hugging in the Caribbean Sea, which throughout our trip stayed well above eighty degrees. We would then take breaks lying on the sand.
Many people stayed in Aruba well into the evening, as the ship left late from this port, but we returned to the ship shortly after sundown. We went to the buffet on the Lido Deck for dinner, since the formal dining rooms were closed that evening (for good reason, since many people stayed on shore in Aruba for dinner). I had some tasty ribs and shrimp/scallop kabobs, but the second team cook definitely made vegetables not up to Destiny standards. I consoled myself for inadequate veggies by eating some pizza (got to eat some tomatoes, don't you know?).
That night, we went to bed early and watched the Yankees-Mariners game. That night proved to be one of the rougher at sea, although still nothing more than gentle waves rocking the ship slightly. It's also possible that I only noticed it because we went to bed so early. The rest of the trip I only knew we were moving when I looked out at the ocean.
I'm getting ahead of myself. First, we had a light breakfast on the ship at the outdoor Lido buffet. I had orange juice, honey dew melon, bran muffin, pancakes, coffee and bacon.
After breakfast, we took a bus ($1.25 each) to San Nicolas, where we caught a cab ($12 plus tip) to Baby Beach. (JUST TAKE A TAXI ALL THE WAY, SPLITTING THE CAB WITH SOME NEW FOUND FRIENDS IF POSSIBLE).
The drive to Baby Beach is less than impressive, sort of like a sprawling desert town with the smell of an oil refinery, but Baby Beach is a pleasant little spot with fantastic snorkeling.
We at first didn't believe there could be any fish in this turquoise bay where the water didn't reach our wastes for a long time as we waded out, but near the artificial reef that forms the bay, we discovered an awesome display of all kinds of colorful tropical fish.
After resting from our first dive, we went to the other side of the reef, into the light waves of the blue ocean, and the addition of beautiful coral and plant life added to the excitement of seeing all these beautiful fish putting on their exotic show.
We snagged a cab to take us back to our ship for $15, and we had lunch on board at the New York style deli. I had a corned beef sandwich, coleslaw, fries and iced tea, but the first string lunch cooks seemed to be on shore, and although the food was still palatable, it wasn't that same excellent quality to which I'd grown accustomed.
The passengers, however, all apparently loved Aruba, because the ship was emptier than any other time on this cruise.
In the afternoon, we took a bus to Palm Beach ($2 each roundtrip). Palm Beach is a beautiful hotel and palm tree-lined stretch of sand along the turquoise sea.
We spent a lot of time just standing and hugging in the Caribbean Sea, which throughout our trip stayed well above eighty degrees. We would then take breaks lying on the sand.
Many people stayed in Aruba well into the evening, as the ship left late from this port, but we returned to the ship shortly after sundown. We went to the buffet on the Lido Deck for dinner, since the formal dining rooms were closed that evening (for good reason, since many people stayed on shore in Aruba for dinner). I had some tasty ribs and shrimp/scallop kabobs, but the second team cook definitely made vegetables not up to Destiny standards. I consoled myself for inadequate veggies by eating some pizza (got to eat some tomatoes, don't you know?).
That night, we went to bed early and watched the Yankees-Mariners game. That night proved to be one of the rougher at sea, although still nothing more than gentle waves rocking the ship slightly. It's also possible that I only noticed it because we went to bed so early. The rest of the trip I only knew we were moving when I looked out at the ocean.
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