Aruba Blues



Our Chariot Awaits

Some folks keep on moanin'
about the things that they ain't got.

To tell the truth about it,
well they don't seem to have a lot.

But sometimes it's the bein'
and not about what's bein' bought.

Enjoying the Ride

Amerigo Vespuci

claimed he was first upon her shore,

Alonso de Ojeda
might've beat him there, some say,
if you keep score.

Both came in 1499,

but Caquetios
moved there years before.

(As a non-musical aside, you might note we live in America, not Alonca or Caquetica.  Caquetios were the "giants" reported living there by both explorers.)

Spanish settlers came and went,

"They ain't got nothin' on this rock."

Yeah Spanish settlers looked and said,

"Amerigo, he's just a lot of talk.

There ain't no gold or silver here.

Just sandy beach and Arawaks."

(In about 1000 AD, it is believed some Caquetios from the Arawak tribe fled to Aruba from their home in Venezuela, which is 17 miles to the south, to escape vicious Carib Indians who were likely cannibals.)

"The rain in Spain falls on the plains,

but 'ruba mainly never rains.

That means we can't grow sugar cane,

no coffee beans or sweet plantains.

And toilin' soil's not a choice

with only sand to dig.  Must I explain?"

Those Europeans found no use

for such a sunny land where nothing grew.

Catamaran Under Cloudy Skies

No need for big plantations.

Or veggies suitable for stews.

They never could imagine

anyone would want to buy Aruba blues.



 Yes they would really be surprised

how tourists truly prize
Aruba blues.

(However, those wily Dutch traders must have figured that out, because they bought Aruba from Spain in 1636 and Aruba remains part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands today.)

Aruba Oceanfront Resorts Beckon

If you're wondering why I wrote a blues song about the history of Aruba to begin this blog, I must confess that after I uploaded photos from our port stop, I still didn't know what I wanted to say.

Looking at the photos, I remembered all the different colors of blue in the water and sky as the sun moved in and out of clouds, so I wrote the title, Aruba Blues.

You can guess where my mind went from there.

But I digress.

Almost 14 years ago at Aruba's Baby Beach, we found fantastic snorkeling within wading distance of shore.  I was tempted to take a taxi to this spot again, but Julie wanted to be sure we made the most of our short port day by booking the Snorkeling Cruise and Antilla Shipwreck tour.

Aruba, with a colorful, diverse fish population in its warm, clear water, never disappoints.  The sea and air were warmer on our trip in October of 2000, which was during "hurricane season," than our recent visit in April (80s versus 70s).  Because Aruba is actually outside the hurricane zone, it is a good bet for a warm stay during the fall when Caribbean prices drop.

After waiting for everyone to join our group, we boarded the catamaran 300 yards from our ship and were off, racing across the chameleon blue sea.  At our first stop, Boca Catalina, we found lots of colorful fish of all sizes, along with the occasional eerie eel or other oddity.  All were within easy swimming or even floating distance of our boat.  Snorkeling is one of the easiest ways to become one with nature and experience the freedom of flying through a strange new world.



Island Princess Docked In Oranjestad, Aruba

The most anticipated part of the excursion, however, was our visit to the Antilla shipwreck.  When Nazi Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940, the Dutch attempted to seize all German ships concurrently in the formerly neutral Dutch Indies, including the cargo ship Antilla.  Rather than allowing her to be taken, the Germans scuttled the Antilla.  The sunken ship is almost 400 feet long, and plenty of fish provide live entertainment to its dramatic backdrop.  With scuba gear, you could get a much closer look than we did snorkeling, but even old, out of shape people who could barely climb back up the catamaran's ladder enjoyed the time anchored there.

By the way, if you find yourself in Aruba, bring a few bucks with you. You may think you'll be swimming all day and need no cash, but we found great "One Happy Island" baseball caps for $5 each, so I had to go back on board to get my wallet before sailing away.

I barely talked my way off the ship at the gangway after picking up my wallet in our room to complete the purchases.