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2/25/2015 Wednesday
Oranjestad, Aruba
Arrive 7am Depart 2pm

This is a short stop. But we’ll make the most of it by seeing D’s brother Tom and Tom’s companion Abbie. They stay here in Aruba for a month each winter, so they’ll know the place and can show us the island.

20150225 Oranjestand, Aruba Wednesday PhotoLink

We were up early and took a few pictures of sunrise and the pier here. We did a quick breakfast and sauntered off the ship to the parking lot gate. I went to one spot and D to another. There, D saw brother Tom’s back going around the corner where I ran into him. He took us in their little rent-a-Fit to the house they’ve used for the last five Februaries.

The house is a neat little place, U-shaped around an open-air courtyard. Two bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, small living/dining combination room and the courtyard (all tiled), plus a one-car garage. Since rainfall is light and infrequent they do coffee at the table in the courtyard. Tom says they live on the “wet” side of the island where about 20 inches of rainfall per year is seen. On the “dry” side, it’s less. The house is located in the San Miguel neighborhood. That’s about three blocks east of Eagle Beach on the map above.

We were introduced to Carl & Debbie from Felton, Delaware, who are friends of Tom & Abbie. We all chatted a bit and exchanged information on how the kids are doing and so forth.

Abbie had arranged a tour for all six of us in a mini-bus for 20 driven by an acquaintance named Robert. He’s a native here but spent 15 years in the States. Robert drove us (refer to the map above) to Eagle Beach, then along the coast past town and the ship. Then we passed the airport and Barcadera to Sint Nicolas where the refinery is located (it is not currently operating). He spoke about the various neighborhoods and their characteristics. He noted the houses - the houses are all marked with neighborhood and number but not sequentially along a street (ex: SM245). We asked how he finds an address, to which he replied, “Find the postman and ask”. Abbie brought water and stroopwaffles along.

We went then to the windward shore (the winds mainly blow from the NE or East) east of Sint Nicolas. There, the shore is very rocky. The waves splash up into the air as they hit the shore. A few courageous wind-surfers were out in the swells and waves. The prison is located out there in an isolated area, as is the military/police training area and firing range. There are also about 10 power-generating windmills, which Tom said are used to power the airport.

Tom asked Robert about Venezuela. Robert said he has never seen such a corrupt nation. He said all the officials take bribes before they will perform their function. Tom asked about the local Aruban economy. Robert replied that it is not good, especially since the Valero refinery shut down. He hopes the current effort to open at least the trans-shipping function is successful. Venezuela is only about 20 miles away; only small tankers can take oil out of Lake Maracaibo. The oil could be taken here and pumped into tanks, then loaded aboard a large, efficient, tanker for transport to the customer.

Then we doubled back to the southern leeward shore and up the beach to the north end of the airport. On the beach there is a little establishment called West Beach Grill. We stopped there for an early lunch. D had a lobster-and-crab roll (messy but good) and I had a great tropical salad. We chatted and chattered while waiting. We talked with Robert about his daughter studying in Miami. We talked about Delaware weather and the people again.

I had a “Chill” lager beer with lunch which I won’t have again. It’s interesting that they use small bottles here in the Caribbean. The bottles on Antigua were 25cl (centiliters) or about 8.5 ounces. The Chill was even smaller at 23cl. But they charge four and five dollars for them. There’s money being made somewhere.

Then the time came to leave. Robert drove us along the beach back to Ryndam. We all said our good-byes and we walked aboard. It was a wonderful time with them and certainly a more unique experience than the other passengers had.

We sat in the room typing and reading until time to get underway. We went to the port side deck (pierside) to watch. The captain took it out very quickly and efficiently. We are now at sea until the morning of the 27th at Grand Cayman.


Picture of D & brother Tom at the West Beach Grill: