Cruising into Twenty - Twenty two : Something old and something Nieuw

[scubacruiserx2]

Just a little more walking

 

 

 

 

After meeting Esther we drove by the Downtown area

 

 

 

 

Story of the blue horses jumping ship in Aruba

 

They represent the important historical moment where the horses jumped from a ship's deck into the Caribbean Ocean and swim to our Aruban Bay ‘Paardenbaai “.

The 8 Sculptures represents "Strength, Nobility, Grace, Beauty and Freedom". It represents Aruba's collaboration with locals and international communities and its business trade with the world; Europe, South America, Caribbean islands, the Mediterranean.

 

Driving by and stopping at Eagle Beach

 

 

 

Pat and Esther

 

[rkacruiser]

On 1/26/2022 at 5:21 PM, scubacruiserx2 said:

Main course was Broiled Maine Lobster for me and Patty had a little Lamb Persil lade

 

Thanks for your posts and the food porn.  If you choose to return to Rudi's during your cruise, the Dover Sole--presentation, service, and taste--is simply wonderful.  My experience with this entree on the stand alone Rudi's on Nieuw Statendam as well as the pop-ups on Westerdam and the Eurodam and have been consistently excellent.  

[scubacruiserx2]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Thanks for your posts and the food porn.  If you choose to return to Rudi's during your cruise, the Dover Sole--presentation, service, and taste--is simply wonderful.  My experience with this entree on the stand alone Rudi's on Nieuw Statendam as well as the pop-ups on Westerdam and the Eurodam and have been consistently excellent.  

 

It sounds great thank you for the recommendation .

[scubacruiserx2]

A video clip of Eagle Beach that I forgot to put up . The first time that we visited this now deserted beach was at Carnival . It was packed with many people camping out in tents on the beach .

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We didn't see much of Palm Beach as it crowded with Hotels and Restaurants . A couple of video clips as we cruised by The Strip.

 

 

 

 

Near here is de Olde Molen a windmill that was made in Holland in1804 and shipped and reassembled here in 1960 .

 

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[ski ww]

Thanks for the great pictures, it brings back memories of our one week vacation on the island.

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, ski ww said:

Thanks for the great pictures, it brings back memories of our one week vacation on the island.

 

You're welcome , We have enjoyed many staycations where we found a place that we really like because we cruised there first , liked it and returned for a proper stay . We do love cruising and the ships when we're on them but it was always nice when we were staying in places like Cozumel or Saint Petersburg . When the boat people and the crowds leave you can really experience the people , the pace and the culture of the area and live in real time instead of ships time .

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next stop was Moomba Beach a place that we had been to before

 

 

But in the parking lot I froze in my tracks

 

 

Love at first sight and I had to whip out my Canon to shoot this beauty . A 11th generation Thunderbird aka T-Bird

 

 

My first crush when I was a kid was the Ford Porthole T-Bird which was designed to compete with the Corvette . In a similar vein was my first new car which was a 1970 Opel GT . The Gen 11 was made between 2001-2005 . Meanwhile back at Moomba we walked through the Palapas to the beach

 

 

 

which is a staging area for Jolly Pirates good time party boat . Once again we're out on this kind of fun .

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[ottahand7]

14 minutes ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

which is a staging area for Jolly Pirates good time party boat . Once again we're out on this kind of fun .

We are getting ready to leave on the NS next month and were talking about past experiences.  We did the sunset cruise, the sunset was beautiful, we got a great view of the Oosterdam those were the good things.  It was cold and windy, the rum punch was poured out of gallon plastic jugs (nothing available sugar free), the cheese and crackers were self serve with one's hands and no beer.   HA is so careful about handwashing and food safety then we were  offloaded onto this.   I partook of nothing.   

[scubacruiserx2]

5 hours ago, ottahand7 said:

We are getting ready to leave on the NS next month and were talking about past experiences.  We did the sunset cruise, the sunset was beautiful, we got a great view of the Oosterdam those were the good things.  It was cold and windy, the rum punch was poured out of gallon plastic jugs (nothing available sugar free), the cheese and crackers were self serve with one's hands and no beer.   HA is so careful about handwashing and food safety then we were  offloaded onto this.   I partook of nothing.   

 

That why we like photos , thy last longer then weather , punch or cheese and crackers .😉 Which itinerary did you choose ?

[scubacruiserx2]

Our next stop was at the northern point and the California Lighthouse and a beach nearby

 

 

 

 

The beaches were narrow and somewhat crowded in Curacao . Here they were wider and less crowded - the way that we prefer them

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

The Casibari rock formation stands at 140' but it feels taller with the steep climb

 

 

There is a way up and a way down and you have been warned

 

 

A nice and a windy view await you at the top

 

 

The parking area 

 

 

The Hooiberg or Haystack is 564'

 

 

And to the East the Port

 

 

A selfie to go

 

 

 

 

If you climb the front way you will have to duck and wiggle thru some rocks . We go up the back way that has a railing to go with the uneven steps

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

A couple of shots of the ships using a telephoto on the Casibari Rock

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Also in the Northern part of Aruba near the California Lighthouse is Alto Vista chapel . It's normally a quite and pretty area in a desert environment . The current chapel was built in 1952 and is in the same location as the original one that was built in 1750 .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alto_Vista_Chapel

 

 

 

 

With 3 ships in port there were plenty of 4 wheelers buzzing around

 

 

And vendors had moved in and it now had a Carnival like atmosphere

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We next headed to the rough and windy Eastern side of the Island headed toward the Natural Bridge

 

 

We stopped along the way to watch the surf and saw a snorkeler with a spear gun going fishing

 

 

 

 

It was rough here and not the place I would normally chose to spearfish

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 29, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[ottahand7]

We are on a B2B - ABCs, HMC and DR leg one then the Lesser Antilles leg 2.   Martinique was switched out to Grenada for now.  We will be staying low key leg one doing walking trips in port - we have to pass our covid test last day.  Once we reboard for leg 2 we will be more adventurous and do some tours.   Thanks again for you photos!   

