Our Lovely Liberty cruise (with pics) 8/9/14

[Jamman54]

Can you guess why Patti took the next two pictures?

 

 

 

Some of the downtown shops….

 

 

Some more Oranjestad views…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Patti wraps up her walking tour with these photos…..

 

 

 

 

Back at the cruise terminal…..

 

 

An advertisement on the cruise terminal wall, for the restaurant we would be visiting tonight…..

 

 

The Carnival Liberty gangways…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Here are some views of Oranjestad, Aruba taken from the ship…..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming up next: More on Aruba. Jeff and Ryan on the North Coast Jeep Safari, and dinner with friends.

Edited September 17, 2014 by Jamman54

[Tutontow]

I am really enjoying your report, keep it coming.

[Jamman54]

I am really enjoying your report, keep it coming.

 

Thanks for reading. Much more to come.

[Crusin Karen]

We were only in Aruba once years ago on Voyager OTS. I think we got there in the morning and did not leave until late at night. We were with both our DS'es and their DGF, now their DW'es and 2 other couples. Toured the island during the day while the young'uns did water sports, then did the Kukoo Kunookoo with everyone at night. It is a bar hopping bus. It was SUCH FUN! Can't believe it is still there after all these years! :D;):p

[afcruiser]

I love how colorful all the buildings are.

 

Fantastic job on all the pic's. Can't wait to read about your Jeep tour. That's what we're planning on doing in January.

 

Off to work I go.

 

Still patiently waiting for Grandbaby.:confused:

 

Mary

[Jamman54]

I love how colorful all the buildings are.

 

Fantastic job on all the pic's. Can't wait to read about your Jeep tour. That's what we're planning on doing in January.

 

Off to work I go.

 

Still patiently waiting for Grandbaby.:confused:

 

Mary

 

Working on the next segment now, should be up later today or early tomorrow.

 

The Jeep tour was great. I highly recommend it.

 

If you think Aruba was colorful, wait til you see Curacao!

Edited September 18, 2014 by Jamman54

[wrigley80]

I am all caught up now Jeff. Love the pics of Aruba. We were there in April and did the Banana Bus tour. It was a lot of fun

[sleeptalker]

What a fantastic Cruise Review. I eagerly look forward to each installment.:)

[afcruiser]

Working on the next segment now, should be up later today or early tomorrow.

 

The Jeep tour was great. I highly recommend it.

 

If you think Aruba was colorful, wait til you see Curacao!

 

Guess we'll have to cruise again to see Curacao because Carnival replaced with Bon Air. Not sure why. :confused:

 

Still waiting for little one.

 

Patiently waiting. I know it's time consuming and I appreciate your work.:p

Have a Great Day. Off to work.

[bigeagle12]

Enjoying your review. Looking forward to our first Carnival cruise on the Liberty in January for 15 days .. also our first B2B :-)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[Jamman54]

North Coast Jeep Safari

Excursion Overview

 

Go off road to explore Aruba’s north coast, including a visit to the island’s Ostrich Farm and a beach break. On this excursion, you will:

• Board your open-air 4WD Land Rover and head towards the countryside with your driver/guide.

• Stop at the intriguing Ayo Rock formation and the site of the collapsed original Natural Bridge.

• Take a guided tour of the island’s newest attraction, the Ostrich Farm, and get insight into the life cycle and living habits of these intriguing animals.

• Travel along the island’s back roads with pristine landscapes and the opportunity to explore the Bushiribana Ruins of Gold, the Chapel of Alto Vista, and the California Lighthouse.

• Enjoy a tranquil, picturesque stop for swimming and snorkeling – either Arashi Beach or Boca Catalina - before returning to your ship.

• Have complimentary snacks, sodas, water.

 

NOTE:

• Minimum age is 7 years

• Maximum weight is 350 lbs.

• Pregnant women and guests with back/neck injuries are not permitted.

• There is off road travel over rocky terrain.

• Feeding the ostriches is permitted; please exercise caution.

• Wear comfortable closed toe walking shoes and your swimsuit underneath.

 

 

Ryan and I are ready to go….

 

 

Here is our driver, tour guide, and captain of our three jeep group. I apologize for not remembering his name. As the captain, he would be driving the lead jeep, which we would discover later, really was a blessing, since we wouldn’t be eating anyone’s dust!