[scubacruiserx2]

44 minutes ago, ottahand7 said:

We are on a B2B - ABCs, HMC and DR leg one then the Lesser Antilles leg 2.   Martinique was switched out to Grenada for now.  We will be staying low key leg one doing walking trips in port - we have to pass our covid test last day.  Once we reboard for leg 2 we will be more adventurous and do some tours.   Thanks again for you photos!   

 

Very nice ! Is that 21 days ? We have never been to Martinique but we did visit Grenada once and dove there . We usually have a plan or 2 and sometimes wing it or just take a down day . It's a good idea to play it safe and easy to start . You certainly don't want to risk everything at the beginning and to stay healthy and not wear your self down or out too early . It does get quite warm and we're usually very careful with the sun but we did pick up a burn on the face and arms .

[ottahand7]

We really are being careful so we pass our test to make onto leg 2.   🙏

[scubacruiserx2]

1 hour ago, ottahand7 said:

We really are being careful so we pass our test to make onto leg 2.   🙏

 

We pray that everything goes as well or better than planned . We were very fortunate that we made all of the ports and that most of our plans went well and some things better than planned .

[scubacruiserx2]

The Natural Bridge

 

 

 

There was another Natural Bridge not far from here that collapsed in 2005

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aruba_Natural_Bridge

 

With restrooms this is a very busy spot . I think that it is $ 1.00 to use the restrooms

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We next drove all the way South where we didn't see busses or 4 wheelers

 

 

Just to the East of Baby Beach we saw a wildlife encounter

 

 

And there is a Pet Cemetery  - on the beach

 

 

https://wondersofaruba.com/arubas-pet-cemetery-a-place-of-love-and-honor/

 

A couple of beaches next with Roger's Beach and it's view of the closed Citco Aruba Oil Refinery

 

 

 

And last of all Baby Beach

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Beach,_Aruba

 

 

 

 

Esther is a native of Aruba and has some fond memories of her childhood in this area and of the boom days when there were plenty of jobs and money when the refinery was operating at capacity . Sadly things changed and they are about to change again . Hopefully for the better , but I wouldn't bet on it . We could see the skeleton of the future on a bluff overlooking Baby Beach .

 

 

It belong to Apple Leisure Group .

 

Apple Leisure Group's AMResorts has signed a new resort brand management deal for Aruba. 

 

The agreement will bring the first Secrets Resorts & Spa-branded property to the island. The 600-room Secrets Baby Beach Aruba will open on Baby Beach, close to San Nicolas. 

 

https://www.hotelmanagement.net/development/alg-signs-new-secrets-hotel-for-aruba#:~:text=Apple Leisure Group's AMResorts has,Beach%2C close to San Nicolas.

 

The concern is when they move in they will own and control Baby Beach and access to the beach may be a thing of the past to the locals .

It's like having Disney buy all of the land next to you . They have bought a large area of South Eleuthera near Princess Cay and some of the best public beaches are being Disneyfied .

 

 

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

When we booked this cruise we had a different itinerary and we had agreed with Esther of having lunch near port . HAL changed that not long before we sailed . We were not sure which way Esther's tour would run , and we were a long way from the Port but hungry . Thus lunch was a plan B because we were hungry now . We had looked at Trip advisor and we knew of a place that we wanted to try that Esther didn't know about called Kamini's Kitchen . It was highly rated . Esther didn't seem to want to eat lunch and was going to wait in the car . Fortunately we were able to persuade her to join us . As we walked in we were asked by the person seating us to wash up before entering the building . There is a basin outside on the wall at the base of the ramp . We're big on handwashing and especially now because of the Flu .

 

 

There's no AC here but with the Bahama shutters and the breeze it was comfortable .

 

 

 

The crowd seemed to be mostly locals and a few travelers . I already knew that I would be having curry and was thrilled to find out that conch was on the menu and in season . Pat also wanted curry and for a second day in a row had goat . The drink holder would soon be used with a Margarita Aruban style .

 

 

Curacao Blue was used as the Orange Liqueur component

 

 

The bath rooms were free here and uncrowded like at the Natural Bridge so I made good use of it . The curry comes with homemade Roti and we had Maduros as a side dish

 

 

 

 

I must say that I found this posted prayer amusing

 

 

They had homemade Coconut Ice Cream in a Coconut shell that was rich and delicious

 

 

We really liked this place and would recommend it

 

 

Edited January 30, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[maryandmarge]

LOVED the picture with the prayer for tourists on it.    

[scubacruiserx2]

19 minutes ago, maryandmarge said:

LOVED the picture with the prayer for tourists on it.    

 

I hope that it's an appropriate prayer for Sunday .

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We had another nice tour with Esther ( our third ) and would certainly recommend her as a private tour that wasn't much more than a ship's tour .