 

 

Here we are leaving the pier area, and the Carnival Liberty behind…..

 

 

We are weaving through the streets of Oranjestad at a high rate of speed, with the horns blowing. We must have been quite a sight…..

 

 

 

 

To be continued…

Edited September 19, 2014 by Jamman54

[Jamman54]

We have made it out to the country. Lots of cactus out here…..

 

 

 

We have arrived at our first stop, the Ostrich Farm…..

 

 

 

Another picture of our tour guide captain…..

 

 

He is our tour guide of the Ostrich Farm…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Ostrich Encounter sign…..

 

 

Yep, these are ostriches…..

 

 

 

 

Here is a short Ostrich Farm video…..

 

 

Ryan and I feeding a couple of ostriches…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Our group heads over to the next ostrich pen…..

 

 

More ostriches…..

 

 

 

This is an emu…..

 

 

The emu pen…..

 

 

The black one is an emu egg, the white one is an ostrich egg…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are back on the road again, travelling along the north coast of Aruba. The north coast is very rocky, desolate, and mostly unpopulated. That is why the hotels and nice beaches are found along the south coast of Aruba…..

 

 

We have arrived at our next stop, the Bushiribana ruins of gold. It was here in the late 1800’s that they crushed rocks to extract the gold from them…..

 

 

 

Cold beer!!! I’m all over that!!

 

 

Balashi, Aruba’s beer…

 

 

I’m happy!!

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Another view of the Bushiribana ruins….

 

 

Look at all the little rock piles….

 

 

The story that the Captain told us, and I don’t know if it’s true, is that the rock piles are a tourist thing. Pile up seven or more rocks and you will receive good luck. Here are a few rock stacks…..

 

 

 

 

They stretch as far as the eye can see…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Our jeeps at the Bushiribana ruins…..

 

 

The north coast is very rocky and desolate…..

 

 

An ATV tour comes rumbling in…..

 

 

 

Ryan and our jeep…..

 

 

Ryan checking out the rock piles…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are on the road again….

 

 

Taking the hills at 50 mph. If you have any back problems, this is not the tour for you. I was jostled around pretty good, and I loved it…..

 

 

We drove by the ruins of the collapsed natural bridge, and then stopped at the “baby” natural bridge…..

 

 

Ryan and the baby bridge…..

 

 

The Captain telling us about the bridges, and the area that we were in…..

 

 

View of the baby bridge…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Ryan is building his own rock pile……

 

 

His is seven rocks high. Will he have some good luck?

 

 

Our jeeps are parked right on the beach….

 

 

Ryan under the bridge….

 

 

Here is a very short “baby” bridge video…..

 

 

Our group is under the bridge…..

 

 

Ryan on top of the “baby” bridge…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We are on the move yet again…..

 

 

Approaching the Chapel of Alto Vista…..

 

 

The Captain explains the long history of the Chapel…..

 

 

The Chapel of Alto Vista…..

 

 

 

The original cross on top of the steeple…..

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

Inside the Chapel of Alto Vista…..

 

 

 

This was supposed to be our next stop, but because we were running a little late, we just did a drive by of the California lighthouse…..

 

 

 

 

We are now driving along the south coast…..

 

 

To be continued….

[Jamman54]

We are now heading to the beach. Here are a few shots along the way…..

 

 

 

 

 

A small beach with some great snorkeling. They provided the equipment…..

 

 

 

To be continued…..

[Jamman54]

We were here about an hour. The water was beautiful, and there were plenty of fish to seen. It’s a shame I didn’t think to bring my water camera along! After getting in the water, Ryan realized that he had his phone in his pocket. So much for the lucky rocks! Well, at least I had insurance on it. Here are our jeeps parked at the top of the beach…..

 

 

The tour is now over and we are now heading back to the ship. Ryan and I highly recommend this tour. We had a great time….

 

 

We are running really late. The tour was supposed to be over around 5pm, and it was now almost 6:30 when we got back to the ship. We are supposed to meet friends for dinner at 6:30! No problem. I gave our friends a call letting them know we would be late, and then took the fastest shower of my life. We were back off the ship at 7pm, and got these shots of the sunset as we headed to the taxi stand…..

 

 

 

 

We have made it to the El Gaucho Restaurant…..

 

 

To be continued…..